Our Core Values
Solid
We build on our strong foundation to provide stability for future generations.
We are a family-owned business built on integrity.
We strive to create a caring, supportive, and safe environment.
We work together to overcome challenges.
Partnership
We commit to building strong connections with our customers, employees, and community.
We will respectfully balance the needs of partners and customers to maintain mutually beneficial relationships.
We weigh community and employee best interests when making key business decisions.
Growth
We seek, explore, and leverage opportunities to grow our employees.
We empower our employees to learn and adapt through our shared experiences.
We invest in our people and actively promote their development.
Strategy
We draw from deep expertise to continuously improve and hold ourselves to a standard of excellence.
We actively seek the next opportunity to drive growth and innovation.
We develop creative products and solutions to meet our customers' needs.
A History of Corporate Citizenship
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 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 123 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
Draper accepts end-of-life Draper products back for recycling. However, the sender is responsible for all shipping costs.
It is much more sustainable for you to recycle locally:
- Saves shipping costs
- Lessens transportation carbon load
- Make some extra cash
To prepare a product for recycling, separate shade fabrics or viewing surfaces from the metal parts of the unit. If there are any packaging materials remaining from when the product was installed, make sure they are recyclable before placing into any mixed recycling drop.
Recycling Tips:
- All metal parts are normally acceptable in mixed recycling drops.
- Separate aluminum, steel, and motor parts if using a metal recycler. Metal recyclers will pay for these items, and at a higher rate if you recycle in large quantities and separate by type.
- 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 (see link below).
- Unsupported vinyl viewing surfaces and vinyl shade fabrics are accepted by many vinyl recyclers (see link below). Relatively few recyclers accept vinyl with a woven base or backing.
Some materials may be repurposed. 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.
Recycling Locations and Resources
Donation Resources