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| industry profile
On
a Roll
Rollac Shutter of Texas invested in production machinery to provide quality,
dependable, high-tech products.
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HP: Please give a brief description
of your company and its history.
Eva Konrad: In January 1982 my husband, Walter Konrad, started
Rollac Shutter of Texas as a sole proprietorship, which became a small company
and developed into today’s corporation. Walter and I started as a retail
company selling and installing rolling shutters in the greater Houston,
TX, metropolitan area. We rented a little warehouse space of 1,200 square
feet and Walter sold, measured and installed all the shutters himself with
the help of one employee. I took care of the bookkeeping and office work.
In 1984, Rollac became a corporation and in 1986 we bought our first building,
a former skating rink. Another warehouse was built a few years later and
combined with the first one.
In 1985 Rollac took on retractable awnings as a second product line and
the company grew gradually conducting business now as a wholesale venture
supplying an ever-growing network of shutter dealers in almost every state.
In March 1995 Rollac commenced the manufacturing of roll-formed aluminum
slats, foam-filled with polyurethane form. This was—and still is—the
only high-tech computerized roll-forming machine in the United States to
manufacture aluminum slats.
An injection-molding machine was added to the production department in 1998,
which manufactures small plastic parts for rolling shutters and a second
roll-forming machine was added in 2000.
In May 2001 a new warehouse was completed and Rollac housed its mass inventory
there while doing the everyday business out of its old warehouse. In November
2001 a new 105,000-square-foot facility was completed with 9,000 square
feet of office space and a huge entrance hall that serves as a showroom.
HP: What hurricane protection products did
you handle initially? What products do you handle today?
Konrad: In the beginning we sold only
exterior rolling shutters as a hurricane protection product. Now we also
sell storm panels and accordion shutters for hurricane protection.
Other product lines that we offer now are retractable awnings, retractable
solar screens and—locally—interior window treatments such as mini-blinds,
wood blinds and vertical blinds.
HP: Give a percentage breakdown of these
products. What one product or line stands out above the rest?
Konrad: Rolling shutters stand out above the rest, definitely!
Wholesale and retail sales of rolling shutters make up about 70 percent
of our business. Next are the retractable awnings. Solar screens and the
interior window treatments make up about two percent of our business.
HP: Is your business computerized? Do you
have a company Web site, and how is it used to communicate with customers?
Konrad: Yes, we are computerized. Our
Web sites are www.rollac.com
and www.awningzone.com.
Our sales department can be reached via e-mail at sales@rollac.com, and
our complete catalog is online at the Web site to help dealers find parts.
HP: Who are your customers? What parts of
the country do you service and how many salespeople do you employ?
Konrad: We now have four salespersons
and sell parts and shutters all over the United States plus Canada, Puerto
Rico, Mexico and some of the islands in the Caribbean.
Our customers are either dealers or end-consumers or builders and contractors.
We also work with architects.
HP: How has your segment of the industry
changed since you first began?
Konrad: Shutters and awnings have become a lot more popular and
well known by the end-consumer since we started in 1982. Back then, almost
nobody knew about shutters. In our first years, we sold a lot more PVC slats,
but now that has almost gone down to zero.
Now people are aware of the benefits of a strong aluminum shutter and request
that. Also, hollow extruded PVC slats do not pass any test requirements
of the Florida building codes. Now the most popular slats are foam-filled
aluminum slats (hard foam or regular foam) and even extruded aluminum slats
that meet the building codes.
Our service has not changed much. We are fast and dependable. The sector
on electronics has, of course, improved tremendously! Shutters now can be
operated with remote controls and on timers. They can be integrated into
security systems and used in a smart house.
HP: Where do you see yourself and your company
five years from now? Are there additional areas within the industry that
you would like to get involved in?
Konrad: We see ourselves—more than
ever—as the industry leader. We think the product line we have is sufficient
and don’t plan on taking on more product lines.
We will market our shutter production even more, and we would like to see
the awning line gain more ground against the shutter line.
HP: What best describes your niche in the
marketplace?
Konrad: We are the only shutter company
in the United States that manufactures roll-formed box covers and slats
on high-tech German machinery. That means no waiting on containers from
Europe and, therefore, faster service.
HP: What are some of the key factors involved
in your growth and success? What distinguishes you from the competition?
Konrad: Technical know-how, dependability,
honesty, investment in machinery, integrity and service. These all helped
us grow. We offer availability of inventory, fast service and are able to
provide customers with technical support.
Quality, service, available inventory through our own production lines,
technical support, expertise and dependability all separate us from the
competition.
HP: What trends and cycles do you see occurring
in the industry? How is your business addressing them?
Konrad: Trends go to more security and
safety, stronger slats, building codes have to be met and electronics are
getting fancier.
In Europe, where shutters have been used for about the past 100 years, trends
go to brighter colors. However, we think this trend will take some time
before it will make it over here—if at all.
We try to keep updated by attending large homebuilder and trade shows. We
read trade magazines from here and Germany to be on top of any new innovations.
We expand our
inventory with new, innovative ideas.
Rollac Shutter of Texas, Inc.
5331 W. Orange
Pearland, TX 77581
(281) 485-1911
fax: (281) 485-0839
www.rollac.com |
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