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Industry News
WCMA ELECTS NEW BOARD, OFFICERS
At its annual meeting in April the members of the Window Covering Manufacturers
Association (WCMA), New York, NY, elected its new board of trustees. Those elected
as manufacturer trustees were: Dave Disser, Royal Window Coverings USA; Joseph
Jankoski, Hunter Douglas Window Fashions; Donald Lund, Springs Window Fashions;
and Nick Morrisroe, Levolor/Kirsch Window Fashions. Thomas Kefor, Julius Koch
USA, was elected as the associate trustee.
Following the annual meeting, the board met and elected the following officers:
Jankoski, president; Lund, vice president; and Morrisroe, secretary/treasurer.
The WCMA is the trade association for North American manufacturers and fabricators
of window covering products and their suppliers. It is a standard-writing organization
that is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and currently
authors the National Standard for Safety of Corded Window Covering Products.
In addition, WCMA sponsors the Product Innovation Awards, which recognize industry
innovation with regard to safety, style, technical advancement and overall design
(see D&WC, April 2003, page 28).
AVENO PRODUCES AWARD-WINNING SAMPLE DECKS
Aveno Window Fashions, Atlanta, GA, was recently awarded a Best of Category prize
for design from the Printing Industry Association of Georgia (PIAG) for its Wood
Blinds/Wood Blind Alternatives sample deck combination.
Jamie Waggoner, Aveno art director, directed the design and production of the
sample decks.
PIAG represents more than 600 printing and graphic arts supply firms in Georgia.
The association is part of a nationwide network of more than 30 printing associations
affiliated with Printing Industries of America (PIA).
MONIQUE’S CELEBRATES 40 YEARS
Monique’s Draperies & Shades, Campbell, CA, is celebrating 40 years
of providing window treatments, shades and decorating services to Bay Area customers
along with the introduction of its expanded showroom facilities, which includes
the Hunter Douglas Window Fashions Gallery®.
As part of the celebration, the company is holding a month-long promotion offering
customers a 20 to 60 percent discount on selected drapery, upholstery, bedding
fabrics and accessories.
Part of Monique’s success in the window coverings industry has been its
ability to leverage computer technology to streamline business operations (see
D&WC, December 2002, page 24). A system developed by Gary Small allows in-house
decorators to quickly pull-up thousands of fabric and shade prices electronically
and calculate yardage and the accompanying components to create a drapery or
window covering.
Monique’s showroom now spans nearly 3,000 square feet, housing more than
1,500 fabric books for drapery, bedding, upholstery, area rugs and pillows. Included
are displays for carpet, wall coverings, window and top treatments, sheers, hardware
accessories and the new Hunter Douglas Window Fashions Gallery.
WCD CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY
Window Covering Distributors, Inc. (WCD), Norcross, GA, is celebrating its 30th
year in the roller shade business. Founded in 1973, the family-based business
will offer a variety of promotions over the next six months to thank its customers
who have helped WCD thrive over the past three decades.
WCD also will offer incentives for new customers who purchase its laminated shades.
INNOVATIVE OPENINGS ADDS GALLERY PROGRAM
Innovative Openings, Inc., Fort Collins, CO, has added the Hunter Douglas Gallery
program to its Fort Collins showroom. The program establishes a retail boutique
environment within the showroom and offers inclusion into a dealer network that
provides product training, sales and marketing support, signage and customized
computer software.
Innovative Openings is a leading retailer of custom window coverings in the Colorado
market. It has a showroom in Boulder and south Denver in addition to Fort Collins
(see D&WC, April 1999, page 30). The company also has a manufacturing facility
under the Insolroll name in Louisville, CO.
EASY QUOTE LAUNCHES LATEST UPGRADE
In April, System and Solutions of South Florida Inc. launched Easy Quote 5. The
upgrade includes changes to the treatment databases, treatment calculations and
pricing.
More than 100 new treatments and images have been added to the database that
is included with the software. In addition, Easy Quote now can store more than
one workroom’s treatments and labor pricing. Swag treatments automatically
calculate the number and size of the swags, plus allow for size and fabric changes
on individual swags within a treatment. A new price grid format allows for multiple
price breaks, a variety of pricing methods and minimum labor charges for each
individual treatment.
