The Irwin Seating Company is an audience-seating manufacturer located just east of Lake Michigan. Irwin’s seats grace theaters and stadiums all around the world from Carnegie Hall in New York City to Dewan Filharmonik in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The fourth-generation family company planned to expand one of its top-selling product lines, the recently launched recliner theater seating, which also required a facility increase - calling for architectural metal products from CENTRIA.
Irwin Seating received the assistance of state and local funding to support expansion to the 108-year-old company and long-time staple in Walker, Mich., giving a positive boost to the city’s economy. The $1.9 million project to develop its corporate office and display space would allow the Irwin Seating Company to increase manufacturing for its new product. The company also added 60 new jobs with the expansion to raise its total to approximately 300 employees at its Walker plant.
The company’s longtime motto, “The Irwin Difference,” places emphasis on customer service and meeting public seating needs with everything from retractable bleacher systems to seating in houses of worship or historic theaters for over a century. Irwin Seating was in the midst of many exciting changes in 2015 with a recently named president and chief executive officer in addition to a new product line and facility expansion.
The facility expansion required a building facelift. To achieve the new look and achieve overall better building performance, architects specified CENTRIA’s Rainscreen Wall Systems, ensuring long-lasting protection for the structure while leaving a lasting impression on visitors and employees alike.
Lake-effect snow was a major consideration in choosing cladding materials that would provide superior weathertight performance. Architects at Michigan-based Lott 3 Metz chose CENTRIA’s high-performing foam insulated metal panel (IMP) backup system to not only protect the building from the elements, but also produce a smooth, clean finish that coordinated with the existing structure.
The existing facility looked dated after accumulating close to 40 years of dirt and discoloration. The design team selected CENTRIA’s IW Series concealed fastener profiles in Regal White with a smooth finish to refresh and refine the building’s exterior. IW Series metal panels offer an unbroken aesthetic with a common-lock joint design that makes for interesting profiled effects. MicroSeam corners create smooth, crisp edges for a continuous surface.
The beauty of CENTRIA’s rainscreen wall system is what lies beneath. MetalWrap insulated composite backup panels were selected for their continuous thermal, air, water and vapor barriers. MetalWrap backup panels integrate seamlessly with IW Series panels in addition to virtually any type of exterior cladding. CENTRIA offers a 10-year weathertight warranty when MetalWrap is used with CENTRIA cladding panels for extra performance assurance. The panels provide enhanced flexibility and easy installation that allowed Irwin Seating to fast-track the building process in order to expedite the production of its new recliner seating product.
The architect was Lott 3 Metz Architecture of Grand Rapids, MI. The CENTRIA products dealer/installer was Architectural Metals Inc. of Portland, MI. The contractor was Wolverine Building Group of Grand Rapids, MI. The project was completed in 2015.
CENTRIA products used on this project included:
• MetalWrap™ Series Insulated Composite Backup Panel System - Square Feet: 14,184.
• IW Series IW-10A Vertical Concealed Fastener Profiles with MicroSeam® Corners - Square Feet: 11,771; Color: Regal White; Coating: Fluorofinish; Finish: Smooth; Gauge: 20.