Reprint of article from "Marketplace Magazine" October 17, 2006

Arcways Fills Tall Order With Staircase For “Extreme Makeover”

Written by Margaret LeBrun

Arcways, Inc. in Neenah switched into extreme production mode mid-September when the upscale staircase manufacturer built and installed an S-shaped staircase for the ABC TV show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”.

The producers of the reality TV program were familiar with Arcways because it had been featured on an Emmy-nominated 1999 episode of “This Old House”, which airs annually on PBS. They decided to tap Arcways to build the staircase for a new home for an Iowa family that had lost their home in a fire.

“Their interior designer just had an issue with the foyer”, says Arcways owner Tom Stilp. “It wasn’t dramatic enough, so they called and asked whether we could do a miracle.”

Arcways employees worked round-the-clock on the job. They built, shipped and installed the staircase within a week.

Orders for Arcways staircases, which are commissioned by homeowners around the world, are back-logged seven months. Such a staircase is typically built in under three weeks. Arcways donated for the staircase, valued at $42,000.

Paige Hemmis of “Extreme Makeover” and her ABC crew toured the Arcways plant Oct. 3, piggybacking the trip with the filming of an episode featuring a home in Fond du Lac County. The episode featuring Arcways at the Iowa home is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 on local ABC affiliates.

Copyrighted material, reprinted with permission of Marketplace Magazine, (920) 735-5969.