When Scott Watterson wanders up the stairs to the research and development offices of ICON Health and Fitness in Logan, he goes around the room asking in a jovial manner, "How long have you worked here?"
The answers of industrial engineers, graphic designers and product and marketing managers vary: Seven years, 15 years, 25 years.
Watterson pops his head into a strategy meeting for some of the company's products, asking the same question - again, same kind of answers. Except one employee who says he's worked there for only two months.
The room erupts in laughter.
Watterson pats the man on the back and grips his shoulder, looking him in the eyes.
"What do you think of these guys?" he said, jokingly. "Do they know anything? Straighten them out, will you?"
Their answers, the co-founder and CEO believes, shows the signs of a company that has been a "leader and product innovator" in bringing equipment to exercise junkies and fitness wannabes for almost 35 years.
Now ancient knowledge in the valley, Watterson and Gary Stevenson founded Weslo, Inc., in 1977 to finance their education. Both were young business majors at Utah State University at the time. The company made its name on importing kitchenware from the Far East.
In the 1980s, after marketing trampolines, Weslo would rocket to the top of the fitness world with several iconic brand names, including NordicTrack, EPIC and FreeMotion Fitness. Later, Watterson and Stevenson would license Gold's Gym and fitness personality Jillian Michaels' brand.
Today, ICON employs 2,500 people at locations in the United States, Canada, Europe and China, according to ICON spokeswoman Colleen Logan. Some 2,300 people work at the Logan location at 1500 South and 1000 West.
So what are they up to now?
The newest technology to come out of ICON is "iFit Live powered by Google Maps." The technology uses the Internet to simulate the terrain and distance of just about any place in the world. Now, even die-hard runners who can't make it in to the Boston or San Francisco marathons can do so with the few clicks of a mouse and the touch of a button, said Jace Jergensen, ICON senior vice president.
The newest pieces of equipment - the spin bike, elliptical trainer and the NordicTrack Elite 9500 Pro treadmill - lets runners do this. On the treadmill, they have access to Facebook, e-mail or CNN and other news organizations at the tips of their fingers.
The promising new equipment is good news for ICON, since in January 2009 the company laid off 206 Cache Valley employees and 22 people at out-of-state facilities. The move was done because of a combination of tough economic conditions and normal fluctuations in sales. The company also consolidated in its Europe office, bringing some of those workers back to the states.
Logan, the ICON spokeswoman, said in 2010 the company did not lay off any workers. It only experienced those normal seasonal fluctuations, seeing "decreases during the warm months" and hiring more workers "in the late summer and fall ... to meet the production needs."
"Due to decreased demand for products, we let go 430 seasonal employees in January through March of 2010, which is the typical time of year for that," Logan wrote in an e-mail.
Watterson spoke with The Herald Journal on Thursday about ICON, why he says it's more important than ever for people of all ages work out and about the state of the health and fitness industry. His co-founder, Gary Stevenson, is currently in Japan serving full time with the LDS Church's Quorum of the Seventy but is still a partner in ICON.
"I'm thankful to be a part of it (ICON)," Watterson said. "Just to have a small role in seeing the success of the company is a real blessing."
Watterson said that since the company's founding in 1977, people have come to realize the benefits of working out, even if it's only for a half-hour a day. He told The Herald Journal he watched a recent taping of "The Dr. Oz Show" on NBC, and a panel of experts said that exercise was the No. 1 cure for cancer.
The show not only confirmed his beliefs but made him realize the importance of ICON's work in managing obesity and preventing or slowing diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and arthritis.
"As the economy continues to grow and recover, we see people engaging in a more active lifestyle and less couch potatoes," Watterson said. "Children pattern their parents' behavior, and as they see them doing routine exercises, they will plan accordingly."
In fact, ICON has gone to Washington, D.C., to lobby members of Congress to get a bill passed that would allow for the purchase of exercise equipment to qualify as a tax deduction. It has been introduced in the House and he hopes this session it will be introduced in the Senate.
Watterson brushed aside the notion that the health and fitness industry has become too self-centered on the "perfect" body image that models attain through constant workout. He said the industry is instead focusing on combining the Internet and wireless technologies with exercise, which will attract more people to working out. Watterson's goal is to see people get started on a workout routine at a younger age.
Watterson also dismissed rumors around town that some of ICON's production line employees are illegal immigrants. During the time of the 2006 federal government's raid of the JBS Swift meat packing plant in Hyrum to arrest illegal immigrants, it was believed by some locals that other large businesses around the valley had their share of illegal immigrants too.
"You must be in the wrong town," Watterson said. "I've never heard that in this company."'
Walking the halls of ICON's expansive offices on Thursday, Watterson appeared upbeat, confident and sure of the company's future.
"We believe in what we do, from womb to tomb," he said.
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