Doug Mockett & Co. celebrates 30 years

In the fall of 1980, Doug Mockett literally started a furniture components business on his kitchen table.

What began with one wire access grommet in two colors has expanded into a diverse product line encompassing more than 3,500 components, according to Mockett.

Mockett reminisced about the company's beginnings in a news release. "At the time I was concentrating on other ventures, but my pregnant wife, who had a space-planning business, insisted the office furniture industry was ripe for grommets and wire management. Needless to say I thought she was crazy. Grommets? To keep her happy, we designed a grommet, I wrote a cover letter and enclosed a sample, and mailed to 400 furniture makers. To make a long story short, the phone started ringing and has not stopped three decades later.

"We began with the SG grommet going into a 1 3/4" hole, in two colors, black and walnut brown, a box of 1,000 each. Then people called asking for a larger size. So we made it. They asked for wire management. We designed a bunch. Then high-quality table legs. And so forth.

"What made the difference was that I didn't know anything about this industry so I was not influenced by the way it should be. We pioneered business-to-business direct marketing, flexible order requirements, huge inventory for same-day shipping, stable pricing printed in our catalogs, websites, online ordering 24/7 and the best customer service we could do, to the furniture making industry."

For information, visit www.mockett.com