CORPORATE INFORMATION ABOUT US
Advantage Gripware is owned and operated by a family with a three generation history in the motion picture industry. Early in the industry, there was grandfather Loet C. Barnstijn who became the distributor of American made movies for the Dutch market. The business was so successful that he decided to start producing Dutch made films. Over the years he produced many famous Dutch movies in the early years of film. In October of 1935 his dream of building Movie Studios in Holland became a reality and Filmstad (Film City) opened in The Hague with three stages. Akos Farkas was the cameraman on many of the films made at Filmstad, and eventually married one of L.C.B's daughters, Charlotte, he went on to become a very well-known Director of Photography in Europe. When World War II broke out, L.C.B. fled to the United States. Akos joined the resistance movement and had to go underground because the Nazis wanted him to shoot propaganda films for them. Filmstad was taken over by the Nazis and used as a V2 base to bombard London. In 1945, the allied forces bombed the entire complex. Today the site is a park. As the “Cold War” heated up, Akos and Charlotte along with their three children emigrated to the United States in 1952, where after a long struggle he again became well-known for his superb lighting, winning many awards, shooting mostly television commercials along with some TV series and feature films. Akos died in 1971 in Manhasset, NY. In 1979, Charlotte, her son Loet, an Assistant Cameraman (Local 644) and a Production Manager, her daughter Paula along with Loet's wife Lynn started Char-Lyn Motion Picture Products. At the beginning, Charlotte and Lynn would go to the New York Rental Houses and pick up frames to be recovered. They would then stop at Dazian's to buy the fabrics to cover the different frames. The company's original location was in Lynn's basement. After a few years, with the addition of many other products, we moved from the basement into a 400 square foot warehouse. All sewing was done by Charlotte, Lynn and Paula at their respective homes on Long Island, NY. In 1992, Charlotte passed away after surviving W.W.II in Holland and a long bout with cancer. Char-Lyn evolved into Advantage Gripware. In 1997 the entire operation was moved to Douglasville, Georgia in search of more sewing machine operators and more space, moving into a 2,000 square foot facility there. As we continued to grow, it became evident that a large expansion was necessary. In March, 2006 we opened a new 12,000 square foot facility in Roanoke, Alabama. On December 18, 2006 Advantage Gripware again moved to an even larger (18,000 square feet) manufacturing plant, also located in Roanoke, where most of our products are manufactured and warehoused under one roof. On November 28, 2016, Lynn lost her 5 year battle with Breast Cancer. As founder and President, the loss was devastating for the company, but her courage and determination gave us the will to go on. Today, Lynn is still President as we adhere to all of her principals, Loet is COO and runs day to day operations and Paula is retired but still a shareholder.
Advantage
Gripware, Inc.
9/11/2001 11/28/2016
Telephone: (334) 863-4488
e-mail: sales@advantagegrip.com
PHOTOS COMING SOON!
DONATE
Prices and Specifications subject to change without notice. All orders FOB factory unless otherwise noted.  website updated: 2/6/2023  Advantage Gripware, Inc.  2000 - 2022  -  206 Handley Avenue, Roanoke, AL 36274 All rights reserved. No content, photographs or logos may be reproduced without prior written consent.