SureShade opens expanded facility
SureShade hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of their new headquarters & production facility reinforcing their commitment to manufacturing growth in Philadelphia.
The event was held on National Manufacturing Day, Oct. 4, the ideal opportunity to showcase SureShade’s new facility and provide attendees with a full factory tour and overview of the manufacturing process of their sunshade systems for marine and RV.
The new 11,000-square-foot facility is three times larger and includes headquarter offices, training & product development space and SureShade’s full manufacturing production facility.
In addition to SureShade’s valued employees and business partners, local Pennsylvania and Philadelphia elected officials were also in attendance at the event, including keynote speaker U.S. Congressman Brendan Boyle (PA District 2), PA State Representative Michael Driscoll (173rd district), PA State Representative Joe Hohenstein (177th district), Philadelphia City Councilman Bobby Henon (6th district and founding member of Philadelphia’s Manufacturing Growth Task Force) and Philadelphia Director of Commerce Harold Epps, also a founding member of the Manufacturing Growth Task Force
The factory tour, guided by SureShade’s Director of Manufacturing and U.S. Coast Guard Veteran Captain Kirk Fistick, featured a step-by-step production overview of each component manufactured for SureShade’s sunshade systems. Full-size demo units for both marine and RV applications were included in the factory tour.
“We were so thrilled to have everyone join us to celebrate this amazing milestone for our 12-year-old manufacturing startup, especially on Manufacturing Day,” said Dana Russikoff, SureShade business leader and co-founder. “When we first started this business we were focused on the marine industry, but boating is just one part of the overall $778 billion outdoor recreational ecosystem that is a major contributor to the U.S. economy, accounting for 2.2% of the U.S. GDP and creating 5.2 million jobs. As we have officially expanded into the $114 billion RV industry this year we are thrilled to now be part of this comprehensive outdoor recreation industry that will position our company for continued and sustainable growth.”
“I am so proud of our incredible team accomplishing this move in record time with zero production downtime – we did not skip a shipment – and I am so excited for what is yet to come here in our new 11,000 square foot home,” said Ron Russikoff, SureShade inventor, engineer and co-founder. “We remain committed to growing manufacturing here in Philadelphia and we hope to serve as an example that this is what building something from nothing looks like.”
Also present at the event was Erica Crocker, Director of Political Engagement and Advocacy at National Marine Manufacturers Association, and nearly 25 students from Philadelphia’s MaST Community Charter School.
