Carroll Shelby…An American Icon

Carroll Shelby, an American success story, passed away Thursday, May 10^th in Dallas, Texas at the age of 89. He was a true innovator in the world of auto racing, auto design and, for many folks with a love of chili, he produced the best “chili kit” ever made. Carroll Shelby's Original Texas Chili Kit was first produced in McKinney, Texas.  

How does Carroll Shelby’s story relate to MCD Innovations? What is currently the MCD factory, where we manufacture American Duo™ Day/Night Shades, is the building built by Carroll Shelby to produce his Original Texas Chili Kits. The unique design of the front office area with the fold out doors in the lobby was originally the showroom for Carroll’s Blue Shelby GT Coupe which welcomed visitors to his chili kit factory. The building has numerous offices, five of which feature wood-burning fireplaces.  In Carroll Shelby’s original office, now the office of MCD CEO Dave Townsley, pegged hardwood floors, barn wood paneling, a rock fireplace, and a small bar make for a very comfortable, down-home feel.

In the factory itself, where MCD shades are now being manufactured, Shelby had large stainless steel vats and other equipment related to his chili production. He had won several chili cook-offs and decided to put his secret recipe on supermarket shelves for everyone to enjoy. The very successful chili kit consisted of spices in several packets, all contained in a miniature brown bag with his Texas 10-gallon hat logo on the outside. Carroll was also the founder of the Terlingua International Chili Championship in Terlingua, Texas.

MCD owner Dave Townsley originally visited the building years ago when he was a business partner of Pat Shelby, one of Carroll’s sons.  He loved the Texas ranch house look and feel and kept an eye on its availability. In the spring of 2010 his patience paid off and MCD moved its manufacturing operations to the Shelby building in July of that same year.  9.6 acres, a 150-foot long covered front porch, a small pond with a pampered Swan Goose and Mallard duck, and lots of flowers, trees and shrubbery make for a well appreciated headquarters campus.  Not the typical corporate headquarters.  Visitors are welcome.

MCD Provides Shade to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

For the second time in as many years, MCD donated solar fabric material to be used as a covering to help protect the animals at the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The solar screen material that MCD provided, now totaling approximately 19,000 sq. ft., was used to help protect rescued big cats like lions, tigers and cougars as well as other animals like bears, goats, sheep and a pot-bellied pig from the hot summer sun. The MCD solar screen material helps eliminate UV rays and heat, keeping the animals shaded and more comfortable.

MCD is in the shade business and extending a helping hand to keep the wonderful animals housed at Turpentine Creek happier and healthier is a privilege and an outreach we can provide for a good cause.

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge sent this gallery of photos to show how they put the shade donation from MCD to good use protecting their rescued animals. 

You can visit the Refuge and see all the beautiful animals they take in. You can also visit their website at http://www.turpentinecreek.org for more information or to make a donation.

  MCD SwayShade™ Introduced to the RV Aftermarket 

McKinney, TX – MCD Innovations has once again proven its leadership position in the RV roller shade market with the introduction of the MCD SwayShade™ for aftermarket installations.  This innovative patent-pending design provides complete coverage of cockpit windows that are considerably wider at the bottom than at the top due to the more aerodynamic shape many coach manufacturers are producing.

A conventional shade, moving straight down, will not cover the front lower corner of these new, more angled windows.  As if by magic, the new MCD SwayShade™ is actually able to not only travel down, but also sideways at the same time providing coverage needed for the lower forward corner of the window on these sleek designed motorhomes!  This new shade design is produced in multiple configurations and sizes to provide the exact amount of “forward movement” needed for a particular coach model so as to completely cover the window providing full privacy and sun protection.  The "forward movement” can be as little as 1" to as much as 9" depending upon the particular configuration.

MCD began offering the SwayShade™ as Original Equipment to several OEM manufacturers including Winnebago, Newmar, and Monaco for certain 2011 models.  Since then, more and more OEMs have begun spec’ing the MCD SwayShade™ for an increasing number of models. 

Resounding accolades from OEMs, coupled with an ever growing number of requests by consumers and dealers for SwayShades to fit previously built coaches, has brought about the decision to make the unique shades available to the aftermarket.  The SwayShade™ will be available in a number of standardized sizes to fit most applications in both manually-operated and powered day/night shade versions as of the middle of May, 2012.

Dealers, OEMs and Retail Customers are invited to contact MCD for more details and specifications. To view the SwayShade™ in operation,  click on SwayShade™ under MCD product videos on the left side of the home page.

MCD Shade Installation Upgrade in Family Motor Coaching Magazine

Family Motor Coaching Magazine, the official publication of the Family Motorcoach Association (FMCA) in their April 2012 edition has a solution for RVer’s looking to cut out the heat in their RV in the summer and the cold in the winter.  Solar protection has long been the mainstay for MCD and retrofitting your RV with American Duo™ Day/Night Shades is not as difficult as you might think. Writer Mark Quasius takes us on his journey of removing the outdated pleated shades from his coach and the installation of modern MCD roller shades. On the way to shade nirvana, Quasius talks about the many benefits of switching to MCD shades and the fact that all MCD shades are Made in the USA.

To read the entire story, you can download the MCD installation PDF file HERE.