About us
The History of OxCart
Celebrating 15 Years
OxCart was founded in 2006 in Dallas, TX by awning industry veteran Chris Lewis. He had a passion for awnings, engineering, and aviation and because of this, he named the company OxCart Engineering. The name OxCart came from the CIA code name for the A-12 spy plane project which later became the SR-71 Blackbird.
Chris hired experienced awning manufactures from the area and began as a traditional awning shop. As the company grew it began to expand into new types of shade structures like projection canopies and standing seam awnings. They began implementing new ideas and approaches like SolidWorks 3D modeling and started adding equipment like automated press breaks and a waterjet to further expand their product offering.
After Chris’s death in 2017, the company was purchased by its then minority partners Deb and Steve Martz. At the time OxCart was doing wholesale work for several National sign companies and began working with Mark Abernathy on a number of projects.
Mark saw tremendous potential in the people, processes, and fabrication already in place and the opportunity to expand further into the signage and architectural markets. In 2018 Mark purchased the company’s assets and started OxCart Manufacturing. After the purchase, the company transitioned to 100% wholesale and focused on the signage and awnings industries.