It began with the dream of an eight-year-old boy. Ever since reading the biography of Henry Ford, Bill Wright, CEO of Wright Manufacturing, dreamed of following in the manufacturing genius’ footsteps.

In 1981, Bill established the lawn maintenance company, “Lawn-Wright.” Yet the successful company was plagued by a nagging problem: the grass catchers kept falling apart. So Bill designed an all-steel catcher that would stand the test of time. In response to the catcher’s great popularity, Wright’s company soon began mass-producing them. It marked the birth of the industry’s best-selling grass catcher, the Grass Gobbler.

As the manufacturing aspect of the company grew, so did the maintenance side. The homegrown business had outgrown its simple routing system, and Mr. Wright worked to develop a new computerized routing program that could handle the increased volume. Over time, the project developed into the Computerized Lawn Industry Program (CLIP) and became the third leg of the flourishing business.

In 1988, Jim Velke, one of the lawn maintenance mechanics, began working on a device that would enable the operator of a walk-behind mower to ride instead of walk. As a result, the first single-wheel stand-on sulky, the Velke,was introduced.

Although the company continued to prosper in each of its three divisions (software, maintenance, and manufacturing), Bill Wright decided that manufacturing should be the focus of his time and energy. As a result, he sold the software and lawn maintenance divisions of the company to concentrate solely on manufacturing lawn equipment in 1993.

Shortly thereafter, the current structure of Wright Manufacturing began to take shape. Jim Velke and Bill Wright began developing a new type of riding lawnmower that would allow the operator to stand up while mowing. In 1997, the first Wright Stander rolled off the assembly line. It has since set a precedent for a revolutionary new type of lawn mowing.

From an eight-year-old boy’s dream to an innovative leader in lawn maintenance technology, Wright Manufacturing, Inc. has come to represent quality and efficiency worldwide.

Wright Stander - Model SM -Small Commercial Stand-On Mower