The Original Idea For Screenflex Room Dividers

The original idea started on a napkin

The Original Idea For Screenflex Room Dividers

The story begins not that many years ago.  A church architect, Paul Maas, designed many churches throughout the Midwest.  Back in the 1980’s, Paul discovered that churches required smaller temporary spaces for Sunday school, prayer groups or other small group activities.  On other days, they needed larger spaces for large group activities. Since most churches have one or two large multi-purpose rooms or one fellowship hall.  It was necessary for them to divide those spaces to accommodate Awana, VBS or small group meetings.

Some churches used the floor to ceiling dividers, but it was difficult to work around lighting, vents and electrical boxes. Teachers carried milk crates to separate classrooms, but it took a lot of time to set up and break down.

Paul set out to create something more versatile.

He sketched the original prototype of the first room divider on a napkin.  The photo above demonstrates the original drawing.  The width of the room divider was 4′. There was a chamber in the middle and 4′ panels that pulled out on either side of the cabinet chamber.  The cabinet in the middle would be perfect for teacher supplies. The unit was completely portable so it was the perfect solution to go from one large activity to a couple small group activities.

Shortly after the manufacturing of the “portable classroom”, the need for the room divider without the cabinet became imminent.  The Standard Screenflex room divider is now our best-selling room divider.

In 2017 our last “portable classroom” was shipped to its new home. However, Screenflex continues to expand its product line to meet the needs and demands of today’s consumer.

“An open and curious mind allows an inventor to see beyond what is known”
-Wikipedia