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This is Chris Redgrave for Zions Bank Speaking on Business.
If you were to ask mechanical engineer Roger Cullumber (cull-umm-burr) if the quilting industry was a career path he ever considered, his answer would've been, "nope." However, he's not only involved in the business, but his company, operated as a partnership between Roger, his father, David, and his brother, Joe, Quilt EZ in Logan is supporting quilters around the world.
It started as a favor to a neighbor. She had a quilting machine but said it was difficult to follow a pattern, which left her worrying about the final design. To help her, Roger and David — both engineers — created a pantograph with grooves to use with her quilting machine to simplify the process. Realizing the product's potential, they went to quilting shows to test it out. And now their decision paid off, and they have over 200 different patterns and sizes of pantographs they sell. They also moved into a brand new facility in August 2013 to accommodate their growth.
Business was strong enough they later decided to expand beyond pantographs. A few years ago they started into the world of robotics. The idea was to create a robotic machine quilting system that would use the patterns they had already developed. In 2010 the product launched, and they refined it to make it easy to use and control stitching so the thread length between stitches is constant, another concern for quilters.
Their Quilt EZ quilting machines have a strong following across the U.S. and Canada. Quilting varies by region and state, but they sell a lot of product in the Mid-West and the South. Overseas, you'll find Quilt EZ products in Australia and the U.K. Roger always thought he would do something with cars, never thinking he would gravitate to quilts and love his work.
If you'd like to find out more about how to build your company's global presence, you can attend the thirteenth annual Zions Bank Trade and Business Conference on May 21. For more information or to register, visit www.zionsbank.com/conference.
For Zions Bank, I'm Chris Redgrave, speaking on business.
Quilt EZ 144 S. 600 West Logan, UT 84321 435-245-0172 www.quilt-ez.com
