Business Highlight - General Fabrics
By: MIASF Staff
Date posted: May 27, 2020 Wed
General Fabrics was founded in 1947 by Robert Norem, Sr., one of the sons of the H.P. Norem and Sons canvas and awning business in Wilmington, Delaware in the early 1940s. In 1947, Robert Norem, Sr. decided to move to Fort Lauderdale and subsequently established General Fabrics in the old Allied Marine Building. By the mid-1960s he bought the land and the building at 621 SW 2nd Avenue and made it the permanent home of General Fabrics, producing canvas, upholstery, and interiors for yachts.
In the 1980s he passed the well-established and well-known business down to his own son, Robert Norem, Jr., who today runs the business with the help of his son Greg and his daughter Tonya. The family-owned company still produces quality fabrics using paper patterning and “old school” craftsmanship with a group of talented seamstresses and an upholsterer, earning its reputation through word of mouth advertising. For more than 70 years, General Fabrics has offered its’ time-tested assistance to yacht owners in reimagining interiors for yachts of every size.