The new president and CEO of Midway Industries, Inc., parent company of Centerforce Clutches, got his start while still in school…elementary school, that is.

This past October, Bryan Wilson took the reins of this third-generation-owned and operated company, one where he has spent his whole career, as its new president and CEO. He takes over the position from his father, Pat Wilson, making him the third generation in Centerforce’s 41 years in business. 

Bryan got his start in the family company by working a broom at Centerforce Clutches when he was in kindergarten. Like many boys that age, he also got into a bit of mischief. “A favorite memory as a kid at the company was running around the production facility and stealing sugar cubes from the coffee stations,” he recalled for PRI. “I also enjoyed spending time with my grandfather, Bill Hays. When I was a little kid, he joked around, and we would run around town in one of his cars to ‘pick up chicks,’ as he’d kid me.”

Wilson will oversee company strategy and provide what the company described as a renewed drive toward innovation and growth in the performance clutch market, which Wilson acknowledged is shrinking in this day of automatic transmission domination. Under his leadership as general manager, Centerforce saw significant growth, including increased sales and the addition of several new products and applications. He recently shared his outlook for the company.

PRI: Was your life growing up surrounded by high-performance cars and racing? 

Wilson: Because I grew up around those cool cars, I never appreciated them until I was old enough to enjoy them. 

PRI: What are some of your memories from working at Centerforce from an early age?

Wilson: This company has always been a part of my life. Sweeping the parking lot for my grandfather when I was maybe five or six years old was the start. When I was old enough, my first real job at Midway was crimping wire harnesses and drilling backing plates for Stinger Ignitions. As I graduated to a full-time position, I started in our bonding department making our Dual Friction facings, and it all took off from there.

PRI: What are you most looking forward to in your new role as president and CEO?

Wilson: Mostly to make my family proud by improving on what we do and how we do it, growing the brand and even starting something new. I want to pass along that a family business can be a great place to work, because we can have a great time making parts that people just want to have fun with. As my friend Doug Dwyer would say, “Making parts that people don’t need, to impress people they don’t know.” 

PRI: We noticed on the company website that Centerforce offers clutches for engine swaps in the Triumph TR7 and TR8. Now that is what we’d call a niche product! How does Centerforce respond to such seemingly small markets?

Wilson: Being a clutch-centric company, we are niche by definition. The clutch market is withering a bit in volume, but we still have a great many places we can improve. More engine and transmission swaps in all kinds of vehicles really makes us focus on a wide variety of clutch products and applications. As many other industries are finding, we also must become a bit more flexible. While our products are a bit difficult to make as one-offs, we can run low-quantity production.

PRI: Where do you see the best opportunities for Centerforce in the near term?

Wilson: Finding those niche opportunities and helping our customers get the best product to meet their performance and ease-of-use needs. I don’t want to give away too much else at this point, but I will say there are ideas forming. 

PRI: How does the company explore new opportunities?

Wilson: We have built a team of professionals that have either been at Centerforce for more than 30 years, or in the industry for even longer. That experience and some new blood always makes for great conversations. I want to build on that knowledge and bring them all together to plan our strategy. 

PRI: What is one mistake you’ve learned from in your professional career?

Wilson: In the past, I believed that you should pick a management style and evolve. I have learned there is not one style, but many. People are very different, from their reactions to their motivations. Each person needs a mix of styles to be effective. Unlike numbers, people are not as simple as two plus two equals four.

PRI: Who has been most influential to you in your professional career?

Wilson: I have been lucky to work with and know many people that have influenced and coached me over the years, though I must give this one to my father. While we do not always see eye-to-eye, he has had the largest impact on me being who I am. Influence is not specific, but how we look at life and if we choose to grow and improve. He has always promoted learning and curiosity, and I guess my grandfather instilled that in us, as well.

PRI: What is one piece of advice you have received, whether personally or professionally, that has greatly impacted your life?

Wilson: If you enjoy what you do, you will never have to work a day in your life. 

PRI: Excluding your cell phone/tablet/computer, what is one thing you can’t live without?

Wilson: Besides family, friends, and coffee—challenges! If it wasn’t for those, how boring would life be?

Bryan Wilson

TITLE:
President and CEO

ORGANIZATION:
Midway Industries, Inc. (Centerforce Clutches)

HOMETOWN:
Prescott Valley, Arizona

FAST FACT:
“I find that many of us in the car industry have some hobby outside of cars, and mine happens to be pool/billiards,” said Bryan Wilson. “I love the game and the balance between physical coordination and the complexity of working through the rack.”