PARK RIVER (AP) - Bernie Kringstad is going to be looking for a place to plant a quaking aspen tree. He'll undoubtedly look for a small plot of land that will allow the tree to establish a healthy root system.

It's not Kringstad's first time looking for a place to lay a solid foundation for something. His manufacturing business, Kringstad Ironworks Inc., has established strong roots at two locations in rural North Dakota.

Those roots have put KII in a position to land solid contracts with American Crystal Sugar, LM Glasfiber and the U.S. government. By spring 2008, Kringstad said the company hopes to employ 60 workers and conduct $6 million in annual sales.

During a Tuesday ceremony, Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Commerce Department Commissioner Shane Goettle gave Kringstad a quaking aspen tree to recognize his accomplishments as a business owner.

Since moving into a vacant mushroom plant in January 2006, KII has brought about 37 jobs to Park River. The business also operates out of a 7,816-square-foot facility in Hoople. The expansion helped the company more than double its sales between 2005 and 2006.

"Going from 7,000 square feet to 48,000 square feet was almost a scary jump," Kringstad said. However, he expanded his work force from 11 to 47 to accommodate that growth.

The Park River expansion allowed KII more space to manufacture two 235,000-pound beet pilers for American Crystal Sugar. Kringstad said the pilers should be delivered by the end of June, nearly a month ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline.

"Without the American Crystal Sugar Co., it would not be possible to be at this point of our growth today. We have been working with (American Crystal) for eight years, and last year, we hit the top with them with the contract to build these wonderful beet pilers," Kringstad said.

Kringstad said he is working on a three- to five-year contract with the company that would involve manufacturing one or two beet pilers annually.

KII seems to be a company adept at finding a specific niche and positioning itself to grow from there. Kringstad started the company 10 years ago as a business geared toward fixing farm equipment. With American Crystal, the company turned smaller projects into a full-scale beet piler manufacturing gig.

Kringstad said his company will be working with four beet companies this summer and is courting a fifth.

The company is making similar strides in working with LM Glasfiber, the Danish wind turbine blade manufacturer with a production facility in Grand Forks.

The relationship started because a KII project manager knew some people working for LM in Grand Forks, he said. Last summer, KII built a set of 42-meter web molds for LM's Grand Forks plant and did alterations on two more sets of web molds, equipment that puts together the inside reinforcement for the blades.

More recently, KII has manufactured two sets of glass carts, which roll fiberglass into the blade molds, for LM. One set was sent to Grand Forks, and the other is at LM's Gaspe, Quebec, facility.

In Denmark, LM currently is working on a new prototype for the company's glass carts, and KII is within a couple of weeks of signing a deal that would allow it to manufacture the glass carts for plants in the United States, Canada, Spain and India.

"They want to do their engineering and design (in Denmark), and they want to do the manufacturing in other countries," Kringstad said.

Along with the new projects, Kringstad Ironworks is making strides with the patented Safe-T-Pull towing device, which has been sold in 14 states and two countries. With the help of Fargo-based Amity Technology, KII will start shipping the Safe-T-Pull to Russia this summer.

To further diversify, Kringstad would like to do more work with the federal government. In 2005, KII landed a $500,000 Department of Defense contract to build a prototype of a launching system for drone rockets.

The company worked closely with UND students and professor Ralph Johnson on the project. Kringstad would like to work with Johnson and UND's Center for Innovation this summer to explore more partnerships with the government.

Dalrymple said KII exemplifies the type of business that is crucial to North Dakota's future. "This is the kind of enterprise that really is the essence of what we're trying to do at the state level to encourage development," he said.

Rooting for Success is a new program recognizing companies that seek expertise beyond their organization to grow as a business and strengthen North Dakota's overall economy. It is sponsored by the state Department of Commerce and the Small Business Development Centers.

KII has received help from more than 16 partners in planning, capital infusion, negotiations, streamlining costs and closing deals. The entities include the Bank of North Dakota, the North Dakota Development Fund, Job Service North Dakota and the N.D. Small Business Development Center.