History & Timeline

1979

InPro Corporation (IPC) was formed in 1979 under the name of Institutional Products Corporation. At that time, the company was a distributor of high impact door and wall protection products, mainly to the health care industry.

1986

In August of 1986, IPC began to manufacture a limited line of high impact door and wall protection products under the Institutional Products Corporation name. By 1990, IPC was no longer operating as a distributor; rather the corporation was selling its own line of products.

1993

On June 18, 1993, Stephen J. Ziegler purchased Institutional Products. Due to changes in the corporate focus, the name of the company was changed in September 1995 to InPro Corporation, while maintaining its IPC product line trademark and logo. InPro Corporation was now considered by many as the worldwide leader in its industry, being the only company in the industry to manufacture, all in-house, the rigid and flexible plastic products it sells.

1997 and 1998

These were milestone years for InPro, forming a corporate platform from which InPro would successfully launch its many advancements. Events such as the introduction of the industry’s first Total Wall Concept philosophy with its Antera Vinyl Wallcovering program, allowing for door and wall protection and decoration in one program; being awarded a patent for its co-laminate accent strip products; completion of an international licensing and distribution agreement; integration of its newly accredited Design Institute Division as a free educational forum to the industry; winning the Design Journal’s ADEX Award for Design Excellence for its new 2000 Handrail System; and being awarded the Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year award.

2000

InPro Corporation expands its product offering by acquiring and purchasing assets of two new product lines. The company acquired Clickeze, a leading cubicle tracking and curtain product line originally from Pennsylvania. InPro also purchased JointMaster Architectural Joint Systems and relocated the operations from California. JointMaster provides expansion joints and fire barriers used in all types of building projects in the United States and worldwide. As a result, these companies formed three product divisions under the InPro Corporation corporate umbrella:

2001

InPro’s quality systems and superior customer service earned ISO 9001 certification in 2001. In addition, the state of Wisconsin awarded InPro Corporation the Governor’s Export Achievement Award for Wisconsin medium sized companies.

2002

InPro’s 2002 achievements helped it form yet another new business platform. These events included the complete restructuring of InPro’s 118 member sales department, the introduction of the industry’s first comprehensive recycling program; being recognized with a prestigious marketing industry award, the Bell Award; development of EnviroGT an extensive line of environmentally friendly and sustainable handrail, wall guard and corner guard systems; the internal development of a completely new division, InPro Signscape Signage and Wayfinding, which compliments two of InPro’s other three divisions; and revised divisional logos. As a result, InPro’s new divisional identity was born:

2003

BuildingGreen, Inc., the nation’s leading resource in the field of environmentally responsible design and construction named InPro Corporation’s EnviroGT line as one of the Top 10 new green building products. According to BuildingGreen, the EnviroGT line of handrails, wall guards and corner guards was singled out for recognition for its use of 100 percent recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood.

2004

InPro’s sustained customer and employee growth necessitated expansion of InPro Corporation’s world headquarters in Muskego, Wisconsin. In 2004 the company broke ground on a new 102,000-square-foot addition, which will add 24,000 square feet of office and 78,000 square feet of manufacturing and distribution space. The year also saw substantial expansion and enhancements to product offerings, including additions to the award winning EnviroGT line and new metal wall protection products in the IPC Door and Wall Protection Division, expanded fabric offerings in Clickeze, and extensive product design enhancements in JointMaster and SignScape.

2005

The company finished construction of its new distribution center and moved all warehouse materials and staff in November of the year. But expanding the physical plant is only part of InPro’s amazing growth. The company also undertook a substantial expansion of both its direct-sales force and sales support team, which increased the entire sales organization by some 25%. Two capstones for 2005 were reaching a new record in revenues and receiving another ADEX Platinum award for our new Silhouette™ handrail.

2006

In 2006 InPro purchased Lippert Corporation, adding decorative surfaces and finishes into our product offering with LIPPERT(R) Cultured Marble, PRISM(R) Solid Surface, and SUNCAST Cultured Marble(TM). Our 2005 Best Places to Work was affirmed by a 2006 Great Places to Work award by the Business Journal, and our award winning in-house Marketing and Design Services Department won three more Awards of Excellence from the Business Marketing Association, bringing the total of their awards to seven.

2007

This was another year to honor the employees at InPro with The Society for Human Resources Management and the Great Places to Work Institute recognizing InPro as the 21st Best Medium-size Company to Work for in America. We also opened InPro University, an educationally based daycare center for employees’ children. On the business, side InPro integrated the recently acquired Lippert solid surface and cultured marble business into the IPC Interior Protection Products and Decorative Surfaces division, and the SignScape Signage and Wayfinding division under the new name InPro Decorative Surfaces. The surfaces integration added 118 new colors and patterns. Other highlights of 2007 saw our SignScape division move from a 4,000 sq. ft. facility to a new 10,000 sq. ft. facility; the construction and opening of the InPro Gallery, showcasing our products in seven room vignettes; taking the color palette of our high-impact products from 60 to 100 colors shipped in 10 days or less; and a 21 percent growth in revenue over the prior year. 2007 also saw Phil Ziegler take over as President of the company, assuming responsibility for the tactical side of the business, while Steve Ziegler concentrates on the strategic side as Chief Executive Officer.