This article is part of a series featuring business executives who live and work in Utah. If you know of an executive we should interview, please get in touch with us.
Find a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
This adage personifies what Mark Harling has been able to accomplish. He was able to turn his hobby of working with fiberglass, millwork, and metal fabrication into a company as president of Bean Trailer.
Harling, an avid mountain biker who enjoys frequent getaways to southern Utah to pedal the trails with his wife, spent years looking for an off-road teardrop trailer that delivered the luxury of a larger upscale recreational vehicle without all the hassles of towing a big vehicle. When he researched his options, he found an industry lacking quality and refinement and in desperate need of a refresh.
In 2018, Harling decided to design and build his trailer. Fast forward to 2022, and the company produces about one trailer a day.
How did you get started in this industry?
In the winter, I enjoy mountain biking in southern Utah and needed a small trailer for spontaneous trips. As I searched countrywide, I could not find one that met my design and quality standards. The result of my searching for a quality small trailer and not finding one was the conclusion that we could design and build one that was better than anything in the marketplace.
What makes a Bean Trailer unique?
What makes Bean unique is the one-piece fiberglass shell — think of a boat hull upside-down. Bean’s one-piece fiberglass design blocks water, dust, and debris, making for a longer-lasting product. Because Bean Trailers don’t have any seams, you can’t have any seams open up due to vibration. The durability of our trailers is critical because our trailers must endure a lot of washboard roads, ruts, and mountain trails.
What recent professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
Bean recently won “Manufacturer of the Year” and was voted the “Coolest Thing Made in Utah” by the Utah Manufacturing Association. We are very proud of these awards and their validation that we were right; we designed and built a better trailer than what was available in the market. Today Bean Trailer offers five different off-road teardrop trailers, including Black Bean, Meaner Bean, Mean Bean, Classic Bean, and Bean Stock.
We recently released our new and improved Black Bean walk-through video on YouTube. This off-road trailer continues the tradition of functional design and quality construction.
What do you like most about living in Utah?
Convenience. The convenience of everything from short commutes to being in the mountains or at a great restaurant in minutes!
What do you like most about doing business in Utah?
Again, the convenience of a business-friendly culture. Not getting bogged down in unnecessary red tape or over-regulation. If you are a good citizen of the community and add value to it, no one will stand in the way of your success.
What’s your primary challenge in doing business in Utah?
It is increasingly hard to find enough good employees. It would be great if the state had a way of bringing in good people from other parts of the country/world who are hungry to develop themselves professionally with the abundant work opportunities in Utah. I guess you could say a new generation of pioneers.
What’s your business philosophy?
If you take customer satisfaction personally and constantly apply back pressure to improve continuously, the market will trust you and beat a path to your door.
What do you like most about being the president of Bean Trailer?
Seeing a customer’s reaction picking up their Bean Trailer and knowing that it will serve as a platform for a lifetime of great outdoor adventures in Utah and beyond.
I also enjoy following stories from the Bean Family. We are a passionate group of happy campers with hundreds of trailers on the road. Owners often share tips and travel advice in our large Facebook group. We also launched the Bean There Camping application in January of 2022!
Tell me a fun fact about yourself.
I am a very curious person that loves to learn something new every day, and I love it when that new knowledge illustrates how wrong I previously was about the subject.
