Thirteen years ago, Vestis Manufacturing Inc. was a five-person operation producing and installing fabric awnings for homes and businesses within 100 miles of Spokane.

Today, Vestis focuses on manufacturing aluminum canopies, louvered sunshades, and bolt-on balconies for commercial clients, shipping its products throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company no longer manufactures fabric products at all, says Dan McGee, executive chairman of Vestis.

“Everything is different,” McGee says. “We’ve tried so many things over the years.”

In 2025, the Spokane-based sunshade and awning company changed its name from Vestis Systems Inc. to Vestis Manufacturing Inc. to reflect its new focus. Manufacturing and installation had essentially become two separate businesses, McGee explains, adding that when installation crews were away, it complicated production scheduling and required a different operational footprint. The strategy now is to make Vestis products extremely easy for someone else to install, he says.

"Part of our job is to make our product so stinking easy to install," McGee says. "Somebody can look at it with confidence and say, 'I feel comfortable.'" That’s a big selling point for us.”

In September, Vestis began operating in a new 21,000-square-foot facility at 1725 N. Waterworks, in Spokane's Chief Garry Park neighborhood, nearly doubling the size of its previous space at 213 E. Ermina. The new facility was purchased for $3.3 million, McGee says.

Revenue has been steadily growing at the company, increasing by $1 million a year over the last couple of years, he says. The company is projected to make $6.2 million this year and has a goal of generating $10 million in annual revenue in the next three years.

With that growth, the company’s workforce has increased to 25 full-time and one part-time employee. Ricky Poon, who joined as its fifth employee, now leads Vestis.

Poon, who took over as CEO in July, joined Vestis over a decade ago after spending seven years as an elementary school teacher. When Poon came aboard for the summer, he was tasked with sweeping floors and other work before McGee offered him a full-time position.

Over the next decade, Poon worked as an installer, learned to weld, and moved into project management and operations before taking the helm of the company.

“My story as the floor sweeper to the CEO really exemplifies the culture we have at Vestis,” Poon says.

The last time the Journal caught up with Vestis was in 2022 when the company launched ready-to-install balconies for multifamily residential construction developments. At the time, the company had already begun billing itself as an aluminum fabrication company and was transitioning away from manufacturing fabric awnings.

Vestis refers to its metal products as canopies, although McGee says the terms canopy and awning are often used interchangeably by customers.

Costs and changing aesthetics prompted Vestis to stop working with fabric, McGee explains. Skilled workers capable of sewing and welding traditional awnings became harder to find, and architecture moved away from traditional awnings toward metal materials, he says.

Wendy’s, the fast-food chain, was once known for its red fabric awnings, McGee points out. Newer restaurants use metal architectural elements instead, which last considerably longer than fabric canopies, he adds.

Unlike a solid canopy, louvered aluminum sunshades let light and weather come through and are designed to help improve energy efficiency. Their projection can be customized so that lower winter sun enters the building while higher summer sun is blocked.

“From an energy code perspective, they are more popular,” McGee says. “A lot of things are driven by cost. … That’s one of the reasons those have become more popular, especially as architecture has developed and evolved over time.”

Vestis was established in April 2013 after the company acquired the assets of longtime Spokane manufacturer F.O. Berg Co., says Andy Barrett, founding board member and investor in Vestis.

Founded in 1883 by Frederick Oliver Berg, the company produced various canvas-type products before the emergence of mass production, including tarps, sleeping bags, camping tents, umbrellas, and outdoor furniture, says Barrett. During World Wars I and II, workers hand-sewed tents for the military. Vestis homed in on the company’s awnings to grow a profitable and focused business that could be sold all over the U.S. and Canada, he says.

As Vestis enters its next stage of operations, Poon says he wants employees to have the same opportunities to grow with the company that he had.

One way that Vestis is working toward his goal is by sharing growth through a companywide incentive program tied to weekly and monthly revenue targets. Every employee is eligible for a $200 weekly bonus and an additional $200 monthly bonus when those targets are met, allowing employees to earn about $1,000 extra a month, Poon says.

“Once a sale is made, it takes all of us to get that revenue,” Poon says. “We all succeed as a team, or we all fail as a team.”