Michael Rogers, vice president communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan, talks with Al and Beth Thieme, owners of Amigo Mobility International. Al was a young man working as a plumbing and heating contractor in Bridgeport, Mich. when a family member began to lose her mobility due to multiple sclerosis. Witnessing this loss of independence, he worked in the evenings, after his day job, to create an innovative form of mobility. Thieme went on to invent the first ever power operated vehicle/scooter – the Amigo. Named for being the “friendly wheelchair,” Thieme met with many organizations, such as the MS Society, to explain the Amigo’s benefits and functionality. Consequently, Amigo Mobility International, Inc. was founded on November 12, 1968 and an entire industry was born. Today, the headquarters occupies nearly 70,000 square feet of space, including a 2008 addition of 22,000 square feet to the assembly and warehouse areas.