I’m on the road again, blogging from Dallas — First let me tell you about my meeting with Sun Ports. They gave me a tour of their factory and frankly it opened my eyes.
These huge steel and fabric gizmos provide shade and protection for cars in parking facilities across the country in parking lots, car dealerships and the like.
These are NOT tents. They are permanent structures. I was most impressed by their steel fabrication operation were the frames are made. They start with steel tubing eight or 12 inches in diameter (it can be circular or square) that is often one inch thick. These structures are built to say.
They are different. The design and colors reflect the style of the surrounding buildings and provide protection from blazing sun and crushing hail. I’m told their major markets are the sunbelt and areas where hail is prevalent — dare one say Midwest.
USA Shade is make up of five companies Sun Shade, Shade Structures, Fabritec, Sun Ports, and VPS. They were all competitors and merged over the past three years.
They cover everything from arenas, to the top floors of parking decks, to airports, to car dealerships.
Check em out at www.usa-shade.com
