Origin of RollEase window shades and blinds
In 1980 Dr. Francis Mechner and Dr. Martin Waine launched General Clutch Corp. (“GCC”) (formerly named Nisenson Technology Corporation) and located its manufacturing facility at 200 Harvard Avenue in Stamford, Connecticut. The engineer and clutch designer Jules Nisenson had proposed a then-novel mechanism for operating window shades with cord loops and pulleys, where a wrap-spring clutch holds up the shade or blind against gravity. The clutch consisted of a steel spring wrapped around a plastic drum mounted inside a plastic housing. This method for operating window coverings was new at the time and GCC, under the leadership of Dr. Waine, developed and patented several applications of it. Over the following two decades, the method came into world-wide use.
Backgrounds of management personnel
Dr. Waine, formerly on the physics faculty of Mt. Holyoke College, with a Ph.D. from Yale University, serving as President of GCC, oversaw the technical and commercial development of the company's products and the patenting of their key features, with the support of a team of engineers headed by Edward Rude, Robert Mozdzer, and Garrett Bebell. Mr. Rude was GCC/RollEase's chief engineer. His career as a mechanical engineer centered on the development of innovative systems for NASA, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Postal Service, and he was the inventor of numerous patents. Mr. Mozdzer designed and built most of GCC/RollEase's manufacturing, testing, quality control, and inventory control systems. Mr. Bebell's entire career has been with GCC/RollEase, performing leadership functions in sales, marketing, administration, and engineering. As of 2006 he has been President of TorqMaster, Inc., described below.
Dr. Mechner, CEO and Chairman of GCC, provided GCC's initial capital. He had a background of founding and building companies based on innovative technologies. Four of his successes were Basic Systems Inc., Chyron Corporation, General Clutch Corp. (a.k.a. RollEase), and Pragma LLC.
In 1965 he sold his educational technology firm Basic Systems, Inc. to Xerox Corporation for the 2020 equivalent of approximately $50 million. Xerox resold it in 1985 to the Los Angeles Times Mirror for $117 million.
In 1966 Dr. Mechner co-founded Systems Resources Corporation with engineer Eugene Leonard. Mechner and Leonard renamed the company Chyron Corporation for its main product, the television graphics generator now used in TV broadcasting throughout the world.
In 2005 Dr. Mechner co-founded Pragma LLC, now one of the world's leading providers to banks, brokers, and asset managers, of algorithmic and AI-based systems for optimizing the execution of equity and currency trades. Pragma has been named "Independent Algorithmic Trading Technology Provider of the Year" by FX Week's e-FX Awards 2019.
Commercial Development
GCC had its first commercial successes when it presented its designs to the country's largest window covering manufacturers. Those that showed the greatest interest, and awarded GCC significant development contracts, were Joanna Western Mills (at that time the world's largest window shade manufacturer), Kirsch (at that time the world's second largest manufacturer of window coverings) and Levolor (at that time the world's largest manufacturer of venetian slat blinds). Under these contracts, GCC developed a broad line of proprietary designs for operating window coverings, all based on its clutch technology, and marketed them under the trade name RollEase. GCC adapted its technology to the design of hardware for the operation of roller shades (before the advent of the RollEase pulley-cord loop-operated clutch systems, roller shades were operated by helical coil springs), venetian slat blinds (which had traditionally been operated by a two-string mechanism for tilting and another mechanism for lifting the blind), “soft window treatments,” and cellular shades for whose operation GCC invented a family of new mechanisms all based on the RollEase pulley-cord loop-operated clutch system. After GCC had been marketing these products successfully for several years, the Dutch company Hunter Douglas N.V., then the largest window treatment company in the world, elected to use GCC's clutch-based hardware for the introduction of its “cellular” Duette blind. Hunter Douglas then became and remained GCC's largest customer for over a decade.
Spinoff of TorqMaster Corporation
In 1987, GCC discovered that its clutch technology was also applicable to the design of precision friction hinges. It thereupon created a new hinge division which it later spun off as the separate company TorqMaster, Inc.
For a time, under the leadership of Dr. Martin Waine, TorqMaster manufactured and supplied the hinges for Apple's first laptop computers, and also for the first laptop computers of IBM, Hewlett Packard, and for Compaq's Drive Box. TorqMaster also supplied its hinges to many other leading computer, electronics, medical equipment, and instrument companies. It provided its precision friction hinge technology to Motorola, Cisco, Medtronic, and Kodak for applications in medical equipment, lab instruments, specialized portable computers, specialized displays (voting machines, point of sale equipment, kiosks, defense), aerospace (seat tray hinges, headrests), conference room equipment, and cabinet doors. As of 2020, TorqMaster, with Garrett Bebell as President, and Drs. Martin Waine and Francis Mechner as Directors, is still a premier developer and manufacturer of precision friction hinges.
