The Overhead Door Corp., based in Dallas, pioneered the upward-acting door industry, inventing the first overhead door in 1921 and the first electric door opener in 1926. Today, the company and its divisions--including W.B. McGuire for loading dock equipment and impact traffic doors, and Horton Automatics for automated pedestrian entrances--is recognized as one of the nation's single-source manufacturers of integrated door and operator systems for residential, commercial and industrial applications.
According to Blake Griffin, director of product management for Commercial Door Systems, the goals of Overhead Door are to bring the company's 78 years of experience, knowledge, expertise and resources to the self-storage market with quality products and unequaled service.
"In the commercial marketplace, Overhead Door is considered a leading door manufacturer. Now our goal is to become the leading door and interior-wall-system manufacturer in the self-storage industry as well," says Clark Hotard, regional sales manager and a veteran of the self-storage industry.
The 870 SS Door
How does the company propose to achieve these goals? With the production of quality self-storage products, such as the 870 SS door. The stated benefits to this product include:
- Snap-on components that eliminate the need for multiple fasteners.
- Universal guides with "through-hole" design that are used in all base materials with one-size fasteners and that minimize sideroom requirements.
- Unique "stepped" rings to ensure smooth door operation and minimum headroom requirements.
- Headplate that includes a nylon bearing as a standard feature and optional roller bearings that ensure smooth door operation and extended door life.
- Combination of rigid PVC rub strips on both edges of the guide and the vinyl edge strip on the curtain that prevents steel-to-steel contact, resulting in smooth operation and minimal curtain scratching.
- High-strength curtain material for overall door strength and maximum windload performance.
- Factory-installed door locks that help to minimize door-installation time.
- 14 standard colors to meet a variety of applications.
The company also offers full-flush and semi-flush interior-wall systems designed and engineered for self-storage, climate-controlled applications.
Unique in Service
Griffin outlines the commitment of his company as being two-fold: One commitment is to provide the right door to the customer when they need it; the other is to provide a unique approach to service not currently offered in the industry.
"Today, if someone installs a 500-door job and the facility owner has to replace a door or needs one repaired two years down the road, he has to go into the Yellow Pages and find a local door company," explains Griffin. "Overhead Door has more than 400 distributors around the country. So, a facility owner knows and can easily find one of our distributors and get the service he needs. That's very unique. Overhead Door is the only manufacturer I know of that bring that can bring this to the self-storage industry."
Looking Ahead
According to Griffin, Overhead Door is not only utilizing its own internal resources, it is also incorporating industry-experienced people such as Hotard. "As a veteran of the self-storage industry, he brings his unique experiences and knowledge that will be a key ingredient to our success in this market," Griffin says.
Hotard says he sees continuing success for Overhead Door in the self-storage industry. "There's certainly market share available for all of us to attack and still survive in the business. The business hasn't had a dip in it for quite a while, and I don't foresee one," he says. "I see continued growth, and that's one of the reasons Overhead Door has decided this is a good time to enter the market. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, we're just trying to make it better."
With multiple manufacturing locations throughout the United States, a state-of-the-art International Technical Center for design and engineering and a national network of authorized Overhead Door Ribbon distributors, the company's capabilities are undisputed. Overhead Door Corporation is a subsidiary of Sanwa Shutter Corp. of Tokyo, Japan. For more information, call (972) 869-1666, or visit the company's web site at www.overheaddoor.com.
"In the commercial marketplace, Overhead Door is considered a leading door manufacturer. Now our goal is to become the leading door and interior-wall-system manufacturer in the self-storage industry as well."