Over the 32 years that Frank Moll has worked at Tropitone Furniture Co. Inc., he has witnessed the evolution of his company as its market and the society has changed.

The company once made five lines of patio furniture. It now offers more than 450 different lines and its workforce has gone from mostly white and English-speaking to a variety of colors and languages, said Moll, 53, of Sarasota, who is now a tooling supervisor.

And now, instead of accomplishing every chore by hand, computers help employees to design and manufacture high-end outdoor furniture.

“It grew from a family business to a professional organization,” said Larry Saylor, plant manager, during a tour recently at the 246,000-square-foot facility at 1401 Commerce Blvd.

The company, with 250 employees here and more than 300 in California, generates more than $100 million in annual revenues, said Saylor.

The company was co-founded in 1954 by Bert Baker Sr., an aeronautical engineer originally from Grand Rapids, Mich., who was attempting to retire here. But instead, he launched the Sarasota Redwood Funiture Co. in a former military barracks at SRQ. Baker was among the first to use aluminum to build patio furniture.

“He was definitely the pioneer in that,” said Michael Soncek, the company’s engineering manager.

Baker, and later his family members, ran the business for 53 years. Last year, the family sold the company, including two Florida plants and two California ones, to the private equity firm Pfingsten Partners LLC, headquartered in Chicago.

About half of its sales are to retailers. The other half are to contract buyers such as Walt Disney World Resort, Princess Cruises or the Marriott Corp. hotel chain, said Saylor.

A typical Tropitone table and chair group sells for $1,000 and up. The company also makes chaise lounges, double gliders, recliners, ottomans and umbrellas. It offers customers more than 300 possible fabrics and 400 different frames.

“You can get our products with a wide variety of fabrics and finishes,” said Soncek. “We’re a volume manufacturer but the key is, we give the customer many choices.”

Sara Kennedy, , Bradenton Herald business reporter, can be reached at (941) 748-0411, ext. 4500.

About Tropitone

Founded: 1954

Employees: About 250 in Florida, more than 300 elsewhere

Keys to success: Wide selection and high-quality products

Earnings: More than $100 million annual revenues.

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