Sale of RollEase and General Clutch Corporation
Shortly after the spinoff of TorqMaster, the U.K. firm Gartland, Whalley, and Barker Ltd. (GWB), purchased GCC for a price that corresponds to approximately $50 million in 2020 U.S. dollars, in a cash plus earnout sale.
Under GWB's management and Derek Marsh as CEO, GCC, renamed RollEase, Inc. after the RollEase tradename, continued its rapid growth at the same Stamford CT location, with progressive strengthening of RollEase as a worldwide standard. As of 2020, numerous entities in the window covering industry, throughout the world, had adopted the name RollEase or Rollease for their businesses or products.
In 2014, RollEase, Inc. and the Australian firms Acmeda Pty Ltd and Acmeda S.R.L. combined their operations to form the Rollease Acmeda Group - now the largest independent entity in the window covering industry.
In 1980 Dr. Francis Mechner and Dr. Martin Waine launched General Clutch Corp. (“GCC”) (formerly named Nisenson Technology Corporation) and located its manufacturing facility at 200 Harvard Avenue in Stamford, Connecticut. The engineer and clutch designer Jules Nisenson had proposed a then-novel mechanism for operating window shades with cord loops and pulleys, where a wrap-spring clutch holds up the shade or blind against gravity. The clutch consisted of a steel spring wrapped around a plastic drum mounted inside a plastic housing. This method for operating window coverings was new at the time and GCC, under the leadership of Dr. Waine, developed and patented several applications of it. Over the following two decades, the method came into world-wide use.
Backgrounds of management personnel
Dr. Waine, formerly on the physics faculty of Mt. Holyoke College, with a Ph.D. from Yale University, serving as President of GCC, oversaw the technical and commercial development of the company's products and the patenting of their key features, with the support of a team of engineers headed by Edward Rude, Robert Mozdzer, and Garrett Bebell. Mr. Rude was GCC/RollEase's chief engineer. His career as a mechanical engineer centered on the development of innovative systems for NASA, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Postal Service, and he was the inventor of numerous patents. Mr. Mozdzer designed and built most of GCC/RollEase's manufacturing, testing, quality control, and inventory control systems. Mr. Bebell's entire career has been with GCC/RollEase, performing leadership functions in sales, marketing, administration, and engineering. As of 2006 he has been President of TorqMaster, Inc., described below.
Dr. Mechner, CEO and Chairman of GCC, provided GCC's initial capital. He had a background of founding and building companies based on innovative technologies. Four of his successes were Basic Systems Inc., Chyron Corporation, General Clutch Corp. (a.k.a. RollEase), and Pragma LLC.
In 1965 he sold his educational technology firm Basic Systems, Inc. to Xerox Corporation for the 2020 equivalent of approximately $50 million. Xerox resold it in 1985 to the Los Angeles Times Mirror for $117 million.
In 1966 Dr. Mechner co-founded Systems Resources Corporation with engineer Eugene Leonard. Mechner and Leonard renamed the company Chyron Corporation for its main product, the television graphics generator now used in TV broadcasting throughout the world.
In 2005 Dr. Mechner co-founded Pragma LLC, now one of the world's leading providers to banks, brokers, and asset managers, of algorithmic and AI-based systems for optimizing the execution of equity and currency trades. Pragma has been named "Independent Algorithmic Trading Technology Provider of the Year" by FX Week's e-FX Awards 2019.
Commercial Development
GCC had its first commercial successes when it presented its designs to the country's largest window covering manufacturers. Those that showed the greatest interest, and awarded GCC significant development contracts, were Joanna Western Mills (at that time the world's largest window shade manufacturer), Kirsch (at that time the world's second largest manufacturer of window coverings) and Levolor (at that time the world's largest manufacturer of venetian slat blinds). Under these contracts, GCC developed a broad line of proprietary designs for operating window coverings, all based on its clutch technology, and marketed them under the trade name RollEase. GCC adapted its technology to the design of hardware for the operation of roller shades (before the advent of the RollEase pulley-cord loop-operated clutch systems, roller shades were operated by helical coil springs), venetian slat blinds (which had traditionally been operated by a two-string mechanism for tilting and another mechanism for lifting the blind), “soft window treatments,” and cellular shades for whose operation GCC invented a family of new mechanisms all based on the RollEase pulley-cord loop-operated clutch system. After GCC had been marketing these products successfully for several years, the Dutch company Hunter Douglas N.V., then the largest window treatment company in the world, elected to use GCC's clutch-based hardware for the introduction of its “cellular” Duette blind. Hunter Douglas then became and remained GCC's largest customer for over a decade.
