Spotlight on Innovation: Rushford Hypersonic

Rushford Hypersonic is transforming academic research into commercial applications for the world of tomorrow. Founded in 2007, Rushford Hypersonic is a cutting edge nanotechnology company that produces a commercial coating used in high tooling, friction and corrosion areas. Without this technology, new frontiers of mining and manufacturing would not be possible.

The Rushford-based company uses hypersonic plasma particle deposition (HPPD) coatings “to protect objects by improving hardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. The coating is the hardest on the market.”  The company also hopes to use their coatings in medical devices such as prosthetic implants, according to the University of Minnesota. “They hope it will result in implants that will last a lifetime, eliminating the pain of replacement surgeries.

The company would not have taken off if it weren’t for key partnerships with the non-profit Rushford Institute for Nanotechnology and the University of Minnesota. The U of M agreed in March 2008 to allow Rushford Hypersonic to pursue further development and commercialization of the HPPD processes, through the creation of two exclusive patents, one for the HPPD process itself and one for the focused particle beam. 

Rushford Hypersonic hopes to provide a one-of-a-kind coating product of the highest quality, while supporting the rural communities that helped foster the creation of the company.

Rushford Hypersonic will be presenting at the Innovation Hall of the Governor’s Job Summit at the St. Paul Crowne Plaza on October 25. The company’s innovations in nanotechnology and partnerships with the University of Minnesota are vitally important to the state as we get Minnesota working again.