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Industry Profile
A Well-Oiled Machine
With a reputation for producing efficient fabrication equipment,
Sani USA is running smooth with high quality products and responsive
customer service.
D&WC: Please give a detailed
description of your company and its history.
Mickey Head, Business Unit Manager:
Sani USA is one of several branch offices around the world with worldwide
headquarters and production facilities in Malmo, Sweden.
Sani AB was founded in 1954 by Stig Albert Nilsson for the purpose
of producing tools to cut and punch rails and slats for the two-inch
horizontal aluminum blind market. Since its creation in 1954, Sani
has become a well-known producer of these tools and has a customer
base in 42 countries worldwide.
D&WC: What products do
you handle today?
Head: Today, Sani provides equipment
for all types of horizontal blind systems including aluminum, wood
and faux wood. We have developed equipment in the past few years for
honeycomb, pleated and roller shade fabrication and are now the consolidated
machine producer not only for Sani equipment, but also Turnils, Eclipse
and OPM machines.
We currently stock parts for machines at our facility located in Atlanta,
GA, and ship orders for in-stock parts the same day. Arlene Langello,
our Customer Service Lead, has 15 years experience in our industry
and is very dedicated to making sure orders are filled as promptly
as possible.
Sani USA also offers micro, one- and two-inch coil stock, one- and
two-inch rail systems and components, cord and ladder, cloth tapes,
two-inch wood and faux wood, and roller shade fabrics. Our sales representative
for these core products, Ken Israelton, has 20 years of window treatment
sales experience and a wealth of industry knowledge.
We offer a vast array of products and services to the blind industry
including machines, machine parts, machine service and complete blind
and shade systems.
D&WC: Who are your customers and what parts of the country
do you service?
Head: Our customer base is a combination of large and small wholesale
and retail window treatment fabricators. Most of our business is in
the United States, but we do quite a bit of business in Canada, Latin
America and South America as well. In general, our customers are any
fabrication facility with a desire to improve the efficiencies of
their operation.
D&WC: How has your segment
of the industry changed since you first began?
Head: The shift of popularity
in window treatment styles, pricing pressures on core products, along
with new products, have driven the need for more efficient fabrication
equipment. Our horizontal blind equipment now ranges from simple hand
tools to high-tech computerized slat and rail machines. We introduced
a new honeycomb/pleated shade fabric machine in 2002 and, earlier
this year, we introduced our new roller shade machine at the International
Window Coverings Expo in Baltimore, MD.
We invest our resources in the development of fabrication efficiencies
for existing and new products as they evolve in our industry.
D&WC: What distinguishes you from
the competition?
Head: What most separates Sani from the competition are
the services we offer. Our service technicians are able to repair
and troubleshoot most machine problems over the phone and are also
available for on-site repairs when necessary.
We have two extremely knowledgeable and capable technicians who together
have more than 57 years of experience in the industry; Bo Nilsson
(nephew of the founder Stig Albert Nilsson) has 35 years experience
with Sani, and Kheit Bui (who specializes in shop layout, product
flow and fabrication processes) has 22 years of window treatment experience.
D&WC: What are your strengths
in the marketplace?
Head: The Sani name has a reputation
for high-quality equipment used in horizontal blind fabrication all
over the world. This reputation lends credibility to the new machines
we are now producing for honeycomb, pleated and roller shades. We
are also known for our experienced machine technicians and our responsive
customer service.
Although the equipment is an intricate part of the process, our focus
is on improving the overall fabrication efficiencies, which results
in improved profits for customers.
Between Bo, Arlene, Kheit, Ken and myself, we have 132 years of experience
in the window treatment industry.
Sani USA
1327 Northbrook Parkway, Suite 410
Suwanee, GA 30024
(866) 438-3810
fax: (770) 995-2261
www.sani.se |
