History

1881

Setting Sail

The company’s origins trace back to a sailmaker, who masterfully fabricated canvas for boats navigating the Hudson River throughout the heyday of the nation’s industrial era

1940

Charting a New Course

Benjamin Burak, a salesperson for Hudson Awning Company, acquires the sail-making business and expands the product line to include awnings for both residential & business

1940-1970

Storefronts & Brownstones

The company continues to grow its reach throughout the New York City Metro, evolving from its initial roots of serving businesses with small storefronts and providing window awnings for brownstones in Jersey City & Bayonne

1979

Concentration on Construction

Ed Burak, Benjamin’s son, assumes the company reins and spearheads its transition from a cottage-trade philosophy to one that is construction focused; he is joined by his wife Lynda, who oversees the company’s administrative tasks

1982

Innovative Best Practices

Hudson marks a new milestone that establishes an innovative best practice for constructing awning frames utilizing welded pipe fittings

1990

A New Home

The company’s expanded best-in-class product line and talented employee base lead Hudson to acquire its current headquarters in Bayonne acquired Acme Awning & Shade Co of North Jersey

1992

Setting New Standards

At a time when production is almost double, engineer Hussain Ali is added to the team to design, draw and estimate projects, which are now significantly larger and pose new benchmarks for quality and safety

2001

Award-Winning Ways

Hudson is recognized with the “Project of the Year” Award by the Industrial Fabrics Association – the first of many prestigious awards that will follow in subsequent years

2006

Stamp of Approval

Forbes awards Hudson the Enterprise Award for Best Small Business of the Year

2008

State-of-the-Art Solutions

With larger commercial assignments feeding overwhelming demand for Hudson’s custom solutions, the company incorporates radio frequency heat sealing and hot-air welding of fabric along with a track-operated membrane machine into its business platform        

2014

Leading Industry Education

Diana Isabella-Wetchkus joins the company where she collaboratively manages every facet of the business with Ed Burak; CEU-credit seminars for architects are introduced to advance industry knowledge of the latest awning and structure construction techniques and code compliance

2020s

Keeping Current

The hands-on executive leadership team continues to formulate new strategies that build on the company’s impeccable reputation and evolution from sail making and awnings to architectural structures and beyond. Additionally Hudson staff attends all OSHA related courses