How California-based LaCosta Shade partnered with RIDONG to build two custom 3.2×10m fabric cutting tables and a 6m zip screen welding machine — supporting 30-ft motorized screens and their fastest-lead-time promise. Case study.
How LaCosta Shade — a family-owned, trade-only screen manufacturer in Escondido, California — partnered with Dongguan RIDONG Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. to engineer two custom 3.2 m × 10 m cutting tables and a 6 m ZIP screen welding machine
|
Customer |
LaCosta Shade (Escondido, California, USA) |
|
Industry |
Motorized retractable zip screens, screen doors & outdoor shading — trade-only manufacturer |
|
Scope |
3 machines — 2 × custom cutting tables + 1 × zip screen welding machine |
|
Equipment |
2 × Automatic Fabric Cutting Table (3.2 m × 10.0 m) + 1 × ZIP Screen Welding Machine (6.0 m) |
|
Key Customization |
Cutting bed extended from standard 6.0 m to 10.0 m to cut 30-ft (≈9.1 m) screen panels in one pass |
|
Partner |
Dongguan RIDONG Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. (China) |
LaCosta Shade is a family-owned manufacturer of motorized retractable zip screens, screen doors, and outdoor shading structures, headquartered in Escondido, California. The company was founded in 2021 by Sam and Tabetha Steinberg, who had each spent over twenty years working with nearly every major shade manufacturer in the industry — and who grew tired of the same recurring problems: quality-control issues, long lead times, and dealers treated as accounts rather than partners.
Joined by co-owner Ryan Derrick — formerly head of the shade division at Rainier Industries and a decades-long pioneer in exterior shading — the team built an internal design and engineering operation in Escondido around a single mandate: solve the problems installers have been putting up with for years. LaCosta operates on a trade-only model, selling exclusively through licensed contractors and dealers, and prides itself on being a family business that still answers the phone.
LaCosta Shade's signature products include:
What sets LaCosta apart: a 20-year fabric warranty, a 20-year motor warranty, 13 standard powder-coated colors, a proprietary zipper-retention funnel design, quiet ball-bearing idlers, and IP65 water-resistant Maverick remotes. Crucially, every unit is cut and painted in-house — LaCosta deliberately controls the parts and processes it does not want to leave to an external supply chain.
The collaboration between LaCosta Shade and RIDONG is not a routine equipment purchase — it is a strategic fit between two manufacturers that share the same operating philosophy. Three factors created the partnership:
Speed is the brand promise: LaCosta markets itself on lead times: 'No one is faster at custom screens.' Delivering on that promise requires automated, high-precision cutting that turns fabric rolls into finished panels fast — exactly what RIDONG's servo-driven cutting tables provide.
Ultra-wide products demand ultra-long cutting: LaCosta's flagship motorized screens reach 30 feet (≈9.1 m) in width. Standard cutting tables top out at 6 m, forcing manufacturers to splice panels — a workflow that adds labor and visible seams. RIDONG's factory-direct capability to extend the cutting bed to 10 m was the decisive factor.
Vertical integration philosophy: LaCosta's founding principle is '100% proprietary parts — no supply chain we don't control.' RIDONG shares that DNA: as a factory-direct manufacturer, RIDONG controls the full engineering and build of every machine, customizing dimensions, drives, and control systems in-house rather than bolting on third-party modifications.
RIDONG engineered and delivered three machines tailored to LaCosta's exact production requirements:
|
No. |
Equipment |
Specification |
Role |
|
1–2 |
Automatic Fabric Cutting Table (×2) |
3.2 m × 10.0 m bed (customized from 6.0 m) |
Cuts 30-ft (≈9.1 m) screen panels in a single pass — no splicing. Panasonic servo + German HENRICH rack + Swiss MAXON tool head + vision camera. |
|
3 |
ZIP Screen Welding Machine |
6.0 m working length |
This 3-in-1 zipper, pocket, and join device allows you to weld zippers onto the zip screen or join two pieces of fabric together. It also supports LaCosta's proprietary zipper-locking funnel design.. |
The defining feature of this order is the cutting bed length: 10.0 m instead of the standard 6.0 m — sized specifically to match LaCosta's 30-ft (≈9.1 m) screen panels. As a factory-direct manufacturer, RIDONG engineered the longer span into the frame, drive, and conveyor at the design stage: re-engineering the gantry span, lengthening the precision HENRICH racks, extending the Emma La conveyor cloth, and recalibrating the vision system for the longer travel.
The result is a machine that cuts a 30-foot panel in one continuous pass — eliminating splicing, removing seams, and delivering the clean, full-length panels that a premium trade-only brand demands. With two cutting tables running in parallel, LaCosta can double throughput and meet the fast lead times that define its market position.
Dongguan RIDONG Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. brings 20+ years of focused expertise in the sunshade and window-covering machinery industry, serving over 10,000 clients across 80+ countries — including a strong presence in North America.
LaCosta Shade and RIDONG share the same conviction: control the parts and processes that matter, and never leave quality to chance. LaCosta controls its zip screens by cutting and welding in-house; RIDONG controls its machines by engineering every dimension factory-direct. That alignment is what turned a three-machine order into a genuine partnership — and as LaCosta's dealer network and product line grow, RIDONG stands ready to extend the line with additional cutting and welding capacity, plus ongoing service across the U.S. market.
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