“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”
– Henry Ford.
As we celebrate 35 incredible years of Valley Design, there’s no truer quote to reflect on. Over the past three decades, we’ve worked as a team to produce, pivot, and succeed together, building and expanding Valley Design to what we know it as today.
Valley Design original building in 1986
Way Back to the Beginning
In 1986, Butch Isensee & Tim Bremseth opened the doors of Valley Design to provide clients with high-quality, contracted powder coating services – with trailer frames being one of the first products. It wasn’t until several years later, through the relationships with our customers and contacts in the furniture industry, that we found our success in the office furniture component we manufacture today. Like most things in life, we’ve certainly evolved over time. Here’s a glimpse of our journey and how we ended up to where we are today… 35 years later.
1986 – We purchased the body shop in Fountain, MN and started offering our powder coating services.
1989 – We added a large addition to the body shop, expanding our powder coating production abilities.
1991 – We added metal fabrication to our services and started on more building expansions.
1993 – We made some big leaps by coming out with our first table base price list, including the 100 series, the Tubular series, and the Flip Top.
1996 – We became an official BIFMA member along with coming out with the Genu-Fold Gen 1 & Gen 2.
1998 – We rolled out the Genu-Fold Gen 3, Pedestal Disk Base, and the Numa-Lift.
2000 – We expanded to 100,000 sq ft. and came out with the first version of the Mobile Computer Workstation and the Wire Management Door.
2001 – Came out with the Vari-Height Electric.
2002 – We became ISO certified and introduced the Hand Crank Adjustable unit.
2005 – Included the first Nester Series and the Table Cart.
2008 – The first version of the Aluminum Series was added to our product offerings.
2009 – The Double Column Nester became available to our customers.
2011 – Many new additions included the Wire Management Cover, Short Fold, Genu-Flip Mech, and the Versa Disk Series.
2012 – Launched the ErgoSquared adjustable series of table bases.
2013 – The Trumpet Series was introduced. Tim Bremseth retired, and Butch Isensee became sole owner.
2015 – We switched from a network of dealers throughout the U.S. to inside sales in order to better provide for our clients’ needs.
2017 – Butch’s son, Luke Isensee, joined the business full-time.
2020 – We produced over 2,100 SKUs amidst a global pandemic.
2021 – The month of August marks our 35th year in business.
Over the past three decades, we’ve experienced significant growth within the products we offer, our team, and our facilities. What was once a 2,000 square foot old auto body has expanded over 100,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space. But through the years of growth, our business also faced setbacks. In 2009, we were no exception to the recession and had to scale down the business quite a bit. And of course 2020 was a year like none other, with the global pandemic wreaking havoc on many businesses around the world. It is because of our incredible team of dedicated employees and the valued relationships we have with our clients that we were able to overcome the challenges faced throughout the years.
Over the next 35 years, we look forward to continuing to meet and exceed our clients’ visions and needs with quality table base varieties and options. We are excited for what new advancements are to come for the manufacturing industry as a whole, and will continue to keep up with these rapidly changing needs and trends to best suit our clients. It is because of our clients that we have been able to overcome any obstacle that stood in our way over the past 35 years, allowing us to become who we are today.
“Thank you for being a part of our journey and we look forward to being a partner at your table for years to come.” -Luke Isensee