What began in a leaking garage behind a home in Mocksville has grown into a nationally recognized brand — all driven by one family’s resilience, craftsmanship, and commitment to doing things the right way.
Magne Shade, founded by Clare and Roger Hunckler during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis, remains a family-run business. And while the company now employs around 35 people at its Mocksville manufacturing facility, a few remote workers, and a team of salespeople in Fort Lauderdale, the foundation remains the same: make an exceptional product, treat customers well, and put family first.
“We wouldn’t be here without Clare and Roger,” says son Anthony Hunckler, one of the second-generation owners. “One hundred percent credit, in our opinion, goes to them. They laid the groundwork.”
A Turning Point in Tough Times
Before Magne Shade, Roger Hunckler built a career selling high-end luxury motor coaches — multimillion-dollar vehicles purchased by clients who sometimes arrived by private helicopter.
Clare Hunckler, a professional seamstress, had already built a reputation for meticulous, high-end custom drapery work — even completing projects for prestigious institutions. She also sometimes made custom snap-on exterior shades for Roger’s RV customers — effective but inconvenient products that required drilling into expensive coaches and climbing ladders to install.
Then the 2008 economic downturn changed everything.
“All income was basically turned off overnight,” Anthony recalls. “Nobody was buying $1.5 million buses anymore.”
With foreclosure looming and college tuition bills stacking up, Roger began thinking creatively. On his 50th birthday, an idea struck: magnets.
“He grabbed some magnets off eBay and scrap fabric from the garage,” Anthony says. “He put the fabric on the glass, placed magnets inside and out, and it held.”
When his son Nick drove into the driveway from college and asked what he was working on, Roger famously replied, “That’s what’s going to save this house and keep you in college.”
Built on Craftsmanship
Together, Clare and Roger blended mechanical ingenuity with textile craftsmanship.
Their magnetic shade system eliminated the need to drill holes into RVs and made installation safer — a key factor for an RV customer base whose average age hovers in the mid-70s.
“You don’t have to climb a ladder,” Anthony explains, “You raise it up with a telescoping rod, and once the magnets are in range, it’s on.”
From the beginning, quality and customer service were non-negotiable.
“One thing that was ingrained in Magne Shade from day one is that we’re going to make the highest quality product and back it with the best customer service the industry has to offer,” Anthony says. “That combination has led us to where we are today.”
A Family Effort
“It wasn’t an overnight success,” Anthony emphasizes. “It was years of grinding in a garage that leaked when it rained and had no insulation. But they just kept showing up.”
In the early days, every member of the family pitched in. Anthony remembers his mother and sister, Michelle, sewing until 2 a.m. to get orders out. After school and on weekends, the other four Hunckler children helped cut fabric, trace templates, sweep floors, and build shipping boxes from recycled cardboard because they didn’t yet know where to source packaging supplies.
“It was messy,” Anthony says with a smile. “But it resulted in a quality product. That’s what mattered.”
Roger spent countless hours at RV shows, taping paper to windshields in the dark after hours and tracing glass edges by hand to create patterns. Today, Magne Shade maintains nearly 10,000 RV glass patterns in its system — a massive undertaking largely built in those early years.
Over time, production evolved from all hand-cut and hand-sewn components to automated cutting and welded pockets for the magnets. What once relied on “tribal knowledge” has been refined into documented processes and clear production standards, allowing the company to scale while maintaining consistency.
“It’s been a culmination of a lot of people figuring out the best way to do things,” Anthony says. “We’ve worked hard to make expectations clear so we can train good people and grow. We wouldn’t be where we are today without our amazing staff.”
Four of the five Hunckler siblings are still involved in the business in various capacities — Anthony serves as co-owner and director of sales; Michelle who lives in Raleigh is lead digital artist and manages the creative work on all print advertising and magazines; Nick, who also lives in Raleigh, focuses on R&D and production efficiency; Marian, left her job as a nurse to work in the office; and Marian’s husband, Zach, serves as the production manager. Oldest daughter Natalie has also worked in the business and is now a nurse practitioner in Huntersville. Clare and Roger remain engaged, with Roger focused on one simple metric.
“His main question is always, ‘Are customers happy?’” Anthony says. “If customers are happy, we are happy.”
Expanding into Marine
While Magne Shade has become a recognizable brand in the RV world — “You’ll see magnets on motorhomes all over the country,” Anthony says — the company’s future growth is firmly set on the marine market.
“That’s where we have our sights set for the next 10-plus years,” he says. “The marine side is going to be a huge driver of growth.”
Entering the yacht industry has required building a library of patterns all over again — this time using advanced 3D scanning technology. The company has invested heavily in scanners capable of digitally modeling curved yacht glass.
“Imagine laying paper over a 70-foot yacht windshield in Florida rain,” Anthony says, with a laugh. “Thankfully, we don’t have to do that anymore.”
The marine expansion also includes new patent-pending magnetic furniture cover systems designed for large yachts and superyachts — products engineered to withstand ocean crossings without snaps or drilling.
“It’s like building another business,” Anthony says. “But now we have the systems in place. We know how to do it.”
Investing in Mocksville
To support continued growth, Magne Shade is adding a new 12,000-square-foot production facility to its three existing buildings on 28 acres off Salisbury Rd. near the old high school.
“We love Davie County. We love Mocksville,” Anthony says. “We’re happy to be here and glad to keep it here.”
The new building will significantly increase production capacity while maintaining the company’s commitment to thoughtful growth. The family is also exploring long-term ideas, like on-site RV pads for visiting customers, many of whom travel cross-country for installations.
“It could become a destination stop,” Anthony says. “When customers bring their RV to our facility, they usually have a towed vehicle. While they are here, we send them to Restaurant 101, O’Callahans, Ketchie Creek, and the different shops in Mocksville, as well as the various sights, and they always enjoy it.”
Family First
Despite growth, technology, and national reach, the Huncklers remain focused on what they believe sustains a family-run business.
“Family businesses won’t work unless you put family first,” Anthony says. “We can talk business all day long, but if it’s Thanksgiving, let’s have Thanksgiving.”
That mindset — paired with a relentless focus on quality — has carried Magne Shade from a garage to a growing, patented manufacturing operation with customers across the country.
“We have great customers who are enthusiastic about the product, and that is just a major blessing.”
“I think the main reason for our success was my parents’ toughness and their ability to compartmentalize their financial stress and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to go to work. We’re going to make this product and get a little further. And that way, we can see a little bit further.’ They kept doing that over and over. It’s been 16 years, and a lot of good things have happened.”
And now, with a new facility rising and the marine market ahead, the next chapter of the Hunckler family story is just beginning.