Lifetime Products Inc. is the world's leading manufacturer of blow-molded polyethylene folding chairs and tables, picnic tables, and home basketball equipment. Lifetime also manufactures other consumer products, including sheds, kayaks and paddleboards, and lawn and garden items, along with OEM steel and plastic items from other companies.
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Overview
Lifetime Products uses polyethylene blow molding and metal forming technology to create a variety of consumer and industrial products. Lifetime has the largest single-point blow molded plastics facility in North America, occupying 2,200,000 square feet (200,000 m2), and employs over 2200 people worldwide. Lifetime Products produces the only folding chair to comply with the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association (BIFMA), which defines durability standards testing of commercial-grade chairs. Lifetime also complies with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and their basketball systems are evaluated by the American Society for Testing and Materials. Lifetime is headquartered in the Freeport Center in Clearfield, Utah, United States. Vertically integrated manufacturing facilities reside in Clearfield, Xiamen, China, and Mascot, Tennessee. US distribution facilities are located in North Kansas City, Missouri, and Columbus, Ohio. International distribution facilities are in Monterrey, Mexico and Lille, France.
Lifetime products are available in more than 80 countries. In the United States, Lifetime basketball systems are in sporting goods stores such as Dick's Sporting Goods, Academy Sports and Outdoors, MC Sports, and Modell's, as well as retailers such as Wal-Mart, warehouse clubs such as Sam's Club, Costco, BJ's, and in regional stores. Lifetime tables and chairs and lawn and garden products are available in-store at Sam's Club, Costco, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe's. Most Lifetime products can also be found in the Lifetime Store online.
History
In 1972, Lifetime Product's founder, Barry Mower, set out to make a sturdier basketball pole for his backyard. He purchased a small length of heavy-duty used pipe, a piece of plywood, and a basketball rim, and built his own basketball standard. Seeing the potential in what he had constructed, he placed an ad in the local classifieds and made his first sale.
His backyard business eventually became a modest sporting goods store, and in March 1986, became Lifetime Products, a name inspired by the goal of building durable and lasting products. Shortly after, the research and design staff created and patented the "Quick Adjust" basketball system, the first easy to adjust residential basketball system that used a broom stick handle to raise and lower the rim from 7.5 to 10 feet. The concept of adjustable basketball systems transformed the market, making non-adjustable systems obsolete in mass-merchant chains.
Lifetime Products was the first company to provide a complete basketball system in one package, allowing retailers to conveniently stock, display and sell basketball equipment. The complete package concept now dominates the market. After expanding quickly in the first year, Lifetime began to focus on producing more durable basketball rims, and consequently developed a hoop that withstood twice the load of the nearest competitor's rim.
In the first three years, the company grew to 167 employees and occupied 120,000 square feet (11,000 m2) of manufacturing, office, and warehouse space. New equipment, including an electrostatic powder coating operation and a robotic rim welding system, was installed to keep up with demand. A metal fabrication department was also formed to constantly update and improve presses and dies.
Utilizing its expertise in plastics and metals, Lifetime then invented the first blow-molded folding picnic table in 1995, the first blow-molded folding banquet table in 1998, and a steel reinforced blow molded outdoor storage building in 2005. They continue to develop portable basketball systems, height adjustments, tables, chairs, outdoor storage sheds, and lawn and garden equipment, such as wheelbarrows, carts, and revolving compost bins.
In May 2010, Lifetime acquired the assets of Dragonfly Innovation Corp., a producer of blow-molded kayaks, and kayak production was moved to Lifetime's facilities in Utah. Lifetime kayaks are popular among beginners and casual users, and are designed to prevent flipping. In November 2011, Lifetime acquired Pennsylvania-based Emotion Kayaks, making Lifetime one of the largest kayak manufacturers in the world.
Lifetime Products is still led by its original founder.
Products Manufactured
Tables and chairs
- Folding Chair
- Stacking Chair
- Folding tables
- Round tables
- Personal tables
- Picnic tables
- Camp and sport tables
Basketball Systems
- Portable Residential Basketball Systems
- In-ground Residential Basketball Systems
- Bolt-down Residential Basketball Systems
- Adjustable-Height Basketball Systems (portable, in-ground, and bolt-down)
- Rim and Backboard Stationary Combinations
Sheds
- Storage buildings
- Storage sheds
- Garden sheds
- Extension kits and accessories
Lawn and Garden
- Yard cart
- Wheelbarrow
- Compost tumbler
- Glider bench
- Deck box
Playground equipment
- Outdoor playsets
- Teeter-totters
- Dome climbers
- Swing sets
- Tetherball set
Kayaks
- Sit-on-top Kayaks
- Sit-Inside Kayaks
- Youth Kayaks
- Paddleboards
Lifetime Metals
Lifetime Metals produces processed steel items for both Lifetime Products, and for other manufacturers in the region. Services provided include coil slitting and leveling, shearing, stamping with Minster machine presses, tube mill operations, roll forming, and other processes.
Lifetime Store
Lifetime owns and operates the retail chain Lifetime Store, formerly called Backyards Inc., which is a factory outlet for Lifetime Products carrying both new and seconds, or blemished products. There are five store locations in Utah.
Patents and innovations
- 1986 - Introduced and patented the first adjustable basketball pole on the market
- 1992 - Introduced its line of portable basketball systems
- 1992 - Invented and patented the friction weld joint for basketball poles
- 1993 - Invented a blow-molded base that is airtight and watertight
- 1995 - Invented blow-molded polyethylene tabletops
- 1995 - Invented a fully assembled, folding picnic table
- 1996 - Invented the Power Lift, the first one-hand, pneumatic height adjustment mechanism
- 1998 - Introduced blow-molded polyethylene folding banquet tables
- 2000 - Introduced the only folding chair to meet or exceed BIFMA standards
- 2001 - Introduced Mammoth Basketball Equipment, a line of professional-quality home basketball systems
- 2004 - Introduced the Shatter Proof Backboard, the first virtually unbreakable backboard made with Makrolon polycarbonate
- 2005 - Introduced its multi-branded line of outdoor storage sheds
- 2006 - Introduced an innovative new line of steel utility trailers
- 2007 - Introduced its line of residential playground equipment
- 2008 - Introduced a line of residential garden products
- 2010 - Invented a low cost tent trailer that carries an all-terrain vehicle
- 2010 - Acquired Dragonfly Innovations, expanding its offerings to include kayaks
- 2011 - Acquired Emotion Kayaks, making Lifetime one of the largest kayak manufacturers in the world
- 2015 - Acquired LightHeaded Beds, LLC.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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