Severtson Screens, a global manufacturer of projection screens for the home theater and pro AV markets, has announced it is celebrating its 35thanniversary.
“Severtson Corp. started in 1986, literally in our parents’ house,” recalls Toby Severtson, president and CEO, Severtson Corp.
“The company’s first job was with Arizona’s own Williams Air Force Base in response to the U.S. Air Force’s need to find both a quality optical coating and a uniform application process for the interior of their domed flight simulators.”
Working each night in the family kitchen and backyard, Severtson Corp. founder Ron Severtson, claims to not only have solved the technical problem of uniformly coating a domed surface, he boasted that he also created a product that had the reflective properties the Air Force needed for its simulator program to be successful.
According to the company, demand for its products soon had the company working for large corporations and military organizations in more than 40 countries. In an effort to address the safety concerns of the day’s solvent-based optical coatings and remain competitive in the world market, Severtson continued to refine his formulas. His work led to the introduction of Severtson Corp.’s 3D optical coatings in 1988. By 1989, Severtson Corp.’s optical coatings were safer, more environmentally friendly water-based formulas.
“In the early 1990s, a contract with IMAX Corporation brought Severtson Corp. into the cinema screen industry,” notes Toby Severtson.
“To meet the challenge of the larger screens, a robotic application system was designed that could be used to coat screens on site. In 1998, Severtson Corp. applied its optical coatings to the world’s largest cinema screen (103 ft. x 129 ft.) in Sydney, Australia.”
Heading into the 2000s, the company introduced fixed-frame home theater products by 2003, and by 2009, Severtson Corp. became a full-service cinema screen manufacturer.
“The combined experience of building small home theater screens and large cinema screens has given Severtson Corp. the expertise to meet the needs of the Pro AV market for both professional indoor applications as well as large outdoor venues,” adds Kirk Severston.
In 2019, Severtson Screens moved into a larger, nearby campus.
“It was time,” says Toby Severtson.
“With our continued growth, we were busting at the seams at our three Mesa [Ariz.] facilities and we needed to find a location where we could expand our headquarters and manufacturing capabilities. Our new San Tan Valley, Ariz., campus has allowed us to grow our footprints for greater production and efficiency by allowing us to design and build a multi-facility campus that fulfills all of our office, manufacturing, and warehousing needs.”
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