About
A veteran-led industrial marking shop, built for federal asset traceability.
Front Range Marking is a Longmont, Colorado shop producing MIL-STD-130N Class 1 IUID labels, high-durability asset tags, and tamper-evident seals for U.S. federal agencies and primes.
Principal & Founder
Joshua Hickman
Joshua Hickman served in the United States Marine Corps from 2010 to 2014 at Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico, MOS 5954 — Air Traffic Control Communications Technician. The job: keep the radios and voice comms that air traffic control runs on operational, on spec, and traceable down to the serial number. Two meritorious promotions; exited as Corporal.
Industry experience
After the Corps, a decade of field work across fracking, medical diagnostics, manufacturing automation, robotics, and food production — places where a label has to survive solvents, heat, vibration, washdown, or all four, and where a serial number that won't read is the start of a longer problem. That's the substrate, ribbon, and verification logic Front Range Marking applies to every order.
Operating standard
Verification on every label. Each label is read back with a 2D-capable scanner and visually inspected for contrast, registration, and edge integrity before release. Production runs are recorded with quantity, substrate lot, ribbon lot, and operator timestamp; records ship with the order when the contract requires it.
MIL-STD-130N discipline. Output complies with MIL-STD-130N for IUID marking and aligns with VA and NIST asset-tracking guidance. Symbology is 2D Data Matrix ECC 200; ISO/IEC 15415 grade-B verification with documented per-label results is available as a contracted scope item.
Mission First. The operating standard inherited from the Marine Corps applies directly: get the technical details right the first time, document the work, and own the outcome. Quote, production, and shipment are handled by the same operator, so contracting officers communicate directly with the person running the press.
Company facts
- Founded
- 2026 · Longmont, Colorado
- Principal
- Joshua Hickman · USMC Veteran
- NAICS (Primary)
- 323111 · Commercial Printing (Other)
- Standards
- DoD MIL-STD-130N · VA asset labeling · NIST asset-tracking
Federal identifiers (UEI, CAGE, SAM, SDVOSB status) appear on the Contracting page.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Front Range Marking?
Joshua Hickman, a United States Marine Corps Veteran. He served 2010–2014 at Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico as MOS 5954, Air Traffic Control Communications Technician, earned two meritorious promotions, and exited as Corporal. He is the sole principal of the shop.
When was Front Range Marking founded and where is it located?
Founded in 2026, operating from Longmont, Colorado, and shipping nationwide to U.S. federal customers.
Is Front Range Marking veteran-owned?
Yes — led and 100% owned by Joshua Hickman, a United States Marine Corps Veteran, which makes it a Veteran-Owned Small Business. SDVOSB certification is pending with the SBA’s VetCert program and is not yet issued.
What is Front Range Marking’s operating standard?
Verification on every label: each is read back with a 2D-capable scanner and visually inspected for contrast, registration, and edge integrity before release. Production runs are logged with quantity, substrate lot, ribbon lot, and operator timestamp, and those records ship with the order when the contract requires it. Quote, production, and shipment are handled by the same operator.
How does the founder’s background apply to label manufacturing?
A decade across fracking, medical diagnostics, manufacturing automation, robotics, and food production — environments where a label must survive solvents, heat, vibration, or washdown, and where an unreadable serial number starts a larger problem. That experience drives the substrate, ribbon, and verification choices applied to every order.
Contact
Request a Quote or Capability Statement
Joshua Hickman, Principal · Longmont, Colorado · Quote in one business day
Prefer email? joshua@frontrangemarking.com