Corporate Citizenship

Celebrating 122 years of heritage, culture, community, & environment.


Small-town heritage, worldwide leader.

When Luther Draper founded our company in 1902, he had a simple business philosophy: to make quality products and sell them for a reasonable price. Although Draper has evolved and grown over the years, we have become known as a consistently responsible corporate citizen. Led by Luther Draper's descendants, Draper continues to build on that tradition.

Draper: a True Corporate Citizen


Luther O. Draper

The Luther O. Draper Shade Co. began in Spiceland, Indiana, a small town located 40 miles east of the state capital of Indianapolis. Luther Draper recognized a problem: the sun’s heat and glare affected school teachers and students. So, he created a solution: spring-roller window shades.

The window shade business grew even during two world wars and a depression and now comprises about two-thirds of the business. During the entire time, not a single employee was laid off. And that continues to be true even today.

  • In 1957, Luther Pidgeon, grandson of the founder, invented a new and uniquely durable classroom projection screen. Over time, projection screens and visual communications products have grown and we now offer our unique TecVision projection screens.
  • In 1994, Draper entered the gymnasium equipment market, and is now proud to be the largest manufacturer of gymnasium equipment in the United States.
  • In 2013, Draper introduced the Solar Control Solutions line of architectural shading products. Solar Control Solutions provide precision control over the natural daylight entering the building, excellent energy savings and interesting façade design options.
  • In 2017, Draper launched a new range of Mounts and Structures for displays. Through this project-based initiative, we work with our partners to design and manufacture tailored AV solutions to interface buildings, workspaces, and technology. This includes custom structures, frames, mounts, and trim for any type of digital display, plus kiosks and more.

Today

We have evolved over the years, increasing our product offerings to meet our customers’ needs. Still led by Luther Draper’s descendants, today we employ over 700 people.

Draper is a true global citizen, with sales and manufacturing locations in the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden shipping products throughout the world. We sell our products to customers in over 100 foreign countries.

Draper, Inc. is excited to be among the select group of companies acknowledged and honored to have been selected as an inductee into the newly created Indiana Manufacturers Hall of Fame in 2016.

Responsibility to our Employees


Employees at the Draper Wellness Park

Throughout the company’s history, Draper has never laid off any employees. Our employees enjoy competitive wages and a growing benefit package, profit sharing and a 401(k) plan with matching contributions. Draper also provides a generous group medical plan that includes an innovative free on-site primary care medical clinic and an award-winning wellness program.

Draper was named as The Healthiest Workplace in the United States in 2014 by Healthiest Employers LLC, and PLANSPONSOR’s 2014 Plan Sponsor of the Year for our corporate 401(k) program. In 2013, Draper was granted INSHARP certification by the state of Indiana. INSHARP stands for Indiana Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program. Certification in INSHARP recognizes an employer as a model work site for occupational safety and health.

One of only seventy companies (and one of only two manufacturers) named one of the “Best Places to Work in Indiana” through comprehensive reports and employee surveys compiled by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Through it all, we remain dedicated to our small-town community, employees, and customers around the world, while being focused on innovative solutions.

Responsibility to our Community


The Spiceland Park, created from Draper's generosity.

Draper is a generous contributor to the local community and consistently supports the local United Way, Relay for Life and Dollars for Scholars campaigns. Other recent beneficiaries include the public library, volunteer fire department, community center, school corporation and youth organizations. Draper generously and consistently supports the volunteer and community activities of its employees.

Responsibility to our Environment


Draper is looking forward to the needs of the future by establishing itself as a market leader in “Green” environmentally friendly products and operations. Several staff members are USGBC members and have earned LEED certification.

Draper products can improve a building’s energy efficiency. Window shades reflect light and heat from the sun, reducing the amount of energy required to cool the building. The construction of Draper products has become friendlier to the environment by including increasing quantities of low- and zero-emission materials and increasingly efficient manufacturing processes.

Draper offers products that feature GREENGUARD certified materials in all of its primary product lines: projection screens, window shades, and gymnasium equipment.

Draper continually promotes sustainability in our manufacturing processes and the materials we use. Utilizing Lean Manufacturing methods, we ensure we are making the most use of the space we have, to keep our carbon and building footprints as low as possible. Using Phifer's SheerWeave® Ecolibrium™ fabric, you can approximate petroleum savings and greenhouse gas avoidance using our online calculator. Click here to explore this tool.

We recognize the importance of materials reporting, and provide Health Product Declarations and/or Environmental Product Declarations for many of our components.

Through an aggressive program, we have greatly reduced the amount of scrap we produce, and much of what we do have is recycled or reused. For example, we collect and return the cores on which fabrics are rolled, and return them for reuse. We also return some shade material scrap for recycling. We reuse shipping pallets and skids.

Our Corporate Environmental Mission Statement:

As a United States manufacturer of quality products for the architectural market for over 117 years, Draper is committed to providing products for the sustainable design market. As members of our local, state, and national community and as members of the U.S. Green Building Council, our company and our employees are striving to become more environmentally conscious by continuously upgrading our facilities to be more energy efficient, and by introducing “reduce, reuse and recycle” programs. We will continue to upgrade and design new products with these goals in mind.

We are recycling more than 84 tons of materials per month in nine categories. This figure continues to rise. We’ve also introduced programs for reusing wood and cardboard products, including hundreds of shipping pallets, skids, and shipping tubes. We are constantly seeking to increase the efficiency of our energy use.

How to Recycle our Products


One of the easiest sustainability habits is recycling. Not only does Draper have an aggressive recycling program, we will also accept end-of-life Draper products back and dismantle them for recycling. The sender, however, is responsible for all shipping costs.

While we’re happy to accept products back for recycling, it actually makes more sense for decommissioned Draper products to be dismantled and recycled close to the site location. Not only do you save shipping costs, but you also remove a carbon load from the process. You can make much more earth-friendly choices by working with local resources.

To prepare a product for recycling, first separate shade fabrics or viewing surfaces from the metal parts of the unit. Packaging materials are normally recycled when the product is installed. All of Draper’s packaging materials and fillers are recyclable. If the carton has been retained after installation, it can be put into any mixed recycling drop.

All of the metal parts are normally acceptable in mixed recycling drops. If you do a lot of recycling, you may want to separate the aluminum, steel, and motor parts for a metal recycler. Metal recyclers will pay for these items, and they will pay a higher rate if you recycle in large quantities and separate the metals by type. (Pro tip: use a magnet to distinguish steel from aluminum.) Shade and screen motors contain steel and copper, or an electronics recycler in your area may accept motors.

Unsupported vinyl viewing surfaces and vinyl shade fabrics are accepted by many vinyl recyclers. Relatively few recyclers, however, accept vinyl with a woven base or backing.

Another option is to repurpose the products or materials. For instance, vinyl screen surfaces with a woven backing work well as tarps or drop cloths, so local contractors or your own installation crew may be able to reuse them. If the product being replaced is still in usable condition, donate it to a local organization, or to a local thrift store. Reuse is the most efficient form of recycling, and your donation may be tax deductible!

Below are links to help you find places to donate or recycle Draper products, and ideas on where to take reusable items.

Recycling Locations and Resources

Reuse Resources

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