Ideal Shield, a leader in American-made facility maintenance and safety solutions, will be celebrating its official 25th anniversary throughout 2022.
Since 1997, the minority-owned, family-operated manufacturing and sales company headquartered at the old Cadillac Clark Street plant in Southwest Detroit has provided innovative and reliable products to companies and corporations throughout North America.
Ideal Shield first made its mark back in the early ’90s before officially becoming a company. Frank Venegas’ invention of the Plastic Sleeved Pipe Industrial Guardrail and the ever-so-popular Bollard Cover while under Ideal Steel & Builders’ Supplies set the stage for Ideal Shield. Since then, the company has expanded its product catalog ten-fold with the additions of Industrial & Commercial Handrail systems, the largest selection of Steel Bollards and Bollard Cover offerings, a wide variety of Industrial Guardrail systems, and the industry’s top-selling Plastic Sign Base system.
“The idea to invent the Bollard Cover is an interesting story,” said Ideal Shield owner and CEO Frank Venegas. “Back in 1990, I noticed several employees at an automotive plant spending their time painting and re-painting these steel bollard posts around the facility. That’s when I came up with the idea for the Bumper Post Sleeve (more formally known as the Bollard Cover).” Venegas said. “So, I took a piece of extruded plastic I was using to sleeve our pipe guardrail, put a cap on the top of it, and delivered it myself. I knew these covers were going to be something, but what it has turned into has been beyond my wildest dreams”.
Since its inception, Ideal Shield designed its product line to be cost-effective safety and operational solutions that’ll help limit maintenance time for industrial facilities and enhance the overall appearance of commercial properties. But it’s more than just that. Ideal Shield has continued to adapt and develop innovative solutions to meet customer and market needs, like the Pyramid Sign Base, which became the top-selling curbside pickup sign base in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exceeding 50 employees between office and production workers, Ideal Shield has a committed workforce that includes several members that have been with the company for more than 15 years. That employee retention has helped the company consistently produce high-quality work, which has led to sales rising steadily over the 25 years in business, including a jump from $15 million in 2016 to nearly $30 million in 2021.
“Seeing the Ideal Shield brand grow over the last 25 years to what it is today makes me very proud. From our customers and distributors to our talented and hardworking team, we cannot thank you enough for helping Shield grow from an idea into an industry leader,” said Ideal Shield Vice President Chris Parenti.
Throughout the 25 years of success, Ideal Shield has continued to stay true to its core values which focus on stellar customer service, producing high-quality products, building a strong distribution network, and giving back to the local Southwest Detroit community.
The Ideal Shield team celebrating its 25th anniversary
