Through word of mouth, demand for the new product grew into the company that today provides curtains and other products to many of the world’s top producers. In December, 2018, Carolyn lost her battle with cancer, causing the family to regroup and develop a strategy for the future. Brian and Jerri Henderson, a son and daughter-in-law of the couple, were made the company’s new owners with Bill still overseeing some of the day-to-day operations. Jerri was named president and Brian managing owner. According to Jerri Henderson, the recipe developed by Carolyn when the company began in 1983 will continue to be the company’s roadmap for the future.
Hog Curtains Done Right
American Agra Curtains, a manufacturer of textile products for livestock barns, particularly insulated curtains for swine, dairy and poultry operations, was founded in 1983 by Bill and Carolyn Henderson. While Bill, who was at the time a builder of livestock facilities, constructed structures throughout the midwest, Carolyn began to offer her expertise as a seamstress to begin making the curtains for those facilities. At the beginning, Carolyn made the curtains on the couple’s front porch. To measure the length, which can often be hundreds of feet long, the curtains were stretched out in the road in front of the couple’s house. The Hendersons developed their insulated curtain, named Mar-Co-Lite, in 1984 and later received a patent.