Rob Giles of IQ Designs

For Rob Giles, there’s no better place to come home from traveling the world than Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.). After receiving a bachelor's degree in computer science at Lake Superior State University and a master’s degree at Central Michigan University, Rob moved back home to the U.P. to start his own business, IQ Designs.

Based in Manistique, IQ Designs has grown since 2006 to become a worldwide supplier of production equipment for diagnostic culture and related products, from petri dish filling machines, test tube filling machines and dip slide filling machines to packaging.

Today, IQ Designs has customers on six of seven continents. It has expanded its global reach with the help of International Trade services from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), including the Michigan’s State Trade Expansion Program (MI-STEP). To date, IQ Designs has received $121,794 in STEP grants, generating an ROI of $89.90 per $1 received. The company has also participated in a Michigan booth at Arab Health and attended a variety of medical trade shows around the globe, including Medica in Dusseldorf Germany in November 2025, thanks to the MEDC.

A strong manufacturing culture, unmatched work ethic and access to remote natural wonder make the U.P. the perfect match for Rob to build a business and a life.

What led you to becoming the CEO of IQ Designs?

After college, I had an opportunity to come back to the U.P. to build and grow an engineering business with family. I liked the idea of living in a rural area and traveling the world for work. As the story goes, we started out in a garage. And as business grew, I slowly fell into the role of CEO as we had more responsibilities over time. Someone had to do it, and I kept filling the gaps.

What does IQ Designs manufacture and what industries do you support?

We build machinery that primarily supports the medical and diagnostics industries. Our most common products fill petri dishes and test tubes. These machines are bought by customers all over the world who then supply hospitals and laboratories with consumable products made on our machines. We have worked in over 30 countries. Our machines are designed, built, tested and shipped from our facility in Manistique. Once a machine ships to our customer, a technician will follow it to perform the installation and training with the end users. We also provide technical support after machines are installed, which can sometimes be a challenge due to language barriers with some customers.

How has the MEDC and its International Trade team helped support IQ Designs’ growth?

The MEDC has helped us with grant money to attend international trade shows, specifically in Europe. We attend a trade show in Germany every November and get to see a lot of potential new customers from all over the world as well as getting face time with some of our existing clients. Our machines are on every continent except Antarctica. The International Trade team has helped us answer questions about exporting and gave us some options for helping customers finance their machines.

Why has it been important to grow a company in Michigan and the U.P. specifically?

The U.P. is a great place to live. While big cities are nice to visit, they’re not for everyone. We show that a successful company with worldwide reach can be built outside of urban areas. The remoteness does make some things harder to do, like finding good travel options when traveling around the globe. It often means a slightly longer shipping time. Once you have a handle on the challenges you can enjoy the benefits: clean air, less traffic and the great outdoors.

We have a lot of natural wonders to visit and places to just relax. It seems like it’s often overlooked, and yet every year I see visitors from all over the world wandering through our small town. Besides work, my time is filled with raising a family and simply enjoying life. I love learning new things, traveling, a hot sauna and relaxing with friends – all the little things.