In early 1970, while living in Las Vegas and working as a pharmaceutical sales representative, Ron Swapp and his wife decided they wanted to buy custom shutters for their windows. Ron researched the product and decided that because of the lack of qualified companies, he would order shutter components from a company in California and build shutters himself. After building, finishing and installing custom shutters in his home, soon many of his neighbors, family and friends wanted shutters as well. So, Ron began building shutters for family and friends in his garage.
Ron was later transferred by his company to Phoenix. Recognizing a great demand for shutters, Ron soon opened a small shop to build shutters as a side project while he continued his career selling pharmaceuticals. After a short time, Ron decided that the shutter business was his future and he quit his pharmaceutical job to begin making shutters fulltime. In 1979 Ron incorporated under the name Sunburst Shutters and Design Studio. In 1982 he changed the name to Sunburst Shutters to focus on the company’s core business and began marketing and selling custom shutters in the Phoenix area. He hired shop personnel and Sunburst Shutters grew steadily for many years.
In 1987, Ron hired Dix Jarman, his nephew, who had just graduated from college. That same year Ron and Dix opened a branch of Sunburst Shutters in Las Vegas, with Dix managing the new division.
Las Vegas turned out to be a great market for selling shutters. With revenues accumulating, Sunburst Shutters soon opened branches in Dallas, followed by Houston, Orlando and Tampa.
During this time, Ron and Dix began searching for ways to improve their product. Ron and Dix believed that there must be a material better suited than wood for the fabrication of custom shutters. With the help of companies in Europe and the adaptation of existing materials, Ron and Dix developed a material far superior to wood. They named their new product Polywood®.
Polywood is an engineered wood substitute. Stronger than wood, Polywood won’t warp, chip, crack, or peel. It is fireproof, waterproof and termite proof. Polywood provided Ron and Dix with the edge they needed to distance themselves from their competitors in the shutter industry.
The advantage of Polywood to the company was simple. Polywood was a better material, and required significantly less labor. Although the material itself cost twice as much as wood, the labor savings are so significant that the final product cost is actually less than wood. This made Polywood the best choice for customers and shutter fabricators.
Launching the new Polywood product line in January 1993, Ron and Dix were optimistic that Polywood would represent at least half of their shutter sales. After only one year, Polywood Shutters was the fastest growing shutter brand in the country. In 1993, Sunburst Shutters sold more than $6 million in Polywood Shutters nationwide. Two years later, Polywood Shutters represented more than 80 percent of all of Sunburst Shutters’ sales. In 1998, more than $50 million in Polywood Shutters were sold in the United States, Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia. Currently, Polywood Shutters is the top selling shutter brand in the world.
Currently, Sunburst Shutters has 35 retail stores in North America and have licensed more than 75 companies to sell Polywood shutters. In addition, Sunburst Shutters’ Polywood shutters and other shutter products are available through select Home Depot, Expo Design Center and Lowe’s locations nationwide.