Easy Quote also has launched its new Web site, www.easy-quote.net, which includes
quoting tours and online ordering.
OLDE TOWNE ADDS CUSTOM READY-MADE LINE
Olde Towne Window Works, Inc., Fredericksburg, VA, has added cornices and pinch
pleated draperies to its Uptown line of home fashions. The addition means the
company now offers custom-sized cornices and varied width panels in a ready-made
line.
Two new valance styles have debuted, the Cameo and the Petticoat, along with
swag overlay panels with fringe to provide a custom look. The company now offers
160 fabrics to choose from with another 18 to be added in June.
HUNTER DOUGLAS BREAKS GROUND FOR NEW COLORADO BUSINESS PARK
Hunter Douglas held a groundbreaking ceremony in late April for its new 71-acre
business park in Thornton, CO. The first building on the site is slated for completion
later this year and will encompass 116,000 square feet of manufacturing and office
space dedicated to the company’s new Specialty Products Division.
Under the direction of Dilip Joglekar, vice president and general manager of
the Specialty Products Division, this division will produce Techstyle ceilings,
a new product launched for commercial applications.
Over the next 15 years, seven more buildings are anticipated, each approximately
100,000 square feet. The park will serve the Hunter Douglas Specialty Products
Division as well as other company products.
DRAPER RECEIVES ADEX AWARD
Draper, Inc., Spiceland, IN, has received a Platinum ADEX Award for its Access
Dual Roller FlexShade. The ADEX Awards (Awards for Design Excellence) are selected
by a panel of independent judges and are sponsored by Design Journal.
Draper’s patented Access Dual Roller FlexShade allows both glare control
and room darkening in the same opening. Two separate shades are vertically stacked
in a single recessed headbox, allowing a glare control fabric-mesh or translucent
and a room darkening shade. The shade also offers the option of combining a room-darkening
LightBloc shade with a front projection screen, for those rooms where the best
place for the projection screen is in front of a window.
HESTER DECORATING WINS PIPP AWARD
Hester Decorating Co, Skokie, IL, received a “Picture It Painted Professionally” (PIPP)
Award from the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA). Hester
Decorating, a high-end painting and decorating company, was honored in the faux
finishing category for its work in a Grand Beach, MI, residence. This is the
sixth consecutive year Hester Decorating has been honored by PDCA with a PIPP
Award (see D&WC, June 2002, page 12).
Hester earned the award for an extensive project in a newly constructed Michigan
beach house. More than 3,000 square feet of the house are decorated with special
techniques and faux finishes. The one-and-a-half month project utilizes a wide
variety of colors ranging from deep mahogany tones to crème tones. The
finishes are achieved by using some of the most popular new trends and techniques
including gold leafing, faux limestone, stenciling, staining and varnishing,
metallic glazing and crackle. Additionally, Venetian plaster textures are colored
to match the customer’s handmade tapestry that graces an elaborate 22-foot
high fireplace hood in the home’s Great Room.
The PIPP Awards, in its 20th year, are prominent national awards that honor interior
and exterior professional painting and decorating work in residential, commercial
and industrial categories. Projects are judged on use of color, specialty painting
techniques, unusual treatments, safety management and overall creativity, skill
and execution.
IFAI CANADA EXPO SHATTERS RECORDS
The most successful Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) Canada
Expo ever was held March 13 to 15 at the Renaissance Montreal Hotel Montreal,
Quebec, Canada. Exhibitor and attendance records were set as nearly 500 people
attended the exposition and 40 supplier companies exhibited products and services.
These numbers top the exposition’s 1999 record of 222 in total attendance
and 30 exhibitors.
This year the exhibit hall showcased cutting-edge products and services, while
giving industry decision-makers the chance to network and expand their businesses
in the Canadian marketplace. Six informative seminars offered participants the
chance to explore business opportunities, resources and ideas to keep them up-to-date
on many aspects of the specialty fabrics industry.
Keynote speaker Jay Gubrud’s presentation, “Speedtraps, Potholes
and Idiots,” gave a spirited account of the trials of everyday life and
organizational environments in terms of something almost everyone can relate
to: driving. Gubrud spoke about techniques that can be used to overcome roadblocks
that impede success.
IFAI Canada Expo 2004 will be held in Toronto, Ontario. Details are not yet final. |
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