FREDERICKSBURG, VA, NOVEMBER 2, 2009 - Harkness Screens, the world's leading manufacturer of projection screens for cinema applications is celebrating its 80th year in business.
From its humble beginnings in 1929, Harkness Screens has grown to employ 100 people spanning five countries. Harkness Screens has thousands of large screens installed in more than 50 countries throughout the world. Harkness serves the cinema, film production, special effects and live events markets. Harkness makes screens for 2D and 3D digital projection and for 35mm film projection, as well as screens for rear-projection. Harkness Screens also specializes in the production of custom made frames.
In 1929, Andrew Smith Harkness first entered into the screen-manufacturing business with his 18-year-old son Tom.
During the early 1940s, when Tom Harkness began making trips to the U.S., he 'discovered' plastic. A new material which seemed to possess all the properties required in an ideal screen, plastic still needed to be joined. Harkness developed and patented a revolutionary method of welding the plastic together called the Tearseal method. Where other manufacturers had failed to produce invisible seams, the Harkness Tearseal method produced a flat seam, and this made all the difference. The brand new Harkness Screens were a huge success.
In the early 1950s, screen perforations were incorporated into Harkness screens enabling behind-screen speaker placement, creating a whole new cinema experience.
Harkness' greatest achievement was the development of the Perlux(r) coated screen that offered a brighter, more vivid presentation. This technology helped established Harkness as the world's leading screen maker. Harkness Screens has used its knowledge of coating screens to produce the latest generation of Spectral ? 'silver' screens for the rapidly growing 3D cinema application.
Andrew Robinson is the current Managing Director/CEO of Harkness Screens. Robinson joined Harkness Screens in 1999 and has been instrumental in focusing Harkness on the manufacturing of large screens for entertainment and related applications. In addition, Robinson focused on international growth by expanding the company's U.S. operations, acquiring European facilities (based in France), growing an Asian dealer network and opening a factory in China.
"We have always aimed to provide our customers with high performance, consistent quality and cost effective screens and frames," says Robinson. "We have tried to be responsive to our customers' needs and this has helped to grow our business. As technology evolves, so does our commitment to develop products that will keep us at the forefront of the industry."
About Harkness Screens
Harkness Screens is the world's leading manufacturer of large screens. Thousands of screens are supplied every year for cinema, film production, special effects, live events and custom AV applications. Founded in the 1920s, Harkness has screens in place in over 50 countries. With its corporate office located in the Ireland, other offices and factories are located in UK, France, Beijing and Fredericksburg, VA. Harkness Screens combines unrivalled experience with the latest technology to provide innovative solutions to the company's key markets worldwide. For more information, visit the Harkness Screens web page at www.harkness-screens.com.