LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's so important to stay cool during these triple digits. We're taking you inside a valley facility where they're focused on keeping you in the shade.
It's a Nevada Built business where we learned, the employees are the backbone of the company.
"Okay. Three, two, one," says 13 Action News anchor Kalyna Astrinos, as she pushes buttons to start a machine.
SUN CONTROL
This is just one of the many machines at Polar Shades Sun Control on North Stephanie, near Russell. More than 100 employees inside this 50,000 square foot facility manufacture interior and exterior roller shades for homes, commercial buildings, restaurants and more.
"You name it, we build it," says company President, Steve Mevius.
He started the company in 1994. It all began while trying to find a solution to keeping his own home cool during the hot summer months.
"I had a neighbor who had just put solar screens on. I had no idea what solar screens were. So, I went over to his house and I'm like, right next door. I said, God, your house is so much cooler than mine. I said why? He says, Oh, let me show you," says Steve.
"So, he opened up his verticals and I'm like, touching the window. I'm like, Wow, it's room temperature. I opened up the slider and then he slid the slider that had the solar screen in it and it just hit you just like that. He pulled it back across and I was like, I've never seen anything that gives you immediate relief as fast as that solar screen," says Steve.
So, he got to work, gathering the right materials, and creating solar screens, right from his backyard.
"I never imagined at the time it would be what it is," says Steve.
MAKING & TESTING
Now his company builds close to 150,000 shades a year and distributes across the country. But Steve says it's their technology and attention to detail that sets them apart.
"Most people make a shade, and they just send it out. They don't have these types of racks to hang them with LED lighting, to look for flaws and things like that. So that's what really separates us... We have three automated cutting tables that allow us to produce the amount of shades that we're capable of doing," says Steve.
The company is growing and recruiting.
Steve says, "The employees are the heartbeat of this company. I mean, Lorraine has been with me since 2005. Her sister 2005. So without the employees, we couldn't do what we're doing... We're just looking for good quality people that have a great attitude and want to come to work. We can teach them everything else."
Steve hopes to keep his business in the family for years to come. He says he has his employees and the people of Las Vegas to thank, for keeping him up and running for so long.
During the pandemic, the company stopped production and focused on manufacturing protective gear like gowns and surgical masks for health care workers.
