Jasper Group honors longtime leader Mike Elliott, marks decades of influence

Mike Elliott left Jasper Group with a larger footprint, a broader brand family and a stronger place in Jasper’s business identity. The company says it now employs nearly 1,000 people and operates more than 2.3 million square feet of office space, lumberyards and mill rooms in Dubois and Orange counties.

Elliott, who died April 14 at 77, led the company as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board from 1986 to 2022. Born in Huntingburg and a 1966 graduate of Jasper High School, he spent 41 years with Jasper Seating Company and Jasper Group, and he was remembered as a third-generation descendant of a founding shareholder and director grandfather.

The scale of the company changed under his watch. Jasper Group says its roots in southern Indiana furnituremaking go back to the late 1800s, and that Jasper Seating Company was formed on Feb. 4, 1929, when seven local businessmen gathered in Jasper. What began as a seating business grew into a family of brands that now serves commercial, hospitality and education markets through JSI, Klem, Community and Jasper Desk.

Elliott also spent his final years at the top planning for the next generation. Mike Wagner was named president on June 22, 2020, and became chief executive in 2021 after a transition Elliott had been preparing for over several years. Elliott said he wanted a successor he could trust to care for the business, its employees and its craft. Wagner said the long handoff made the change smooth for employees and customers.

That continuity matters in Jasper, where major employers help shape both daily life and long-term reputation. Jasper Group’s growth under Elliott meant more than a larger payroll. It helped reinforce the city’s standing as a center for furnituremaking, with a company that started as a local venture becoming one of the region’s best-known industrial names. Elliott was remembered as a leader who put people first and supported the community, a legacy that still sits inside the buildings, brands and jobs his tenure helped create.