2006-2007 Buyer's Guide Industry Biographies

Related Products

BP International, Inc. is a Florida-based company with additional manufacturing facilities in Mexico. The company’s ShadeZone division manufactures high quality permanent fabric shade shelters for playgrounds, as well as for many other applications.

Founded in 1986, BPI has grown to become a publicly-traded, internationally recognized provider of fabric structures and other tennis and athletic equipment. With an in-house engineering staff, BPI offers standard playground shade shelters in any size, or can design custom products for exceptionally large or unusual sites. BPI has trained, experienced product representatives throughout the United States, able to provide on-site counseling and expertise. The company has built a reputation based on exceptional customer service and quality end product.

ShadeZone fabric shade shelters cost 25-35 percent less than comparably-sized solid roofed products, and require much less maintenance. Fabric tops can be print-screened with logos or any print message in any color or combination of colors. Shade shelters are covered with an extensive warranty and are available at factory direct pricing.

For additional information, and for photos of some of BPI’s hundreds of playground shade shelters, visit its website or call for the nearest ShadeZone representative.

Frame-it-all by Scenery Solutions has a great solution for playground borders and sandboxes.

Easy to install, safe for play, all-season durable and attractive in any yard, the Frame-it-all system from Scenery Solutions is changing the way sandboxes and playground borders are being built. Gone are the ugly plastic monstrosities that overpower the aesthetics of your yard. And with the simple assembly of Frame-it-all you won’t waste hours lugging heavy lumber, hammering massive steel stakes, aligning seams and measuring angles. To find out how you can take full advantage of all they have to offer, log on to the company website, or call the number listed above.

Since 1995, Parkreation has been a sales organization for the Park and Recreation industry in the states of Illinois and Indiana.

Companies represented include:

• Little Tikes Commercial
• SofSurfaces
• Fibar Systems
• Icon Shelters
• Shade Systems
• Goric
• TriActive America

To find out more visit the website or call the number above.

Before children can play, before the playground envisioned for your city, volunteer group, school or childcare facility becomes a reality, consider the many playground installation solutions offered by Picture Perfect Playgrounds.

Playground Installation Consulting: Find answers to your questions and concerns about national, state and local playground equipment and construction guidelines, standards and more; hire the consulting experts at Picture Perfect Playgrounds. Manufacturing firms, sales groups, licensing bureaus and even other playground installation companies have networked to Picture Perfect Playgrounds’ 20+ years of playground knowledge.  

Professional Playground Installation: Hire the insured certified, and licensed installation professionals at Picture Perfect Playgrounds to install your playground equipment from all major manufacturers. Design build projects are our expertise.  

Installation Supervision: Save thousands on your playground budget and get extra value when you invite a highly skilled and certified Installation Supervisor from Picture Perfect Playgrounds, using your local labor and tools, to supervise the installation of your playground.

Plan for the success, durability and safety of your playground by calling Picture Perfect Playgrounds at the number listed above.

Since 1959, R.J. Thomas Mfg. Co. has designed and manufactured the Pilot Rock brand of site furnishings in Cherokee, Iowa. The Pilot Rock product line of park, camp and street site furnishings includes: portable and stationary benches, portable and stationary picnic tables, children’s sized picnic tables, trash and recycling receptacle holders and lids, bike racks, skateboard racks, flag poles, charcoal grills, campfire rings and more.

Wheelchair accessible picnic table designs are available. Tables, benches and trash receptacles are offered using 100 percent recycled plastic materials, which provides the choice of nine color options. Tables, benches and trash receptacles are also available with expanded or perforated steel finished with a vinyl coating in your choice of five colors. Product styles are available from simple and rustic to fancy and sophisticated. Pilot Rock site furnishings can be found in remote campsites, streetscapes, schools, rec centers, pools, cafeterias, golf courses, hotels, playgrounds, parks, campgrounds, lunchrooms, common areas, athletic fields–and more places all around the world.

