As CIT begins our 30th anniversary celebrations, we wanted to look back at our journey from a humble two person tool shop in Dayton, OH  to now being a supplier for global brands such as Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Rolls Royce and Volvo.

Our extraordinary growth and success is in no small part due to the incredible vision, innovation and commitment of our team.

When faced with customer problems they’ve used innovation even if it meant breaking rules or straying from common industry practices.

Company Values

That’s why our company philosophy is: Stay Customer Focused. Everyday.

It’s this simple phrase that drives us to put the customer first and solve problems with innovation. It’s also due to this philosophy that quality is a focus too.

Company culture is centered around this phrase: “Quality is our contract with you ensuring customer satisfaction.”

Today, CIT is one of the leading employers in Richmond, Indiana including 4 executive positions and 8 management positions.

As part of the accomplishments of the company, CIT has implemented a quality program which has reached compelling results.

“I started with CIT 9 years ago and could not believe the true team approach that existed,” Mike Owens, VP of Sales & Marketing, said. “Kim Wuertemberger and Mike Catey, the two principles of the company, truly have an open door policy and are willing to entertain any new idea or suggestion. The ‘can due’ spirit of CIT is direct reflection of culture that has been fostered here by the owners.”

As part of the evolution from tool shop to global brand supplier, it is worth noting the values of design and thought. CIT puts engineering to work to solve complex problems.

Whether it’s developing a custom built robot to a laser cutting system to other complex material handling systems, CIT has always focused on the customer needs. The company plans to grow by 20 percent over the next 18 months with plans to expand as well.

Our President Kim Wuertemberger is dedicated to being hands on and involved in all of the little details of the company.

“I’m basically a shop floor kind of guy. You’re most likely to find me working with our team on process improvement or reverse engineering,” Wuertemberger said. “I’m obsessed with the details of how things work with safety and efficiency, and of course, we have to think about profitability- not just our own, but our clients’ profitability. It’s this type of design and process thinking that has been at the heart of our success.”

Our Story

CIT began as a small, two-person operation that specialized in light contract manufacturing in Dayton, Ohio in 1987.

A few years later, the company relocated to the “L” Street facility in Kim’s hometown of Richmond, Indiana where they began expanding their service offerings to include the manufacturing of containers for the Automotive industry and custom shipping racks.

Due to its continued impressive growth, the company is now in an 118,000 square foot facility. CIT’s services now also include the manufacturing of medical tables, lift gates and CAB enclosures.

The CIT story is one that truly embodies the American ideals of constant creation, small business, free enterprise and inventiveness.

Here’s to 30 years of innovation at CIT.

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating our accomplishments from the past 30 years as we acknowledge our prior achievements and look to the future to provide more products of the highest quality and continue to revolutionize the industry.

An interview with CEO Kim Wuertemberger recently appeared in Construction In Focus Magazine. Wuertemberger discusses the history of CIT, the products CIT offers and the company today. You can read the interview below.

The following was originally printed in Construction In Focus Magazine. 

CIT lets you see the future NOW!

Kim Wuertemberger started CIT 30 years ago in 1987 with a burning desire to give his very best. Whether it has been adding new technologically, advanced machinery, hiring the most talented people possible, identifying and delivering what customers are looking for, Kim and CIT have unwaveringly pursued a vision of even greater customer satisfaction.

Q: Tell us a little about the company, a brief history of CIT and an overview of your business today.

A: I started the business in 1987 in Dayton Ohio as a small tool shop, a “garage” operation with two people. A few years later I moved the business to my home city of Richmond, Indiana to cut down on my drive time and increase my actual work time. In 1997, I decided I needed some additional help so I brought on a partner as Vice President with a vision for expansion into the returnable shipping rack business for automotive. This move started our advancement into other areas and today we are a full blown Contract Manufacturer of many products.

Q: Tell us about the company’s products.

A: We still have our own in-house tool shop but we utilize all of its capacity for our own needs. We design and manufacturer customer Cab solutions for OEM equipment manufacturers. This includes Cabs for the Industrial, Construction and Material Handling industries. Our first large production product was returnable steel shipping racks and containers for the automotive industry. CIT has become known for our ability to be very successful at producing the most complicated of shipping racks. The newest product that we produce are hydraulic lift gate components for the second largest lift gate manufacturer in the world. CIT also produces medical therapy tables for the physical therapy market and ship them all over the world. Lastly we do tooling (engine shipping containers) for the Aerospace industry, so you can see that we have become extremely diversified over the years. We are constantly looking to expand our opportunities with our current customers as well as expanding into new markets.

Q: How can our readers find out more about your company?

A: Call us, we love to talk to folks about their needs and how we can help them. You can also visit our website, www.c-i-t.com or even better stop by our booth at ConExpo, C22621 and meet us face to face. Please come by, we can show you the future!