headquarters clearfield utah united states key people richard hendrickson president & ceo products folding chairs folding tables basketball systems sheds kayaks and paddleboards lawn and garden items fabricated steel products blow molded plastic items number of employees 2 200 worldwide 1 website www.lifetime.com coordinates 41 5 46 n 112 1 38 w 41.09611 n 112.02722 w 41.09611 ; 112.02722 lifetime products inc. is the world s leading manufacturer of blow molded polyethylene folding chairs and tables picnic tables and home basketball equipment . 2 lifetime also manufactures other consumer products including sheds kayaks and paddleboards and lawn and garden items along with oem steel and plastic items for other companies . contents 1 overview 2 history 3 products manufactured 3.1 tables and chairs 3.2 basketball systems 3.3 sheds 3.4 lawn and garden 3.5 playground equipment 3.6 kayaks 4 lifetime metals 5 lifetime store 6 patents and innovations 7 references 8 external links overview edit lifetime elite basketball system 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 . 3 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 . 4 lifetime also complies with the american national standards institute ansi 5 and their basketball systems are evaluated by the american society for testing and materials . 6 lifetime is headquartered in the freeport center in clearfield utah united states . vertically integrated manufacturing facilities reside in clearfield and xiamen china . us distribution facilities are located in north kansas city missouri and columbus ohio . international distribution facilities are in monterrey mexico and lille france . 2 lifetime products are available in more than 80 countries . in the united states lifetime basketball systems are in sporting goods stores such as sports authority dick s sporting goods academy sports and outdoors mc sports and modell s as well as retailers such as wal mart and in 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 all lifetime products can also be found in the lifetime store online . 7 history edit 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 citation needed allowing retailers to conveniently stock display and sell basketball equipment . the complete package concept now dominates the market . 2 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 citation needed . 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 were 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 lawn and garden equipment such a 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 . 8 in november 2011 lifetime acquired pennsylvania based emotion kayaks making lifetime one of the largest kayak manufacturers in the world . 9 lifetime products is still led by its original founder . products manufactured edit lifetime folding chairs lifetime picnic table lifetime folding table lifetime storage shed mammoth basketball standard airplane teeter totter deck box tables and chairs edit folding chair stacking chair folding tables round tables personal tables picnic tables camp and sport tables basketball systems edit 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 edit storage buildings storage sheds garden sheds extension kits and accessories lawn and garden edit yard cart wheelbarrow compost tumbler glider bench deck box playground equipment edit outdoor playsets teeter totters dome climbers swing sets tetherball set kayaks edit sit on top kayaks sit inside kayaks youth kayaks paddleboards lifetime metals edit lifetime metals produces processed steel items for both lifetime products and for other manufacturers in the region . 10 services provided include coil slitting and leveling shearing stamping with minster machine presses tube mill operations roll forming and other processes . 11 lifetime store edit 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 . 12 the lifetime store the lifetime store the lifetime store patents and innovations edit 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 . references edit lesley mitchell october 13 2011 . utah offers incentives to lure hundreds of new jobs . the salt lake tribune . retrieved october 17 2011 . a b c clearfield company opens china plant the standard examiner 22 jan 2010 ecohousing utah company makes temporary homes for disaster survivors . the deseret news 8 feb 2010 bifma business and institutional furniture manufacturer s association american national standards institute astm international http www.buylifetime.com plastics news 4 may 2010 lifetime products acquires emotion kayaks . the sacramento bee . 17 november 2011 . retrieved 17 november 2011 . tough economy has utah manufacturers going lean . the deseret news 12 nov 2009 lifetime metals davis retailer changes name . davis county clipper . december 4 2010 . external links edit official website lifetime.com official store store.lifetime.com official website emotionkayaks.com official website lightheadedbeds.com social media accounts facebook facebook.com lifetimeproducts twitter twitter.com lifetime instagram instagram.com lifetimeproducts youtube youtube.com user lifetimeproducts retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title lifetime products & oldid 743714980 categories manufacturing companies established in 1986companies based in clearfield utahmanufacturing companies based in utahprivately held companies based in utah1986 establishments in utahhidden categories coordinates not on wikidataall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from february 2008 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom 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