Draper is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the nation’s foremost coalition of
leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally
responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. USGBC has more than 6,400 member
organizations and a network of more than 80 regional chapters united to advance its mission of transforming
the building industry to sustainability.
The U.S. Green Building Council’s core purpose is to transform the way buildings and communities are
designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous
approach that improves the quality of life.
Since 1902
Draper Solar Control Shading Systems
An early Draper Window Shades
catalog from 1928.
The Draper factory c. 1920.
In the summer of 902, Luther O. Draper went into business
manufacturing window shades. Mr. Draper’s business philosophy
was simple—to make a quality product and sell it at a reasonable
price. His early business was focused on window shades for
schools in eastern Indiana and western Ohio. School window
shades were DRAPER’S primary product for the next 60 years.
In 989, DRAPER, INC. introduced FlexShade Systems, a line
of window shades designed for the commercial market. These
products employ the highest quality and value today.
For more than 00 years, DRAPER has continued to
manufacture and sell window shades, now to a global market. Its
500 employees, still led by Luther Draper’s family, operate with
the same business philosophy. DRAPER embraces these values
while looking forward to the needs of the future by establishing
itself as a market leader in “Green” environmentally-friendly
products and operations.
Window shades reflect light and heat from the sun, reducing
the amount of energy required to cool the building. Motorized
window shades can automatically adjust to compensate for the
changing shade requirements throughout the day. DRAPER’s
white paper, Shades of LEED, provides an in-depth explanation
of how our solar control shading systems can contribute to LEED
points and credits.
In addition, shades can reduce or eliminate uncomfortable
glare for workers, while still allowing ambient sunlighting and
view-through to the outside.
The construction of window shades has become more friendly
to the environment as well by including PVC-free fabrics and
lean manufacturing processes.
Now in its second century, DRAPER window shades embody
the foundation of Luther Draper’s business philosophy and the
experience of more than 00 years. Read on to learn more.
