President’s Message: Looking back and into the future

Michael South • Published • ’Round To It

Monolithic has gone through some huge changes over the last few years, and we are happy to say that we keep moving forward. We continue to innovate and build better Airform membranes, help support other dome contractors with supplies and equipment, and expand our product lines from our manufacturing facility.

This year was not without its challenges. Four heart attacks, stints in his heart, and a broken hip have not changed David B. South’s resolve. David is still coming in to the office and continues to push the technology behind Monolithic Domes.

Also this year, we lost a pioneer in the Airform industry, Jack Boyt, who was instrumental in the creation of the first Monolithic Domes.

One of the biggest innovations that has really flourished this year is the transverse Airform pattern design. This new approach to Airform design has really changed the way we construct the Airform. This year we’ve seen architects such as Mr. Leland Grey actually specify this design due to its aesthetic appeal, and we expect to see more of that. The inventor, David South, Jr., has applied for a patent on this method and we expect to see that happen this next year.

Applying logos on the Airform was another new venture for us. The first project of this type was the Vanguard School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It turned out great, and we are now working on two other similar projects to have logos on their Airform.

We saw domes like Paul Tinsley’s home in Cudjoe Key, Florida go right through the eye of Hurricane Irma this fall. Paul said the eye lasted almost a whole hour, and was very calm. He stayed out too long though, and almost didn’t make it back into the house! The dome, however, didn’t get a scratch.

The Residential Airform is seeing new designs and shapes all the time. Innovation by Monolithic has refined the free-flowing shapes that we saw in the Small’s home in Missouri. Monolithic has also been working with South Industries to perfect their pipe domes, as we’ve been calling them. The dome we just finished for our fall workshop is a good example of that, featuring straight dome walls and a low profile roof that was not possible a few years ago.

We’re also starting to see more activity with Domes for the World. The construction of the new orphanage in Haiti is underway, with donations from Monolithic and South Industries. So far 17 domes have been built to house 330 children.

On our manufacturing side, we’ve seen an unprecedented number of compost covers being built. We were able to build our first of many shade structures this year, and we hope to start incorporating some of those into our school and home designs.

Thanks to all our customers, hard-working employees, friends, and family for their support of our company. We look forward to 2018 to be another year of growth.