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Suncovers®
... QUALITY BY DESIGN!
When
Marie Tynan, the owner of Suncovers®,
of Lantana, Florida, took up playing golf, she never dreamed that it
would lead to a new career
and also to an annual day of festivities for her whole community.
If You Want It Done Right
You Have To Do It Yourself
Creative by nature, as well as by profession, Marie Tynan
is a state certified interior designer. It was while doing interior
design
at the home of her friend, Shirley Bainbridge, that Shirley got Marie
interested in playing golf. Soon Marie sought out added help from Atlantis
Golf Club head pro, Clarke George on the finer points of the game and
became a steady golfer.
In 1991, Shirley went to her native Canada for the summer and loaned
Marie her golf car. In the ensuing months Marie played so much golf that
she literally wore out the seat covers on Shirley's golf car. She began
shopping for seat covers to redo the vehicle. Perfectionist that she is,
Marie was unable to find any seat covers that she deemed good enough for
her friend's golf car. The idea then came to her to design her own seat
covers.
Having had experience with Sunbrella® material
as an interior designer, Marie knew that this was the perfect material
for golf car seat
covers, even though no one had ever used it for that purpose. Sunbrella
would be able to withstand the harsh Florida sun and changing weather
conditions. In addition, the material does not fade or mildew, it's water
repellent and, most importantly, it's far more durable than vinyl.
Marie made the seat covers for Shirley's golf car, installed them
and then went to play golf at the Atlantis Golf Club. There the seat covers
became an instant sensation. Everyone who saw them wanted a set. Clarke
George gave the seat covers his blessing and support through the Atlantis
Golf Club pro shop, and before you could say, "that's a gimmee,"
Suncovers was launched.
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Fit To Be Tried
For the next three months, extensive research into bindings,
threads and other components was ongoing. "Our thrust from the very
beginning was to make the very best product on the market." said
Tynan. She spent a great deal of time and energy coming up with the best
design and creating the patterns that result in the best formfitting seat
covers possible. Suncovers, the originator of Sunbrella golf car seat
covers, also uses Sunbrella binding and the highest quality bungee cords
and velcro. They also maintain rigid quality control standards to assure
that their seat covers fit perfectly.
Initially Suncovers offered Sunbrella seat covers for Club Car
and EZGo. It wasn't long, however, before they designed seat covers
for
all major brands of golf carts. Today, Suncovers will custom design seat
covers for any golf car or turf and industrial vehicle. Recently they
even created a Sunbrella battery charger cover for a client who wanted
one to match his seat covers.
Sandy Thompson, one of Suncovers' first customers points out another
reason for Sunbrella's great popularity. "The thing I like most
about the Sunbrella seat covers is that they're machine washable and
dry
in just a few minutes," she said. Suncovers® Sunbrella
seat covers are available in just about every solid color imaginable
as well as in
dozens of coordinating striped colors.
In addition to the quick selling Sunbrella seat covers, which slip
over the existing vinyl seats and seat backs, Suncovers offers an upholstered
version which replaces the vinyl seat cover and becomes a permanent installation.
Service...So No One Has to Play The Waiting Game
In the highly competitive world of business it's not enough
to have a top quality product. Service is vitally important too, and
Suncovers
excels in this area as well. Suncovers maintains a large inventory on
the shelf to enable them to make same day shipments. As Marie Tynan
points
out, when customers buy a new or used golf car they want it completely
outfitted the way they want, before they take delivery. It is thus important
to the dealer that he is able to outfit the golf car quickly in order
to deliver it and get paid. "Golf car dealers want us to help by
giving them a trouble free, customer pleasing and prompt response to
their
needs. There is no question that Suncovers will do whatever it takes
to help our dealers deliver their cars as quickly as possible." says
Tynan.
A Match Made in Golf Car Heaven
A perfect complement to Suncovers seat covers are
their "Raincovers" enclosures which they introduced a year
ago. Each enclosure can be installed or removed independently, thus
guaranteeing troublefree installation and facilitating repair when
or if necessary. These innovative enclosures permit easy access to and
from the golf
car.
Raincovers are available in Sunbrella and top grade marine vinyl. These
three-sided track style enclosures include a soft back club cover (full
length, covers all of the golf bag). Options and features include a CoverAll
Bag Cover (patent pending) or a Club Protector®,
separate front valance,
"cold curtain" (mounted behind the backrests) and easy roll
side curtains. Raincovers made of Sunbrella are most popular,
but the more economical minded consumers can order a vinyl enclosure
with
a Sunbrella valance. Valances can be sewn to the enclosure or affixed
by velcro.
In answer to customers requests, Suncovers® offers
monogramming and embroidering on all of its seat covers and enclosures.
This makes
it easy and afford able for customers to add personalization like names,
club names, logos, etc. "The quality of our Suncovers has always
been the most important element of our products," said Marie Tynan.
"And we are happy to say that our Raincovers have delighted our
dealers who know and trust our integrity and attention to detail. Like
with our
seatcovers, our in-stock program allows us to supply Raincovers enclosures
in a relatively short time period."
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Don't Let The Parade Pass You By!
During her second year in business, Marie Tynan came up with
the idea of having a Golf Car Parade during the Holiday season in her
community of Atlantis, Florida. People were very receptive to the idea
and the inaugural parade took place in December of 1993. It was such
a resounding hit that this parade has become an annual major event in
this small city of 3,000 residents. Mayor Bill Howell has pledged the
City's approval and support each year since, and Marie continues to over
see the operation as the parade gets bigger and better each year.
The vast majority of the residents that own golf cars decorate
them to the hilt with every kind of Christmas decoration you can imagine.
The festivities begin at the Atlantis Country Club where the city sets
up tents and tables and free hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, chili,
various
side dishes and cookies are served. Last year the city served more than
500 people.
After dinner, the parade starts from this point and travels
nearly every street in the city on a 1 1/2 hour journey which concludes
at the other golf course in town, the Atlantis Golf Club. There plaques
and cash awards are presented to the best decorated golf cars. The mayor
and city councilmen attend the celebration and two police cars lead the
parade. To add to the splendor of the occasion, nearly all of the homes
along the parade route are impressively decorated for the holiday Season.
Since
not everyone can own a golf car, "Molly The Trolley" was added
to the parade. This 1920's style trolley accommodates 25 30 children
of all
ages singing carols along the parade route.
While the parade is certainly a lot of fun for everyone, it is
probably appreciated most by the many homebound elderly people. They
come out in wheel chairs and walkers to sit on their drive ways to watch
the "goings on". The parade has become a special way in which
the city helps to bring Christmas to them.
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Looking
To The Future
Suncovers will again have a booth at the PGA Merchandise Show
in Orlando this coming January as they have for the past seven years.
Being at the PGA Show has been very worthwhile for Suncovers since it
enables them to renew acquaintances with their many customers, showcase
their newest products and attract new dealers. Recently, Suncovers® extended
its line of fabrics to include even more variety and they now have special
pricing for fleets.
With seat cover sales increasing each year and the addition of
the popular Raincovers enclosures last year, 2001 should be a banner
year for Suncovers®.
There is a down side to the story, however. Marie and Shirley still play
golf together, but not nearly as frequently as
they would like. Marie is, more often than not, too busy running her
business. For more information on Suncovers® seat
covers or Raincovers enclosures,
call (800) 393-1667.
Email: info@suncovers.com. Website: www.suncovers.com.
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