Dry ice supplier expanding in Indy

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — A welding supplies and gases company in Indianapolis is growing its footprint. Sutton-Garten Co. says it has invested more than $2 million to expand its dry ice production with a new plant on the city’s near east side and add a small number of jobs.

The new location, located near I-70 and Keystone Avenue, is a 15,000-square-foot plant that can produce up to 100 tons of dry ice pellets per day.

The company says it uses recycled carbon dioxide generated from Indiana ethanol plants to make the dry ice. The pellets can be used to make dry ice blocks for shipping and e-commerce customers throughout the Midwest, as well as for dry ice blasting.

“Sutton-Garten has been a welding and gas supply business for over 100 years,” President Pat Garten said in a statement to Inside INdiana Business. “Using our experience with Carbon dioxide has allowed us to enter a rapidly growing dry ice market and given us exciting new opportunities for growth”.

Sutton-Garten also has a location in Fort Wayne that produces about 25% of the company’s dry ice to serve the northeast Indiana, Ohio and Michigan markets.

Garten says the company currently employs 58 people between its two locations, including 10 as part of the expansion, and has plans to add more staff, though a specific number was not provided.