Spinoff of TorqMaster Corporation
In 1987, GCC discovered that its clutch technology was also applicable to the design of precision friction hinges. It thereupon created a new hinge division which it later spun off as the separate company TorqMaster, Inc.
For a time, under the leadership of Dr. Martin Waine, TorqMaster manufactured and supplied the hinges for Apple's first laptop computers, and also for the first laptop computers of IBM, Hewlett Packard, and for Compaq's Drive Box. TorqMaster also supplied its hinges to many other leading computer, electronics, medical equipment, and instrument companies. It provided its precision friction hinge technology to Motorola, Cisco, Medtronic, and Kodak for applications in medical equipment, lab instruments, specialized portable computers, specialized displays (voting machines, point of sale equipment, kiosks, defense), aerospace (seat tray hinges, headrests), conference room equipment, and cabinet doors. As of 2020, TorqMaster, with Garrett Bebell as President, and Drs. Martin Waine and Francis Mechner as Directors, is still a premier developer and manufacturer of precision friction hinges.
Sale of RollEase and General Clutch Corporation
Shortly after the spinoff of TorqMaster, the U.K. firm Gartland, Whalley, and Barker Ltd. (GWB), purchased GCC for a price that corresponds to approximately $50 million in 2020 U.S. dollars, in a cash plus earnout sale.
Under GWB's management and Derek Marsh as CEO, GCC, renamed RollEase, Inc. after the RollEase tradename, continued its rapid growth at the same Stamford CT location, with progressive strengthening of RollEase as a worldwide standard. As of 2020, numerous entities in the window covering industry, throughout the world, had adopted the name RollEase or Rollease for their businesses or products.
In 2014, RollEase, Inc. and the Australian firms Acmeda Pty Ltd and Acmeda S.R.L. combined their operations to form the Rollease Acmeda Group - now the largest independent entity in the window covering industry.
Gregory Katz is a French professor of medicine, who holds the Chair of Innovation & Value in Health at the University of Paris School of Medicine. He is founding director of the VBHC Consortium. In 2019-2020, EIT Health - a body of the European Union - commissioned Katz to publish a report entitled Implementing Value-Based Health Care in Europe: Handbook for Pioneers.
Academic Life
From 2004 to 2015, Katz was Chaired Professor of Therapeutic Innovation at ESSEC Business School (Paris-Singapore) and co-Director of the ESSEC Institute of Health Economics & Management. As visiting professor at INSEAD, he taught corporate social responsibility in the Department of Asian Business & Comparative Management in Singapore. In 2016, Katz joined the University of Paris School of Medicine, where he conducts research in Value-Based Health Care, and trains medical doctors in innovation management. He sits on advisory committees and expert panels of institutions such as the French Haute Autorité de Santé, the French Senate, the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. a philosophical essay on DNA. He has been used as an expert by the French Senate.
As part of the 2011 debate on French bioethics laws, Gregory Katz was involved in the drafting of a bill sponsored by Senator Hermange to establish the status of stem cells contained in umbilical cord blood. Before this, such cells were considered "biological waste", with no defined legal status, the legal status of these stem cells was not clearly defined by French law. The bill was passed in 2011 by the French Senate and National Assembly.
Publications
Katz's publications analyze the economic and organizational implications of biomedical innovations, with a focus on genomics and stem cell banks. His core expertise is Value-Based Health Care, the development of patient-reported outcome measurements (PROMs), and the impact of transparency on medical practices and health systems.
In 2002, Katz published Le Chiffre de la vie: réconcilier la génétique et l’humanisme, a philosophical essay on DNA (Editions du Seuil).
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*G. KATZ-BENICHOU, Le chiffre de la vie : réconcilier la génétique et l’humanisme, Paris, Seuil, 2002 ()
Awards and Nominations
Katz was awarded the San Benedetto international prize in 2008 for his achievements in bioethics and humanism. He was invited to speak at the 2015 Grand Rounds lectures at the Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA.
