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IFW, Inc. (formerly Innovative FabWorks) was formed in 1999 by Keith Carpenter, Steve Robinson, and Dan Marshall. All being pickup owners, we discovered that a great need existed to provide an easy, simple, and safe way to retrieve our cargo without having to crawl in after it. What literally started as a backyard operation and quickly grew intoto a thriving business. We moved into our current 25,000 square foot Southern Oregon production facilities in 2001. We continue to grow at an annual rate increase of 40%! At our first trade show, the Truck Cap and Accessory Association (TCAA), our designers, Keith Carpenter and Steve Robinson, won the coveted Ron Webster Memorial Award for the best and most innovative product in the light truck accessory market.
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Keith Carpenter, President and Founder and principle of IFW, Inc.
David McInturf, VP Sales & Marketing of IFW, Inc.
As pickup owners, co-founder Keith Carpenter and former partner, Steve Robinson were frustrated at how difficult it was to retrieve cargo from the back of their trucks. It just seemed like every time they stopped, all the cargo would end up near the pickup cab making it impossible to reach without crawling on their hands and knees. So, being innovative guys (and slightly lazy), Keith solicited the help of his good friend, Steve Robinson, to help him build a 'truck bed extension slide' for his own truck. Of course, Steve wanted one too and before they knew it, most of their evenings and weekends were filled with building slides for friends and family.
While over lunch with longtime friend, Dan Marshall, Keith suggested this could possibly be a good little business. With over 20 years in the financial planning profession for Keith, 18 years in the insurance industry for Dan, and 25 years of fabrication management for Steve, the 3 set out to turn this "backyard" hobby into a 'real' business.
The introduction of the BedSlide was at the TCAA show in Long Beach, California, February 2000. It was at this trade show that founders Keith Carpenter and Steve Robinson were awarded the highly esteemed Ron Webster Memorial Award for..."achievement and innovative engineering in the Light Truck Accessory Market."
7 years later, Steve is retired (as of January 2006), leaving Keith and Dan manufacturing and marketing BedSlides from Central Point, Oregon and servicing over 1500 BedSlide Dealers across the United States and Canada. Along with their 14 independent sales team and 7 warehouse distributors, IFW, Inc has enjoyed a steady consistent growth pattern every year making it the leading cargo slide manufacturer in the industry.
But that's the past...our goal is in the future. We are committed to continual product improvement and availability at a fair price. With over 2,000,000 new pickups being sold in the US each year, we are excited about this massive untouched opportunity. In short, we build a product that makes almost 50% of all new vehicles SUPER convenient to use. We love our company story, but it's meaningless to you if we can’t provide a quality product that makes your life just a little bit better. We aren't changing the world here at IFW, Inc...just your truck! Thanks for reading!
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