MONROE - Donald Wickstrum is on a quest to help companies save money.
"It's always exciting to see. It never gets old," said Wickstrum, who began Quest Industrial in Brodhead in January 2002 in a small 8-foot by 10-foot shed. Recently, he moved the robotics company to 2551 Coplien Road in Monroe.
Wickstrum said he believes he has saved about 500 automation jobs through his work. Companies have also saved money by using robots to do certain jobs, which prevents human injuries.
Wickstrum's robotic creations range from small robots to ones that tower overhead. A project takes from two months to nine-and-a-half months to complete. Quest Industrial has made over 50 robotic cells and reprogrammed over 75 others since it started.
This year so far, Quest has sold over 33 robotic arms and 15 cells. Quest has never had a machine returned.
"We get an arm. It's stupid because it doesn't do anything yet," Wickstrum said.
The arm and control equal the robot. Quest builds the cells, which can include welders, grinders, conveyors, pallet racks, the robot, safeties, safety fencing and other items.
Wickstrum wires the robot, books in the interfacing, designs and builds the tooling and fixturing and integrates the robot into a cell. He designs the robot to do what the customer desires. After the robot is programmed, it is run and troubleshooting is completed.
FANUC, the world's largest robot supplier, recently awarded Quest with an award for its incredible growth. Quest have doubled in sales each year. Robots have gone to Spain, Mexico and Canada and 12 states.
While in college, Wickstrum worked at Woodbridge in Brodhead. While there, he learned how to program and fix robots. He also worked at another manufacturing company in automation. He has a bachelor of science degree in industrial technology management from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
When he began Quest Industrial, Wickstrum rebuilt old cells and did reengineering projects. He once rebuilt automated coffee grinders and robots that dipped donuts into glazing. His business grew.
To show his gratitude to his alma mater, Wickstrum built and donated a robot cell to UW-Platteville to help the university become more modern in the robotics class.
"It's always exciting to see. It never gets old," said Wickstrum, who began Quest Industrial in Brodhead in January 2002 in a small 8-foot by 10-foot shed. Recently, he moved the robotics company to 2551 Coplien Road in Monroe.
Wickstrum said he believes he has saved about 500 automation jobs through his work. Companies have also saved money by using robots to do certain jobs, which prevents human injuries.
Wickstrum's robotic creations range from small robots to ones that tower overhead. A project takes from two months to nine-and-a-half months to complete. Quest Industrial has made over 50 robotic cells and reprogrammed over 75 others since it started.
This year so far, Quest has sold over 33 robotic arms and 15 cells. Quest has never had a machine returned.
"We get an arm. It's stupid because it doesn't do anything yet," Wickstrum said.
The arm and control equal the robot. Quest builds the cells, which can include welders, grinders, conveyors, pallet racks, the robot, safeties, safety fencing and other items.
Wickstrum wires the robot, books in the interfacing, designs and builds the tooling and fixturing and integrates the robot into a cell. He designs the robot to do what the customer desires. After the robot is programmed, it is run and troubleshooting is completed.
FANUC, the world's largest robot supplier, recently awarded Quest with an award for its incredible growth. Quest have doubled in sales each year. Robots have gone to Spain, Mexico and Canada and 12 states.
While in college, Wickstrum worked at Woodbridge in Brodhead. While there, he learned how to program and fix robots. He also worked at another manufacturing company in automation. He has a bachelor of science degree in industrial technology management from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
When he began Quest Industrial, Wickstrum rebuilt old cells and did reengineering projects. He once rebuilt automated coffee grinders and robots that dipped donuts into glazing. His business grew.
To show his gratitude to his alma mater, Wickstrum built and donated a robot cell to UW-Platteville to help the university become more modern in the robotics class.