We didn’t start out to make the world’s finest awnings and screens. We started in fabric (tents, to be specific) in 1896.

We supplied rugged canvas tents to prospectors heading north to Alaska during the gold rush. Business was good and the company kept growing – for decades.

Then the government called, in need of lots of tents and tarps for the troops during World War II – so we grew some more – for a few more decades.

Next we started buying our competitors to increase our production efficiencies – and we bought state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment to improve our product quality. We also added yurts to our product line to help keep everyone busy – and grow some more.

In the 90′s we were introduced to the Nesting Bird Yurt Company and started helping them redesign their roofs. Since yurts are used for shelter, it made sense that the roofs were a pretty important part – probably the most important part when you think about it!

Yurt construction techniques hadn’t changed much since the early days, and we thought they could use an update. We used our knowledge of materials, patterns, and fabric construction techniques to completely alter the way yurt roofs were designed and manufactured – for the better of course.

Our new radial seam roof system, for example, significantly improved the fit and finish of the final product. So much so that most of our smart competitors started borrowing elements of the design (which is great because now everyone’s making a better product!).

We got pretty good at making the best yurt roof in the business, but unfortunately, Nesting Bird was doing just as well as purely a yurt company; so good, in fact, we decided to buy them.

So that’s how we got into the awning and screen business, and we’re kinda glad we did, because we make a really great product and get to have fun while we’re at it.