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Awning For House Home Depot
Durkin's Awnings has covered a lot in the accomplished 100 years.
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It's been a aeon aback the family-owned business opened in Danbury, said Jeff Ginty, who grew up about the business his ancestor now runs.
"I apperceive the majority (of ancestors businesses) abort afterwards the third generation," said Ginty, 26, who has formed at Durkin's aback adolescence and hopes to booty over some day.
When he does, Durkin's, which sells custom-built awnings, tents and flags with poles, will be in its fifth bearing of ancestors ownership. "Statistically, we're adjoin all odds."
Durkin's Awnings began in a barn on Mallory Street in 1904. It was founded by Patrick Durkin, an Irish immigrant, and his son Denis, who was built-in in America in 1886. Denis awash the aggregation to his son, William Durkin, and his babe Rita's husband, Bernard Ginty, in 1955. The accepted owners, Bernard's sons, Tom and Bill Ginty, bought the aggregation in 1976, the year William Durkin retired.
The News-Times/David W. Harple Bill Ginty, Bill Clarke and Jeff Ginty, from left, attending over a adapt in the accomplishment breadth of Durkin's. The aggregation is adulatory its 100th year in business.
Durkin's has been amid on Beaver Brook Road aback 1999. The building's storefront acutely displays baby covering samples. The aback of the architecture houses the ability breadth the awnings are made.
It has had its address at several altered places about town, including a 42-year assignment on Federal Road. Tom Ginty, 55, said that as the business grew it bare added space, abnormally for chump parking.
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"Early on, it was a adequately acknowledged business, and apparently was up until the mid-30s," Tom Ginty said.
At first, the aggregation was authoritative food for Danbury's hatting industry, but bound started bearing awnings aback they accomplished the charge in the area, he said.
The founder, Patrick, and his son, Denis, were self-taught, Tom Ginty said. "There is no barter academy that's activity to advise you," to accomplish awnings, he said. "You accept to apprentice it in-house, and there is a lot to learn."
The Durkins anesthetized on their abilities to their descendants. To this day, Durkin's articles its awnings in-house.
Awnings were not alone accepted but were all-important aback the business began. "Years back, it was the alone cooling device; there was no such affair as an air conditioner," Tom Ginty said.
William Durkin, 83, agreed that awnings were a hot article at one time.
"If you attending at any of the old pictures of city Danbury, all of the food had awnings in advanced of them. They were all Durkin's awnings," the grandfathering of four said.
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When the Great Depression hit, the business started to go downhill, beeline through World War II. It was at the business' low point that William Durkin bought it from his father. "The business wasn't annual actual abundant at that time," Durkin said.
Durkin said he didn't initially intend to go into the awnings business. "I was attractive for article myself and wasn't accepting forth too able-bodied in my endeavors," Durkin said.
In 1949, Durkin and his brother-in-law, Bernard Ginty, had started a attic coverings business together. "It was all right, but it wasn't our affection and body business." Compatible business partners, they absitively they would rather covering patios than floors.
In the '60s, decks and patios became added popular, Tom Ginty said, which was a benefaction "not aloof for this company, but for the industry as a whole."
Business has not slowed since, he said. Besides the acceptance of decks and patios, accessible acquaintance of the dangers of bark blight accept benefited the industry, Tom Ginty said.
Tom Ginty said abounding bounded businesses depend on Durkin's for their awnings. Aback Stew Leonard's opened in Danbury in 1988, it was housed in a distinct tent, bought from Durkin's. The dairy abundance still uses the covering in the summer.
Private residences annual for 65 percent of Durkin's sales, Tom Ginty said.
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Jeff Ginty, who majored in business at the University of South Carolina, did his chief apriorism on Durkin's Awnings, and accepted to himself that the business has a ablaze future.
Large alternation stores, like Home Depot and Lowes, that accept been a huge botheration for baby home advance companies accept not aching Durkin's, Tom Ginty said. "I don't attending at any of those above big companies as a blackmail to me, not a lick," he said.
While the big chains advertise "cookie cutter" awnings that appear in a bound cardinal of sizes and shapes, Durkin's custom fits all of its awnings to its clients' needs, he said.
William Durkin said that antagonism with alternation food is annihilation new. "When I was selling, the better catechism I was asked was 'How appear castigation are so abundant added than Sears Roebuck?' and I said, 'We've been aggravating to run them out of business for years!'Ÿ" he chuckled.
Jeff Ginty said that the approaching of the business lies in technology. The aggregation now has a computer affairs it can use to adapt a photograph and appearance barter what an covering would attending like on their abode or business.
"This company's 100 years old," he said. "It's acquired so abundant over the years, I anticipate technology's activity to booty us into the future."
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