IDA Intl. - About Us

Milestones
1979	Robert Harbinson forms the sole-proprietorship Intra-Developmental Associates to provide drafting and engineering services for the construction industry. Initially working from his home, the venture is subsequently converted to a corporation, Intra-Developmental Associates Inc., which customers referred to as "IDA". The company is asked to provide fabrication services for the emerging aluminum composite material known as Alucobond. A location is rented at 93 Canal Street in Shelton, Connecticut as a combined office and shop.
1980	The company's first fabrication job is to provide aluminum composite material panels for the facade of the University of Connecticut Co-operative bookstore in Storrs, CT. The curved panels are formed with a home-made hydraulic press that used water pressure from the fire hydrant in the street adjacent to our shop.
1982	The engineering office is moved from our original location to the 2nd Floor of 433 Howe Avenue, also in Shelton, above the Shelton Savings and Loan bank. No more noise from the fabrication shop and adequate heat in the winter time makes a better work environment than the old location. Computer drafting tools begin to be used.
1985	Automated fabrication machinery is being used for cutting aluminum extrusions. A large project is undertaken to fabricate panels for the 43 story facade of the "Devonshire Building", a building on Devonshire Street in Boston, Massachusetts. From the next generation of the family, Robert's first son Thomas Harbinson begins working for the company full-time. The fabrication shops grow to renting 3 buildings on Silvermine Road in Seymour, Connecticut in addition to maintaining our original location at 93 Canal Street in Shelton. The office is forced to move to it's third location at 415 Howe Avenue in Shelton, and we begin to search for a suitable consolidated location.
1986	The owners of Vanguard Laminates Inc. and Intra-Developmental Associates Inc. join forces under the corporate name VanIda Associates Inc. to buy a parcel within the Housatonic Industrial Park, a brown-fields site on a portion of the former "Hull Dye and Print Works" in Derby, Connecticut.
1987	Difficulties in sending material to St. Louis to be roll-formed cause the company to custom design an architectural metal forming machine and become the leading firm in New England for rolling sheet materials to a radius.
1988	Intra-Developmental Associates Inc. begins direct installations of it's materials in June when our sub-contractor (Michaels Art Metals) becomes defunct during a project at 820 Second Avenue in NYC. The company hires the same installation employees to complete the project and signs a labor agreement with Local 580 Ornamental Metal Ironworkers Union. Additionally, staff from Michaels Art Metals office and fabrication shop are also hired. This leads to additional work for the company to complete such as 17 State Street in NYC.
1988	After numerous issues involving property contamination, remediation, site work and financing are resolved, all operations move into the Housatonic Industrial Park located at 200 Roosevelt Drive in Derby, CT.
1992	Robert's second son Norman Harbinson begins working for the company full-time.
1995	IDA International Inc. is created by Thomas and Norman to do work abroad, specifically Canada and Mexico. Computerized equipment is now utilized for all drafting and finance functions. Computerized fabrication equipment is added to the shop including a CNC router table for cutting complicated panel patterns. Domestic work is done by AMS-Derby Inc. Robert Harbinson retires and dissolves the Intra-Developmental Associates Inc. company which started the enterprise. He is given the honorary title of President Emeritus for IDA International Inc.
1996	IDA International Inc. partners with Industex SA de CV of Mexico City, Mexico to fabricate the Pemex corporate facility in Coatzacualcos. A satellite engineering facility is set up at the jobsite to expedite the project. Field measurements create drawings at the site which are transmitted to Connecticut for fabrication and shipment to Mexico via truck, vessel container, and 3 trips by a C130 cargo plane owned by the government of Mexico. The project is completed on time for Mexican President Salinas to ribbon cut the grand opening.
1997	IDA International Inc. continues high profile work in Mexico, including the headquarters for Banco Serfin and Televisa. Televisa's building in Mexico City was a complicated roof cladding that involved gable ends shaped as ellipses of different sizes. All panels were computer cut, rolled and shipped to Mexico for final assembly. Local labor under IDA supervision completed final fabrication, delivery to the jobsite and installation. The job won numerous architectural awards for the architect Enrique Norten, who in 2002 would be a design judge at the World Trade Center memorial in NYC.
2000	IDA International Inc. becomes the lead organization for all work undertaken including domestic. Our Derby location undergoes expansion with a new loading dock and material staging area, new office area and a re-designed layout for it's fabrication shop floor to better improve work flow.
2001	Vanida Associates Inc. renamed IDA Properties Inc. as part of branding the "IDA" identity. It expands from just real-estate to other property and asset management functions.
2002	IDA International Inc. helps with the rebuilding of lower Manhattan after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Working for W&W Glass Products, panel work is fabricated and installed at the Winter Garden in record time for the 1 year anniversary and opening by President George Bush.
2006	IDA International Inc. works for on several government projects: Connecticut Convention Center, Weston Middle School, Lincoln Tunnel Bus Ramp Terminal, Staten Island Ferry and Manhattan Family Courthouse. The work is accomplished satisfactorily for the State of Ct. Dept. of Administrative Services, Town of Weston, CT, NYC Transit Authority, NYC Dormitory Authority, and the Port Authority of NY & NJ. We designed and built specialized machinery to fabricate the first job in the USA with a titanium/stainless skinned composite material.
2007	IDA International Inc. engineers, fabricates, delivers and installs the metal panels for re-skinning a 40 story high rise at 100 Park Avenue in New York City. The company now has computer controlled equipment for cutting, sheering and forming sheet materials and extruded shapes. The shipment and delivery of materials within the jobsite was accomplished with re-utilization of our scrap material and there was no purchase of packing materials for the entire project. Thus began our vision to be a Green Manufacturer. A new standing seam roof is put on our Derby facility with a special reflective finish and reduces the cooling load on the building.
2008	IDA International Inc. does an energy audit of it's operations, implements improvements and reduces it's electric bill by over 35%. IDA Properties Inc. as landlord of the Housatonic Industrial Park facility where IDA International Inc is a tenant, adopts a similar passion for being conscience to the environment and begins installation of a photo-voltaic array to allow generation of electricity on it's buildings.
2009	IDA International Inc. does an efficiency review of it's operations with CONNSTEP. Internal processes, fabrication sequencing, and manufacturing plant layout are modified yielding efficiency improvements. IDA Properties Inc., as landlord of the Housatonic Industrial Park facility where IDA International Inc is a tenant, makes it's photo-voltaic array operational with the electric utility operator, and begins providing electricity to IDA International. Since 2009-Mar-23, IDA International Inc. has had all of it's electricity come from the sun via on-site photo-voltaic generation.
2010	Future plans.