Projects Unlimited, Inc. was founded in 1951 by brothers David S. Wyse and Harold Wyse with help from their parents James and Estelle Wyse; as an extension of the then defunct Wyse Laboratories, an aircraft parts company founded in the 1940s, which supplied parts to the Army Air Corp and other military customers.
Today the company is in its 3rd generation of family leadership, and its 4th generation of business in the aerospace and defense industry. Founded on family values that haven’t changed since the 1950s, Projects Unlimited Inc. provides Mission Critical electronics including circuit card assemblies (CCA), cables, harnesses and integrated box assemblies to numerous defense contractors, leading aviation companies, the US Government and foreign governments.
Projects Unlimited Inc. is an FAA certified repair and overhaul station specializing in maintenance management, obsolescence management, and logistics sustainment services. Projects Unlimited Inc. is recognized as a certified small business by the US Government and Department of Defense.
The company was founded as a surplus supply business which provided critical parts to the US Government and the fledgling aviation industry. As the US Government and its new Air Force transitioned from a propeller fleet to the new jet age, Projects Unlimited Inc. transitioned as well to provide cable and electronic assemblies to the new Air Force as well as other branches of the military.
The company shifted several times during the 50s, 60s and 70s developing several products that were outside of the core business including motorcycles, depth sounders and auto levels but the majority of the business efforts were focused on growth in the aerospace and defense sectors.
In 1972, the company outgrew its first facility on Siebenthaler Ave. in Dayton, and relocated to a new facility a few miles north adjacent to Interstate 75 in Dayton; and within a few miles of the I 70 intersection.
After a few years, the company expanded that facility by a third to accommodate growth in the business. That facility housed the business until 2005 when once again the company moved into a brand new, purpose-built facility necessary to accommodate the growth. That facility was 67,500 sq. ft. and has twice been expanded. The first addition in 2010 added 10,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space predominately for the company’s aerospace wiring division. In 2019 the company added another 10,000 sq. ft. office facility bringing the entire building complex to over 85,000 sq. ft. with roughly 60% dedicated to manufacturing.
The mid 90s proved to be another time of transition when in 1993 David S. Wyse transitioned the leadership of the business to his son, David L. Wyse before his untimely death in 1998. David L. Wyse narrowed the focus of the business to its current core business focused solely in the aerospace and defense markets.
David had a successful run as President of the company including winning Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 1996. David transitioned leadership of the business to his son, Chris, in 2008 and Chris has continued to grow and scale the business that exists today. Chris, in turn, also won the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2012 making Projects Unlimited Inc. one of only a few businesses to win the award in the same business and by multiple generations of a family.
Through the early part of the 21st Century the company transitioned from the manufacturing of one-off projects, to longer term agreements with its customers. The company directed its focus on its core competencies and realized to be successful and scale the business that it needed to partner with its customers and form long term relationships based on trust, value and shared risk.
In 2018, Projects Unlimited Inc. divested PUI Audio, a wholly owned subsidiary which manufactured and distributed speakers, microphones and audio indicators.
Projects Unlimited Inc. provides world-class workmanship, using high-precision manufacturing equipment and in-house testing facilities to deliver solutions to customers with a continual focus on quality. Projects Unlimited Inc. is certified ITAR and is NADCAP-Electronics accredited in Circuit Card Assemblies and Cable and Harness Assemblies (CHA) and only performs work to the highest manufacturing standards, including meeting J-STD-001 Class 3, IPC-A-610 and IPC/WHMA-A-620 specifications.
“I Am Mission Critical!” isn’t just a slogan, Projects Unlimited Inc. and its employees demonstrate daily that its products and services are flight critical, safety critical and mission critical.