Draper, Inc., officially unveiled the tenth building at its manufacturing campus in Spiceland, Indiana with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring company leadership. The 100,000 square foot building brings the amount of total space to 500,000 square feet.
“This building will add seven much-needed loading docks, and also storage and production space. It will enable us to add a new automated powder coating line,” says Chris Broome, who is the fifth generation of the family to serve as Draper president during its 121-year history. “But more important than our buildings are our people. We are proud that in our 121-year history, Draper has laid off Zero employees. Draper currently has 723 employees, with a total of 7,680 years of service. According to the company, 167 of our employees have passed the 20-year milestone, and 12 employees have been with Draper for more than 40 years.”
Founded in 1902 as a manufacturer of window shades for schools, Draper now makes motorized shading systems for the commercial and residential markets; AV projection screens and lifts; custom AV mounts and structures; and custom solar control solutions. Draper is also the largest architectural gym equipment manufacturer in North America.
The new building was added after several years of steady growth, and with the expectation of even more growth with the company’s entry as a major player in the residential shading market.
“We see a lot of good growth opportunities, and this building is going to allow us to continue to take care of and meet the needs of our customers,” adds Broome. “Also, from a supply standpoint, we’ll be able to keep a better inventory of fabrics and other components, which will allow us to be more responsive to our customers’ needs.”
Broome expects the opening of Building #10 will create 25-30 new jobs in the short term.
