In 1987 Janet and Jerry Mayer were successful business operatives gainfully employed by Rockwell International at the Seal Beach California location. He the Division Director of Operations for the Satellite and Space Electronics Division, she was managing business and engineering computer systems. They had great jobs, and were living in California, and yet they were not that happy. They were displaced Iowans and closet entrepreneurs. They returned to the Midwest in 1989 with Jerry’s appointment to the position of Vice President of Operations for Gateway 2000.
One obstacle to happiness removed, the entrepreneurial issue remained, and they began a diligent search for the perfect company to call their own. In May of 1993, it presented itself. Some time earlier a small vending cart company had fallen upon hard times with a destructive fire and the poor health of its owner. Regrettably it had been forced to close and seek a buyer for its assets. Within a week of discovering it, the Mayer’s owned that company. They formed Merchandising Frontiers, Inc. (MFI) and in 1994 a new 31,000 square foot facility was built in Winterset, in February of 1998 growth fueled an expansion to 62,000 square feet.
Locating close to Des Moines was more than a desire to remain Iowan. It was driven also by solid business sense as they positioned themselves at a transportation hub, and in the midst of a workforce of craftsman with midwestern work ethics.
MFI serves the food service and retail industry with custom designed and manufactured merchandising units. More than mere kiosks, they view their product line to be ‘mobile and aesthetically pleasing revenue generators’ that “Turn Space into Profit”™.
Employing state of the art design and manufacturing equipment with a focus on customer service from design to destination and beyond, each client project is assigned a project engineering team and a team leader, which oversee all aspects of fulfilling customer desires.
The final product is as unique as the customer request. Homey warm and wooden or shiny bright and neon, the consistent element is the craftsmanship. It is this quality of product and service that has sent MFI shipping crates to all points of the western hemisphere, Europe and Japan, to satisfy clients the likes of Sony Development Corporation and Universal Studios.
Thirteen years hence from the beginning of this story Janet and Jerry are in Iowa, they are DePudyt award winning entrepreneurs and…they are really happy.