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Nifty at Fifty
Banner years for ADO mark dual celebrations.

If the George Orwell quote is true, that at 50, everyone has the face he or she deserves, then ADO is looking pretty smashing in its commemorative year. As ADO Gardinenwerke celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it has been pulling out all the stops to mark this occasion in style. But that’s not all—we can look to ADO’s younger sibling, ADO-USA, to celebrate its 25-year anniversary in tandem.

It’s hard to start a business in a recession, but that’s what founder Hubert Wulf and his wife, Marianne, did in 1954, when establishing ADO Gardinenwerke in rural Aschendorf, Germany. Offering homage to the town, Wulf culled letters found in the name AschenDOrf, to brand his company—and its high-quality 118-inch seamless drapery fabric and accessories.

As could be expected, success quickly followed and in 1979, the Wulfs expanded their business into the United States, establishing ADO-USA in Spartanburg, SC.

Today, Wulf’s sons Andreas and Klaus are at the helm, leading ADO Gardinenwerke, ADO Corp. and all other ADO facilities worldwide. It’s a satisfying year, then, to reach such a milestone and be at the top of the game. Indeed, Klaus Wulf was nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year 2004 in Germany.

CELEBRATE SUCCESS
To commemorate the occasion, ADO-USA has selected some of its top fabrics in this season’s popular colors and styles to showcase in a trio of special Anniversary Books (see D&WC, April 2004, page 12).

A Gold Book, which represents ADO International’s 50th anniversary, will feature yellows and reds; a Silver Book, representing ADO-USA’s 25th anniversary, will highlight blues and greens; and an ADO Red Book (red representing the red in ADO’s logo) will showcase neutrals. The anniversary collection consists of ADO’s washable, 118-inch, seamless multi-purpose fabrics. “We have always had a great reputation for seamless sheers, so 25 years later, we wanted to educate the trade on the benefits of seamless over-drapery fabrics,” says Tammy Thompson, executive vice president of sales, ADO-USA.

The books will be in circulation for a minimum of two years and are available at any of the trade showrooms ADO does business with. [There’s more information at www.ado-usa.com or ADO customer service at (800) 845-0918.]

Germany ADO celebrated its 50 years in March of this year, inviting government dignitaries, as well as directors from every country where there is an ADO sales office. It was a huge success, capped with a colossal party the next evening for all of the employees from the German mill.

For ADO-USA, however, the party is just getting started. Starting with a celebration meeting at the Spartanburg mill on Friday, October 8, with invited customers and Wulf and his family, the celebration continues with a tour of the Biltmore House in Asheville (where ADO fabrics hang). Dinner at the famous Grove Park Inn Resort follows. On Saturday, October 9, the celebration wraps up with golf and shopping and finishes with a black-tie party at the Marriott ballroom in Spartanburg where ADO will recognize its partners and employees of 25 years. Those employees are Stanley Edwards, Weaving and Maintenance Manager, and Evelyn Rice, Quality Control Supervisor.

And as this milestone passes, ADO will continue to offer quality “Gold Thread”-imbued products, with a five-year guarantee that its fabric will be dimensionally stable, colorfast and free of manufacturing defects, even when machine-washed. It’s this pride of quality and expedient and steadfast service that will see this company through to its next big landmark.