Historic Roller Shutters
The first roller shutters as we know them now were created in the early 1800s. While many people wrongly attribute the patenting of the modern design to Anton Griesser, his 1882 patent is preceded by US Patent Number US7457A, which is a modification of the "hinge of rolling iron shutters." This modification could not have existed without shutters to be hinged. The patent itself claims "rolling iron shutters have been long known" by 1850. Rolling shutters were actually invented around 1810 during the height of the Napoleonic Wars as a protective measure against the attacking French forces of Napoleon. By the time of the 1850 patent above, A.L. Johnson was creating interlocking slat shutters similar to what many shutters use still today.
Several other shutter patents help show us the history of our industry. An 1876 roller shutter patent by James Wilson shows another improvement in shutters. This allows the gaps in shutters we see as they roll up & down now and for shutters to roll much smaller in their pelmet casing. The anti-friction-toothed roller Mr. Wilson described also helps protect your modern shutters from damage as we've improved again on these patents in the last 100 years.
Anton Griesser claims to have patented the rolling shutter much later than these previous patents but no amount of searching turned up these patents in our searches. Some very old companies, like Griesser's, also still exist today. We found P. Allsop & Co. who began manufacture of roller shutters in 1922. The first shutter trade show was an R+T Tradeshow in Stuttgart, Germany in 1965 where 117 companies plied their trade.
The oldest Australian company we found was Richard Brady & Sons who advertised in a 1953 Sydney Morning Herald about the "first" aluminium shutters. This company still exists today and are among the oldest shutter companies in Australia.
Modern Roller Shutters
Today's roller shutters can claim a whole host of technological improvements over their predecessors. We have brushed guide tracks to protect the shutter slats & extend their life. We use foam-insulated aluminium slats to give you the best weather & noise protection while keeping the material a lot more lightweight than the iron shutters we spoke about above. 100% of our product line is motorised and eliminates the need & hassle of rolling shutters up & down manually (and, once bored of that, never opening (or closing) them again.
Reviews of modern shutters tell us that customers are generally looking to buy roller shutters that are multi functional and give them the most benefit possible. While you could build a shutter that served one need exceptionally well, it wouldn't be as versatile to the other benefits. For instance, our Fortress Shutter is a steel security shutter designed for maximum security. If we applied this to all our shutters customers who just wanted to block light or sound would be overburdened with heavier product with fewer colour options. Instead, those who want a shutter for light blocking can easily get a Colorbond shutter to suit their needs.
If today's modern shutter design is indicative of the future, it's very bright for shutters. Our shutter designs are always evolving & giving customers the best possible options.
