John Weise Launches Sister Company to F. Barkow
August 4, 2010

John Weise, president of F. Barkow, has launched a new company, American Rack Inc., which will be a sister company to F. Barkow. Both companies will operate out of the same 55,000-square-foot building in Milwaukee, which Weise says has adequate space to manufacture both product lines.

"Considering the down economy and everybody watching their checkbooks closer than ever, we felt this was a good time to create and market a high quality, inexpensive glass rack in kit form," says Weise. "The first professionally engineered product from American Rack Inc. is called the Commander, which is a 10- by 7-foot aluminum glass rack with a stainless steel roof rack for a van."

Weise adds, "We thought the timing was right because F. Barkow Inc. already offers a high-quality, all-welded, glass rack at a competitive price and now American Rack Inc. offers the least expensive glass rack in the industry. Blending the 131 years of experience of Barkow building glass racks and the creative design of the Commander, we feel like we are responding to and have available whatever the market is asking for."

According to Weise, the company has contracted with a professional engineering firm to help design and test the van rack.

"We are very satisfied with their services. Our production staff and office staff will grow as the companies grow," he says. "We are currently finishing testing and will be looking forward to customer response very soon."

He adds that they will also be pursuing other products in the near future.

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