In 1892, Professor and Mrs. George Colcord founded Graysville Academy, which would eventually become Southern Adventist University. In the early 1900's, the school was called Southern Industrial School, then became known as Southern Training School. In order to earn money to help pay the tuition of $12.50 a month, students could work in the canning, printing, and wagon making industries on campus. After World War I, the wagon making shop evolved into a wood and millwork shop, the largest on-campus industry for working students.

In 1951, the school (by this time known as Southern Missionary College) was constructing a new science building. Not being satisfied with the products available at the time, the college used their campus woodworking shop to build the lab furniture. Visiting professors saw the finished product and wanted similar laboratory furniture in their own classrooms. The demand for casework began to outgrow the resources of the small campus industry and, in 1955, the business was purchased from the college by a recently graduated student.

Today Collegedale is housed in a 130,000 state-of-the-art manufacturing facility just off I-75 in Ooltewah, Tennessee.