Academic Life
From 2004 to 2015, Katz was Chaired Professor of Therapeutic Innovation at ESSEC Business School (Paris-Singapore) and co-Director of the ESSEC Institute of Health Economics & Management. As visiting professor at INSEAD, he taught corporate social responsibility in the Department of Asian Business & Comparative Management in Singapore. In 2016, Katz joined the University of Paris School of Medicine, where he conducts research in Value-Based Health Care, and trains medical doctors in innovation management. He sits on advisory committees and expert panels of institutions such as the French Haute Autorité de Santé, the French Senate, the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. a philosophical essay on DNA. He has been used as an expert by the French Senate.
As part of the 2011 debate on French bioethics laws, Gregory Katz was involved in the drafting of a bill sponsored by Senator Hermange to establish the status of stem cells contained in umbilical cord blood. Before this, such cells were considered "biological waste", with no defined legal status, the legal status of these stem cells was not clearly defined by French law. The bill was passed in 2011 by the French Senate and National Assembly.
Publications
Katz's publications analyze the economic and organizational implications of biomedical innovations, with a focus on genomics and stem cell banks. His core expertise is Value-Based Health Care, the development of patient-reported outcome measurements (PROMs), and the impact of transparency on medical practices and health systems.
In 2002, Katz published Le Chiffre de la vie: réconcilier la génétique et l’humanisme, a philosophical essay on DNA (Editions du Seuil).
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*G. KATZ-BENICHOU, Le chiffre de la vie : réconcilier la génétique et l’humanisme, Paris, Seuil, 2002 ()
Awards and Nominations
Katz was awarded the San Benedetto international prize in 2008 for his achievements in bioethics and humanism. He was invited to speak at the 2015 Grand Rounds lectures at the Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA.
The Nashville Homeless Power Project is a non-profit organization of homeless and formerly homeless people focused on advocating for the rights of the homeless in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mission
From their website:
We are homeless and formerly homeless people confronting the root causes of poverty and oppression. We fight for the human rights of all poor people while striving for the civil rights of those who remain on the streets. We believe that housing, healthcare, food security and use of public facilities are rights that we all deserve. We develop concrete solutions by building power through relationships with our brothers and sisters in the streets, allies, and decision makers. WE ORGANIZE FOR CHANGE!
History
The Nashville Homeless Power Project was founded in June 2002 by Jerry West, John Zirker, Howard Allen, Emma McCloud, Daniel Brown, Karl Smithson, Matt Leber, and Toni Clayton. The organization hosted its first event on October 2, 2002, a forum for political candidates to discuss issues relevant to Nashville's homeless. The event was attended by over 200 homeless individuals and attracted significant media attention.
In June 2007, the group organized an "Urban Plunge" for Nashville's mayoral candidates, in which six of the candidates agreed to be homeless for a night in order to gain first-hand experience of the issues faced by the city's homeless population. It is believed to have been the first event of its kind in the U.S. The Power Project also published a study in November 2007 addressing the poor conditions of the Nashville Rescue Mission, a local homeless shelter.
Mission
From their website:
We are homeless and formerly homeless people confronting the root causes of poverty and oppression. We fight for the human rights of all poor people while striving for the civil rights of those who remain on the streets. We believe that housing, healthcare, food security and use of public facilities are rights that we all deserve. We develop concrete solutions by building power through relationships with our brothers and sisters in the streets, allies, and decision makers. WE ORGANIZE FOR CHANGE!
History
The Nashville Homeless Power Project was founded in June 2002 by Jerry West, John Zirker, Howard Allen, Emma McCloud, Daniel Brown, Karl Smithson, Matt Leber, and Toni Clayton. The organization hosted its first event on October 2, 2002, a forum for political candidates to discuss issues relevant to Nashville's homeless. The event was attended by over 200 homeless individuals and attracted significant media attention.
In June 2007, the group organized an "Urban Plunge" for Nashville's mayoral candidates, in which six of the candidates agreed to be homeless for a night in order to gain first-hand experience of the issues faced by the city's homeless population. It is believed to have been the first event of its kind in the U.S. The Power Project also published a study in November 2007 addressing the poor conditions of the Nashville Rescue Mission, a local homeless shelter.
House2Home Network is a virtual furniture bank housed at Whatcom Volunteer Center in Bellingham, Washington. House2Home Network is unique because there is no physical warehouse. Instead, donors store items until they are needed. According to the National Furniture Bank Association, it is the only virtual model in the United States.
House2Home Network serves people who were recently homeless and acquired housing through housing case management. House2Home Network is unique because it does not have a warehouse - instead, volunteers pick items up from donors and deliver them to customers’ new homes.
