By Mission Design & Automation
“At Mission, we strive to source local, in support of our community and the small businesses thereof,” said Todd Bush, procurement manager at Mission Design and Automation.
One of the local suppliers Mission has built a strong partnership with over the years is Innovative Cutting and Engraving Inc. (ICE). Based in Zeeland, Michigan, ICE specializes in producing high-quality laser-cut, engraved, and CNC-machined products.
“Innovative Cutting and Engraving has been servicing our community for nearly thirty years which speaks volumes about their commitment to customer service and quality. Being family-owned, working with Jeremy & Jen VanNuil makes customer service feel like smalltown USA, a quality often lost within the arena of corporate supply chain,” Bush said.
The Evolution of Innovative Cutting and Engraving
Innovative Cutting and Engraving began in the mid-1990s as “Graphics Plus,” a home-based business run out of Jerry VanNuil’s basement. The company initially specialized in producing signage, tags, and machine electrical prints. By 2000, it had expanded its capabilities with the addition of lasers and CNC routers for contact machining plastic parts. In 2005, Jerry’s son, Jeremy VanNuil, assumed the role of president, overseeing daily operations and officially rebranding the company as Innovative Cutting and Engraving Inc. to better reflect its services. Around this time, Jeremy’s wife, Jen VanNuil, joined the business as office manager, further solidifying its family-run foundation.
Quality and Customization: Inside ICE’s Product Portfolio
The six-person team at Innovative Cutting and Engraving work to make products exactly to their customers’ specifications, and they have the tools and experience to do so. The business’s range of products include:
- Laser Cutting: From plastics, fabrics, and gasket materials, Innovative Cutting & Engraving offers production and prototype cutting up to 52′ x 100′ in a variety of material types.
- CNC Routing: The company CNC routes plastic, wood, and aluminum, and can also perform the secondary operations of blending, polishing, plastic welding, and assembly.
- Machine Tags: Available in standard and custom sizing, the business’s tags are made from durable two- or three-ply acrylic, stainless steel, and anodized aluminum.
- Custom Engraving: With options for bulk orders or even one-off product engraving, ICE offers custom engraving on materials such as stainless steel, tool steel, anodized aluminum, painted metal, leather, wood, glass, crystal, acrylic, and stone.
The business also recently acquired Spectrum Illumination, expanding their offerings to include machine vision lighting systems.
A Trusted Partnership: Mission and Innovative Cutting and Engraving
“Given that ICE is right up the road we heavily rely on them, and their support of Mission has been five-star. ‘Got to have it’ and ‘need it ASAP’ is an ever-present part of what we do here at Mission and ICE has come through for us more times than I care to admit. Their commitment to our success is evident and very much appreciated,” Bush said.
Mission has been leaning on Innovative Cutting and Engraving as a primary supplier of manufactured details well suited for CNC router applications—among other things—since 2018. The partnership lends itself to Mission’s overall success, and we’re grateful for all the team at ICE does.
“We enjoy working with Mission Design and Automation and appreciate the trust that they have in our team. It is very apparent that the people we work with really do enjoy their work and strive to make us feel like we are part of their team. We can only imagine with how well they treat us that their customers are in great hands for all their automation needs,” said Jen VanNuil, office manager at Innovative Cutting and Engraving.