THE LAST IN THE NORTHWEST

As a distributor and installer of window treatments in the Pacific Northwest, Mike DeGraff was all too familiar with the frustrations and pitfalls of small businesses who depended on big box retailers like Hunter Douglas, Mecco, and Draper.

“In those earlier days, we were installing other manufacturers’ products, but finding more and more issues,” DeGraff said. “They were all back east. They would send us a product, it wouldn’t be high-quality, and the turnaround time would be ridiculous.” DeGraff believed his customers deserved quality, speed, and attention to detail. “So we started our own manufacturing operation,” he said, “so we could get the job done right.”

Raising the Bar, Behind Bars

At the time of A&I’s inception, the Twin Rivers Correctional Facility in Monroe, WA made an interesting offer as part of their rehabilitation program for prisoners: We have warehouse space, they said, and we’ll lease it to business owners who are interested in working with our incarcerated citizens.

Just like that, A&I’s labor force grew exponentially. They had the manpower, and they had the square footage for them to work, enabling A&I to achieve the quality, speed, and attention to detail the company was built for.

As A&I grew as a manufacturer, it also invested in its community and region. Workers from Twin Rivers were paid minimum wage or better, and proceeds from their work were set aside to help them get their lives in order before their release. They paid off legal fees, victims compensation, started savings accounts, and even invested.

“The result was that when these people were eventually released, they were prepared to enter the workforce,” DeGraff said. “They didn’t have debt, they had a savings account, and some were even homeowners. We invested in them, and in our region, and that experience is a tremendous point of pride in the story of A&I’s growth over the past 25 years.”

Today, A&I Manufacturing dominates the window treatment industry in the Northwest because they measure their turnaround time in hours, not weeks, and because they continue to strive for the same values they were founded on: Speed, quality, and attention to detail.

Now you know our story. Let us be part of yours.