MANUFACTURING: SeaShell Awnings opens in Carlsbad

By BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Friday, August 15, 2008 5:17 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- An Australian company has landed in North County and says it is bringing jobs.

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SeaShell Awnings USA is a spinoff of an Australian maker of ecologically friendly shade products. The company formally welcomed the public on a hot, sunny Wednesday in Carlsbad with an Aussie-style grand opening.

The company says its hopes to create as many as 300 jobs by 2010 at its manufacturing and distributing headquarters at 3216 Grey Hawk Court.

The awnings reduce heating and cooling energy costs, according to the company. The frames are made out of recycled aluminum and self-retract in 30-35 knot winds. They are constructed somewhat like an umbrella, with ribs that extend from the center, and expand to a circular shape (for stand-alone shade) to a half-circle (for awnings attached to buildings).

Although headquartered in Carlsbad, the company's origin is deeply Australian; spurred by the intense sun in that country.

SeaShell Awnings USA is the result of partnership between Ken Gale, founder of the Australian SeaShell Awnings, and John Hanley, founder of Vista's Solatube, a maker of tubular skylights. Solatube began in Australia and was introduced to the United States by Hanley in 1990.

Both Hanley and Gale are native Australians who moved to the United States from Sydney. Hanley arrived in 1990 and Gale did so just this year.

Hanley said he heard of the Australian SeaShell Awnings from a consultant, who asked if he wanted to bring another product to the United States from Australia.

"We chose Carlsbad in particular because of the Southern California sun, as with Solatube," Hanley said. SeaShell Awnings' offices and manufacturing space are lighted by Solatube skylights.

SeaShell Awnings is starting small, with just 8 employees, Hanley said. In about two years, the workforce is expected to grow to 200 to 300 employees.

Innes Willox, the Australian consul general, attended the opening, which included live music and a Australian foods such as barbecued shrimp, or, as Australians call them, "prawns," Australian sausage and vegemite sandwiches. Vegemite is a sweet-sour brownish relish made from yeast reputed to be packed with vitamins.

Willox said SeaShell Awnings is an example of Australian cleverness in adapting to a often challenging environment.

"We're a country that's very strong in resources: mining, minerals, energy, water, power . . ." Willox said.

Finance is also important, he said, and the country is a good place for Americans to tap into the Asia/Pacific area.

"Australia is very much a hub for the Asia/Pacific region," Willox said. "We work in the same time zone as the region."

But at the same time Australia brings cultural similarities such as language to the table when doing business with the United States, Willox said.

And, as with Hanley and Gale, Australians are already at work building companies in the United States. About 40,000 Aussies live in Southern California, he said.

For more information, go to www.seashellawningsusa.com.

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.