Entrepreneurs are always on the lookout for a new idea or market need, and Gregory Wilson is no exception.
The president and chief executive officer of Mity-Lite Inc. in Orem was having lunch with a business associate in early 1987 when the other man complained about how hard it was to find a durable, fairly lightweight folding leg banquet table. The man was using particle board tables, but these had to be replaced constantly.Wilson, who had worked in a variety of corporate positions and for six years had successfully operated four different businesses that dealt with furniture manufacturing, promptly organized a design team to look into his associate's complaint.
The team spent hours coming up with a lightweight, durable product, and Wilson invested about a quarter of a million dollars to fund the development.
The result?
Mity-Lite was unveiled in September 1987.
A corporate offer to buy it fell through, so Wilson arranged other financing. It paid off. Since its inception, Mity-Lite has grown at a more than 30 percent compounded rate in an industry that has grown about 2 percent to 3 percent each year.
The firm's products now include 50 different sizes of tables, five types of chairs and many related products.
Mity-Lite now has several goals. One is to capture 10 percent of the market in the next four years. Wilson also wants Mity-Lite to develop or acquire new product lines, including multi-purpose room furniture such as folding chairs, staging, partitions, podiums, flooring bench seating and other related products.
Another goal is to market directly to end users, which will produce lower selling costs, greater market awareness and stronger customer loyalty. Yet another goal is to continue enhancing its manufacturing process to control costs and increase productivity.