By David MacDonald
Late in the summer of 1998, Huzefa Tinwala was at home in Mumbai, India packing his bags for the next big step in his education. He found himself in the midst of the existential angst that international students experience before embarking on their journey – but it was short lived. Earlier in the year, he had been accepted into The Master of Science in Construction Management degree program at Texas A&M and had since been dreaming of the opportunities that such an education would afford him. He and his brother, Mark, had been raised around metalwork: their grandfather and father were in the brass, tin, and zinc manufacturing business where they produced commercial items like oil drums and metal doors before concentrating solely on stainless steel doors and railings. “That’s how we learned about the subtle disciplines we’re in now,” Tinwala explains. These “subtle disciplines” are what make Viva Railings, based in Carrollton, Texas, so unique and so successful. Tinwala and his Modular Railing Systems team specialize in Design, Engineering, Fabrication, and Installation. This “one-stop shop approach,” as he puts it, has led to a 140% three-year growth rate since 2013, thanks in part to the clout of multi-million dollar projects.
Even before Huzefa’s graduation day at A&M in 2004, the Tinwala brothers had identified a viable segment of the U.S. market in which they had an extensive background: Railings, as in the noun, meaning “a barrier consisting of a rail and supports” (Merriam Webster). The very feel that comes with reading the scholarly definition conjures up images of pre-war school dormitories with daunting staircases that could easily be punned-off as scarecases. You know the ones: Interconnected, overpainted iron baluster designs that seemed to serve an obstructive purpose aimed at blocking both opportunities at socializing and sunlight. Viva Railings changes all of that with modern contemporary designs, weld-free modular design, limitless design options, in-fill choices ranging from glass to cable, and floating corners.
The way Huzefa sees it, Viva Railings has been a competitor from day one for two reasons: architectural aesthetics and safety.
“We take a minimalistic approach,” he says. The VIVA iRAIL perfectly exemplifies this marriage of form and function. “It is an illuminated product with LED [light-emitting diode] components within the rail. It takes the handrail or railing and turns it into a proper light fixture, thus eliminating the need for external sources. By combining two elements into one, the architect and building occupants now have a lighted path on the path of egress. That’s safety that creates an architectural element. And LED always means extremely long life, and low power consumption. We offer this product in varying intensities of light, white, yellow, cool, warm, pool light – we have all of these options. What’s more, this system can be used with any other railing systems.”
These “other railing systems” are equally versatile. The SOLO system installed at the Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas, Texas, for instance, was a complete 180. According to vivarailings.com, SOLO “is an ultra-minimalistic design . . . uniquely designed with a cohesive flow & multi-function parts. This system is comprised of a single stainless steel “Blade” post mounted via custom designed stand-offs.” The typical in-fill for the SOLO system is SOLO-GLASS (Tempered Glass), which is normally installed “with the glass on the inside with the posting on the outside,” Huzefa explains, “but they wanted the reverse. They wanted the glass to be on the outside and then all the way down the slab edge. We were able to make these custom changes by working closely with the general contractors.”
The SHOE system – “a structural glass balustrade system with a patented compression set aluminum base shoe system” is another popular choice amongst customers. Accompanied by the SHOE Glass Railing – an “architectural railing solution [that] provides fall protection barrier without obstruction to view or an unsightly barrier” (vivarailings.com) – this system provides a flow conducive to contemporary “institutional, office, and hospitality layouts,” Tinwala explains.
Not to be outdone, the newest addition to the Glass Railing systems at Viva Railings, SABRE, has been making a big impact out of the gate.
Essentially, SABRE is “a structural glass railing system with a unique Sabre Tooth shaped post with. . . Tempered glass . . . or Laminated glass railing . . . designed to have a single rail that performs as a handrail at the stairs and a guardrail at level runs” (vivarailings.com).
“The first SABRE project for us was the West Romig Library in Anchorage, Alaska. It’s actually the second biggest library in the State. We worked alongside Cornerstone Contractors and Kumin Architecture on this job – and it was a big one,” says Huzefa. “This library is used by the 2,500 students who make up West High School and Romig Middle School in that city. They were interested in something new and unique, so we pitched our newest product. Because the school district wanted to keep the cost under control, they requested segmented as opposed to bent glass on the corners. We’re able to customize in this way for all of our customers. The final product is so impressive because we collaborated on so many levels.”
SABRE, in many ways, is the offspring of VIEW, an earlier Glass Railing System developed by the Tinwalas and their team. VIEW is a “system comprised of ? inch (minimum) tempered glass and fascia mounted fixed point holders in stainless steel” (vivarailings.com) that has made trudging through campus a well-lit and aesthetically pleasing experience for employees, students, and visitors at California State University and Baylor Business School, just to name a couple of campuses. And if any graduates from these prestigious institutions find themselves amongst the rank and file of folks who make the AAA (American Automobile Association) Headquarters in Dallas, Texas go-round, there is good reason that your workplace reminds you of your collegiate days: That is a VIEW Glass Railing System.
It is these kinds of ostentatious displays that help Viva Railings grow organically. Commercial giants looking to rise higher with their very own high-rise tend to take a second look at the building down the block with the street view that includes an LED-lit path of egress – it is pleasing and assuring.
The four-tier business model at Viva Railings – Design, Engineering, Fabrication, and Installation – is a winning combination. Just ask the San Diego International Airport Consolidated Rental Car Facility. They went with a BLADE Stainless Steel Railing System, “designed with two 2 in. wide vertical bars, with a cube cap at top and barrel bolts at bottom” (vivarailings.com). The accompanying Blade BIM (Building information modeling) Model that came with their order was the icing on the cake.
Viva Railings is a debt-free company operating in 14,000 square feet in Carrolton, Texas with national reach. Viva Railings also operates a satellite office in Mumbai, India that has overseen in-town projects including the Orbit Arya luxury residential tower and the luxurious Signature by Samraat development in Nashik.