The House2Home Network made its first delivery on September 3, 2009. In April 2010, House 2 Home Network became the first virtual furniture bank to join the National Furniture Bank Association. On May 18, 2010 House2Home Network received a $5,000 grant from Whatcom Community Foundation to continue expanding the program.
In June 2010 the House2Home Network successfully completed deliveries to 100 unduplicated households. This was the program's one-year goal and it was reached in only seven months.
After being sunset as a program by The Opportunity Council in Dec. of 2017 the program was restarted by citizens and local business in Jan. of 2019. It then was brought under the banner of Sustainable Connections another Bellingham non-profit focused on waste minimization.
History
House 2 Home Network is a collaborative effort by Whatcom Volunteer Center and Whatcom Homeless Service Center. The Opportunity Council provided start-up funds for the House 2 Home Network. An American Recovery and Reinvestment Act AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer was recruited to coordinate the program.
House 2 Home Network addresses some of the basic needs of the Housing First model. With rapid re-housing as a focus, Housing First was initiated to get people who were homeless into permanent, affordable housing. As people enter housing, issues such as mental illness and substance abuse are addressed through wrap-around case management services. Many people who are homeless enter housing without furniture or household goods. Before the creation of House 2 Home, recently housed families and individuals had to rely on social and familial networks to borrow or purchase furniture or buy it second-hand at Goodwill, Salvation Army, or other thrift stores. Even at second-hand rates, the costs associated with furnishing an entire household are beyond the means for most families living on public benefits. House 2 Home Network removes the costs associated with furnishing a home by bringing donated furniture to the homes of people who have recently been housed.
House 2 Home Network has several partnering agencies in Whatcom County that make the program possible.
* These partner agencies include:
** Whatcom Homeless Service Center
** Opportunity Council
** Lydia Place
** Northwest Youth Services
** Womencare Shelter
** Lake Whatcom Residential and Treatment Center
Philosophy
House 2 Home Network was founded on the principal of Just-In-Time inventory management. This philosophy views maintaining inventory as a wasteful practice because it requires a physical warehouse, staffing, and management. House 2 Home Network maintains no warehouse and is operated by volunteers, significantly driving operating costs down.
House2Home Network serves people who were recently homeless and acquired housing through housing case management. House2Home Network is unique because it does not have a warehouse - instead, volunteers pick items up from donors and deliver them to customers’ new homes.
The House2Home Network made its first delivery on September 3, 2009. In April 2010, House 2 Home Network became the first virtual furniture bank to join the National Furniture Bank Association. On May 18, 2010 House2Home Network received a $5,000 grant from Whatcom Community Foundation to continue expanding the program.
In June 2010 the House2Home Network successfully completed deliveries to 100 unduplicated households. This was the program's one-year goal and it was reached in only seven months.
After being sunset as a program by The Opportunity Council in Dec. of 2017 the program was restarted by citizens and local business in Jan. of 2019. It then was brought under the banner of Sustainable Connections another Bellingham non-profit focused on waste minimization.
History
House 2 Home Network is a collaborative effort by Whatcom Volunteer Center and Whatcom Homeless Service Center. The Opportunity Council provided start-up funds for the House 2 Home Network. An American Recovery and Reinvestment Act AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer was recruited to coordinate the program.
House 2 Home Network addresses some of the basic needs of the Housing First model. With rapid re-housing as a focus, Housing First was initiated to get people who were homeless into permanent, affordable housing. As people enter housing, issues such as mental illness and substance abuse are addressed through wrap-around case management services. Many people who are homeless enter housing without furniture or household goods. Before the creation of House 2 Home, recently housed families and individuals had to rely on social and familial networks to borrow or purchase furniture or buy it second-hand at Goodwill, Salvation Army, or other thrift stores. Even at second-hand rates, the costs associated with furnishing an entire household are beyond the means for most families living on public benefits. House 2 Home Network removes the costs associated with furnishing a home by bringing donated furniture to the homes of people who have recently been housed.
House 2 Home Network has several partnering agencies in Whatcom County that make the program possible.
* These partner agencies include:
** Whatcom Homeless Service Center
** Opportunity Council
** Lydia Place
** Northwest Youth Services
** Womencare Shelter
** Lake Whatcom Residential and Treatment Center
Philosophy
House 2 Home Network was founded on the principal of Just-In-Time inventory management. This philosophy views maintaining inventory as a wasteful practice because it requires a physical warehouse, staffing, and management. House 2 Home Network maintains no warehouse and is operated by volunteers, significantly driving operating costs down.