Before co-founding Mito Corporation, Mike Stock was the University of Alabama’s starting halfback and played in the team’s 1973 championship game against Notre Dame. Though the Crimson Tide lost, marking the only Sugar Bowl defeat in legendary coach Bear Bryant’s career, Stock learned enough about drive and commitment to try starting his own business.
Neil A Ottavi founded NAO Industries in 1974 in an attached garage. Eight years later, Stock and Tom Fuller acquired the company and renamed it Mito Corporation by combining combined the first syllables of their respective names.
Mito started distributing Panasonic electronics, like stereos and microwaves, to the RV market. Fuller passed in an automobile accident in 1988, leaving Stock alone to continue growing the company the two had planned for.
In 1997, Stock bought an adjacent 27,000-square-foot facility next to Mito’s Elkhart, Indiana, headquarters. The expansion allowed Mito to develop entertainment and convenience electronics in the marine and transit industries, as well as the aftermarket automotive industry.
