• 1953

  • 1969

  • 1981

  • 1987

  • 1997

  • 2008

  • 2014

  • 2023

  • 1953

    Following his relocation to Denver, Colorado in 1952, Mel Elward started his first business as an independent manufacture’s sales representative.

    1959

    The Mel Elward Company, Inc. was the first incorporated business, hiring the first two employees, Ev Mitchell, and Gene Frisk.

    1960

    Incorporated Elward Construction Company, Inc. and began to install products sold.

    1968

    Installed our first unitized panel system for the Denver Convention Center. Hanging 4,000 lb Corten steel panels into place. 1968 also marks the year operations moved to 1310 W Jewel, the first Elward-owned facility.

  • 1969

    Entered the market designing, fabricating and installing glass and glazing curtain wall systems.

    1977

    Elward, Inc. was incorporated combining the functions of the The Mel Elward Company (material sales and engineering) and Elward Construction Company (installation); Elward only sold products to be installed by Elward.

    1978

    Mel Elward attended a trade show and was introduced to Alucobond. Opened a sales and construction office in Phoenix, Arizona.

    1979

    Sold and installed the first Alucobond system project, Dairyland Insurance in Denver. Project was installed using a Continuous Edge Grip (CEG) extrusion system featuring dry joinery.

  • 1981

    Leased space to house an Alucobond material fabrication plant.

    1982

    Invested $250,000 in the first generation of two Computer Aided Design (CAD) stations.

    1984

    Opened a sales and construction office in Dallas, Texas. Opened a facility for fabricating our own designed granite wall systems at 200 Rio Grande Blvd, Denver, Colorado.

    1985

    Entered the fabrication and installation of unitized wall system featuring Granite Cygnus Panels.

    Built and moved operations to present day facilities at 620 and 680 Harlan St, Lakewood, Colorado.

  • 1987

    Opened a sales and construction office in San Francisco, California.

    1990

    Second generation of the Elward family incorporated Elward Construction Co, Inc.

    Elward Systems Corporation is incorporated with a mission to sell our own engineered fabricated product to other installers.
    Closed offices in Dallas and San Francisco.

    1992

    Developed and tested the first generation of the Rout and Return Dry System (DRY) to AAMA 501 standards. Sold the first fabricated project to a non-Elward company for installation, Kaiser Data Center, Los Angeles, California.

    1995

    Developed and tested the High Performance Rout and Return Dry System (DRY) to pass AAMA 501 standards at an unprecedented level, setting the bar for panel performance at 15 psf for static and dynamic water testing.

    Filed and obtained several U.S. Patents for the panel systems.

  • 1997

    Elward, Inc. is liquidated and Mel Elward officially retires.

    2001

    Elward Systems Corporation is purchased as a wholly owned subsidiary of Elward Construction Co, Inc.

    Started construction of our Testing Laboratory, building the first 2 ½ story chamber for testing per AAMA 501.

    2002

    Elward Construction Co., Inc. is sold to employees as an ESOP.

    2004

    Elward Construction Co., Inc. exits the commercial construction market in Colorado. Elward System Corporation is the dominate entity providing engineering and fabrication services and products to a variety of customers in the Western United States.

  • 2008

    Purchased a Pratt & Whitney 2800-99W airplane engine for testing dynamic water per AAMA 501.1 standards.

    2010

    Elward Construction Co., Inc. sells assets of sales and construction in Phoenix, Arizona.

    Elward Systems Corporation enters into single largest ever engineering and fabrication project for the LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal.
    Elward Systems Corporation enters into an agreement with Trespa NA to fabricate and distribute Trespa HPL panel systems.

    2011

    Built our second test chamber, made for testing per AAMA 508 and 509 standards.

    Developed and tested the Pressure Equalized Rainscreen System (PER) to pass AAMA 508 standards.

    2013

    Developed and tested the Spline Rainscreen System (SRS) to AAMA 509 standards, achieving a V3/W1 classification.

  • 2014

    Developed and tested the Drained and Back Ventilated Rainscreen (BVR) to AAMA 509 standards, achieving a V5/W1 classification.

    2016

    Elward Systems Corporation enters into an agreement with Swisspearl to fabricate and distribute fabricated cement composite panel systems.

  • 2023

    Elward initiates a corporate rebrand, introducing EVOLV Panel Systems to the marketplace.

Our Mission

With over 60 years of experience, we continue to improve, design, develop, engineer, and fabricate the best panel systems available. We strive to transform our supplying partners’ panel materials into a comprehensive rainscreen panel system solution. We provide fully engineered cladding/panel systems designed to meet the project’s specifications, delivered to site, ready to install. We understand the value of a job going smoothly, which is why we’ve been successful in helping our customers overcome the day-to-day challenges that projects experience.

Valuable Design Assistance

Need design assistance? We welcome the opportunity to provide our expertise during your initial design stages. Working together, we can avoid the common pitfalls associated with unguided building design using these materials and avoid encountering production limitations. Just ask us for help…

Exceptional Materials

We work with material suppliers offering superior quality, matching our high standards. The chosen materials are at the foundation of our quality EVOLV products. We then take it a step further, transforming our supplying partners' panel into a comprehensive rainscreen system solution... an engineered and tested facade designed to last.

Dedicated Research and Development

With EVOLV, we offer a vast number of systems, designed and tested to accommodate your performance requirements. From the highest performance Rout and Return DRY system, to Pressure Equalized Rainscreens, to Drained and Back Ventilated Rainscreens... we have designed, developed, and tested these systems to the highest performing standards.