A hallmark of the Pilot Rock brand design is durable fabrication built to withstand abuse by both humans and nature. This company also strives to keep the assembly, installation and maintenance as simple as possible. Pilot Rock brand products are meant to be both functional and easy to own.

A free product catalog is available by calling Customer Service or from our website. You can also find prices on the website. Click on Request A Price Quotation and we will reply with unit pricing and a freight estimate. Using the Quote Response you can easily place your order online.

There’s a new playground sanitization service on the scene. It‘s the Playground Patrol, based in Minneola, FL, and they are dedicated to helping you keep your playground sanitized and safe for children.

After seeing the need for cleaner playgrounds, owner David Dilena decided to do something about it. If you’re a parent, you’ve likely taken your own children in a playground area in an eating establishment, whether it is indoor or outdoor. There is a definite need to keep play areas clean, and Playground Patrol makes it possible for children to play in clean areas and for restaurant owners to have the play area cleaned for them making it more convenient for them to offer a sanitized, child-friendly environment parents can be comfortable visiting as well.

Playground Patrol has a checklist employees follow that keeps the process uniform whether an indoor or outdoor playground is being cleaned. The process is completed from the top of the structures, through tunnels, down slides and right down to the surfacing using a low-pressure, high temperature steam cleaning process. This also involves the injection of Lysol brand disinfectant on the structures, nets, pole protectors, shoe storage area and surfacing to aid in providing a bacteria-free play environment.

One advantage of the steam cleaning method is that the steam can go places and disinfect where a rag may not be able to reach, so it gets the dirt and grime in the joints out as well.  

Air conditioning vents are also vacuumed so dust and dust mites do not accumulate as they may with many play areas enclosed by tall windows.

Regular cleaning of play structures is not only important because of health reasons but to aid in reduction of oxidation, which can occur from exposure to elements in an outdoor area just as a car might if it were not washed and waxed regularly. Mold is another issue that can creep up in an area that is not cleaned regularly and not dehumidified.

Whether you have a play area in your restaurant, school, childcare facility, church or even an outdoor playground, you’ll want to check with Playground Patrol to see if they are cleaning in your area.

Shade Structures Screen the Sun, Keep the Fun! As one of the premier brands of USA SHADE, Shade Structures is a design/build firm specializing in modular and custom shade structures. Our structures provide UV and weather protection for parks, playgrounds, schools or any outdoor area. Our custom designs can meet or exceed all site specific, fire-code or other specialized requirements. Names and logos can be added to its fabrics, which come in over 30 colors. The aesthetic appeal our structures provide adds distinction and value to any community.

Sun Ports offers shade solutions for everything under the sun. The company is the largest and most capable shade structure manufacturer in the United States with over 125,000 units installed nationwide. Sun Ports offers a variety of pre-engineered and custom structures available in numerous shapes, sizes and colors.  Sun Ports shade structures are a practical and aesthetically appealing alternative to conventional shade systems. The unique fabrics can block out up to 98 percent of the sun’s harmful UV rays. Sun Ports offers clients complete design/build services including: concept development, engineering, fabrication, project management and construction.  

The Active Network, Inc. brings a 30-year history delivering organizational efficiencies and superior customer service capabilities to community service organizations worldwide. Active provides over 1,500 parks and recreation, school district, higher education and non-profit organizations software solutions for automating program, golf course, facility, membership, revenue and web content management. The company’s cost-efficient technology solutions maximize program participation through convenient, 24/7 online activity registration, facility and tee-time reservation and account management services. Active’s strategic marketing services help organizations promote their programs and services, encourage the use of online services and create additional revenues through new services for the public.

Xccent is a premium manufacturer and marketer of PVC-coated steel site amenities, unique play assemblies, playground structural components, and decking. New for 2006-2007 is the X-Beam—a unique challenge of balance skill combined with up-and-down and side-to-side motion. Also new are the Playmotion Rides, individual play structures with an extreme sports theme that teach balance through 360 degree motion. Both products utilize the Playmotion System, unique components and attachments that provide playground equipment the characteristic of safe-at-play movement.  See the full line of products on the website or call Xccent today for more information.