Leadership’s commitment fuels Niron’s sustainability success

Sustainability is at the core of Niron Magnetics’ success. Whether it’s protecting ducklings in the parking lot, gathering plastic bags for recycling, or creating innovative rare earth free magnets, the Niron team is proving that business and sustainability are attractive forces!

This year, Niron received the ‘Green Materials Innovation of the Year’ award at the Cleantech Breakthrough Awards for its production of rare-earth-free permanent magnets. Impressive, but what makes Niron stand out even more is how sustainability is part of the company culture. From leadership to new hires, sustainability is everyone’s business. 

At Niron, sustainability efforts are 100% supported by leadership. Wes Baish, Krina Damien, and Nick Umland, co-leaders of the sustainability team, say that the time they spend on sustainability initiatives is actively encouraged by leadership. “Sustainability isn’t hard when there is support from leadership,” said Umland. The sustainability team’s efforts started with launching organics recycling and have since expanded to promote sustainability in both business operations and home practices. 

From lunch-and-learn sessions to including sustainability in regular safety meetings, the team has found creative ways to provide their coworkers with actions they can take anywhere in their life. The fact that they won the 2025 local Plastic Free Challenge is proof that education and dedication is working.

The sustainability team is also finding success by focusing on practical high impact activities. Events like Earth Day clean-up and Arbor Day tree planting get great engagement and can happen within a busy workday, with limited planning. These activities are important to employees, including leadership, who are frequently the first people pulling on rubber gloves for clean-up day. 

Niron is currently in a period of expansion as they build their new manufacturing space in Sartell. They are taking this opportunity to carefully design buildings, plan processes and select efficient equipment that will lead to savings for decades. Last year, a Minnesota Technical Assistance Program intern began the work of evaluating more sustainable and safer process chemicals. Sustainability and efficiency are central to process improvements and drive future savings. 

At Niron Magnetics, sustainability isn’t a feel-good add-on, but a core reason for their business viability and success. With leadership leading the charge, enthusiastic employee participation, and innovation at the core, it’s clear the company is just getting started.