Duralum Products, Inc.

Our company began In 1961, as DURALUM AWNINGS, started by a visionary by the name of Ed Sorenson. Mr. Sorenson had started working in the then “new” aluminum awning industry just at the end of World War II. Aluminum had been hard to get during the War, but with its end, aluminum manufacturers were looking for new products. Mr. Sorenson built one of the first machines to make an aluminum awning pan. Up until that time all pans were made on a large hand brake. Built in his garage, the “pan machine” produced an improved version of the window awning, then a much sought after item used to reduce the amount of sunshine and heat entering through the mostly single-pane windows in those days.

From the small but successful start with Window Awnings, Mr. Sorenson built more machines and began to make a larger aluminum pan that could be used for Patios. Over the course of the next 30 years, his company grew to six branches stretching from Washington to San Diego and focused on the then growing Manufactured Housing market where his Patio Covers met the buyers need for shade at an affordable price.

With the recession of 1992 and the decline in the Manufactured Housing market, Mr. Sorenson sold what was left of Duralum Awnings, now down to just one branch in Sacramento and 5 employees, to Mr. Anson in 1992 and was reformed as Duralum Products, Inc. Mr. Anson moved the company into larger facilities just down the street in 1995. He still remembers wondering how they would ever use all that space…

Over the next 20+ years, Mr. Anson focused Duralum’s strengths toward the residential market. Growing slowly as internal funds would allow, more and more machines were built that made products to meet a demand from the more discerning residential customer. The end result is the gorgeous WeatherWood® line of Patio Products, emphasizing style and durability while providing a vast array of options and colors for the homeowner.