User:Cullen328/sandbox/Hunter Douglas


 * Keep In this 1999 article, the New York Times called Hunter Douglas "the world's leading maker of window blinds and coverings". The current corporate entity was formed in 1971, as described in this article in the Montreal Gazette, and was notable even back then as it operated in 75 countries. This 2003 article in the Washington Post said the company had $880 million in U.S. and Canadian sales, and "numerous facilities across this country". In 1992, the Denver Post published this 892 word article describing it as an "immensely successful company". There is a profile of the company in Jane's Major Companies of Europe, published in 1975. In 1993, the New York Times collaborated with the company to publish a book on the company's product line. Though not an independent source, this publication is an indicator of the significance of the firm. This book on business management devotes 15 pages to Hunter Douglas. This book on luxury marketing devotes three pages to the company. This book on business management devotes a chapter to Hunter Douglas.


 * I looked only at English language sources. The company is headquartered in The Netherlands, operates in over 100 countries, and has 17,000 employees. I found many newspaper and book sources in Dutch, but didn't bother with Google Translate, since the English sources make it clear that the company is notable.

"the world's leading maker of window blinds and coverings"

The current corporate structure, Hunter Douglas N.V., was formed in the Netherlands Antilles in 1971 as a result of a restructuring of the previous Canadian entity, Hunter Douglas Ltd. For tax reasons, investors could select either common or preferred shares through 1990. The company operated in 75 countries at that time.

It has been a ''successful company" for several decades.

"The Hunter Douglas Group had its origin in 1919 when Henry Sonnenberg, the present Chairman, started the manufacture and marketing of specialised production equipment in Germany and subsequently expanded to The Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S.A. The Hunter Douglas Corporation, created in the United States in 1947, developed a novel continuous casting process for the production of aluminum strip and related rolling and coating processes, to produce material and components for aluminium venetian blinds and other building and home improvement products. Hunter Douglas operations were established in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands. The U.S.A. operations were sold in 1956 and emphasis was then placed on other parts of the world. The various foreign affiliates were transferred to Hunter Douglas Limited, a Canadian company whose shares were issued to the public in June 1969 and listed on the Toronto, Montreal and Amsterdam Stock Exchanges. On September 30"

"Henry Sonnenberg, a German-born financial wizard, in 1919 operated a small precision machinery plant in his native country. The rise of Nazism expelled him to Holland and from there to England where he purchased the Douglas Machinery"