Outside Wayne-Dalton’s world headquarters in Mt. Hope, Ohio, Amish farmers driving three-horse teams serve as a constant reminder of the practical values, craftsmanship and work ethic that serve as the basic philosophy of the company. Largely due to its Amish heritage, the area is home to many proud craftspeople who make cabinets, desks, chairs, quilts and a myriad of handcrafted items. This foundation has contributed significantly to the philosophy that drives Wayne-Dalton’s success as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of upward-acting doors.
Three years later, Wayne-Dalton entered the self-storage industry when it acquired Door Systems Inc., a large producer of self-storage doors and interior systems located in Marietta, Ga. In 1988, the self-storage division was moved to its current location in Trail, Ohio.
The company’s world headquarters and 900,000-square-foot manufacturing facility sit just across the street from its original site. Consisting of 50,000 square feet of tinted glass and steel, the facility won statewide architectural recognition for its design and how well it integrates into its rural community. The company owns more than 2 million square feet of manufacturing facilities in Canada, France and the United States.
Innovation Creates Value-Added Products
Since its inception, Wayne-Dalton has become known as a company with innovative ideas engineered to far exceed industry standards, says Sales Manager Paul Troyer. This culture was driven by Mullet, who is still involved in the daily activities of Wayne-Dalton’s research and development.
“Because the company has always maintained a staunch commitment to developing innovative new products, it is now a world leader in the garage-door and garage- door opener industry,” Troyer says. That commitment to development has significantly changed the storage roll-up door from its original form.
Wayne-Dalton engineers developed a patented tension bracket called the Tension-Pro that allows the spring tension on the door to be adjusted in seconds, saving valuable installation time. The company’s engineers didn’t stop there; they introduced the shot-peened spring to the self-storage roll-up door in 2003. Shot-peening is a secondary process that removes imperfections from the surface of the spring caused from the manufacturing process. It increases the spring strength and adds longer life, virtually eliminating spring maintenance.
“Our focus is to add value to our product that customers will recognize.” Troyer says. “Wayne-Dalton is a leader when it comes to innovation in the self-storage industry.”
From the very beginning, the founders of Wayne-Dalton looked for ways to provide the market with a product and service that customers will value. “We still have that mentality today,” Troyer says. “We are a customer-oriented company, from the beginning to the end of each order we receive.”
Wayne-Dalton’s sales team has the experience and knowledge to guide customers from the design stage of new construction or a retrofit project. A project is handled with the same exacting attention to detail as the purchase. “Simply put, it’s what our customers deserve and expect.”
At Wayne-Dalton practical values are constant, Troyer says. These values have developed a culture of customer first, craftsmanship and work ethic that serve as the basic philosophy instilled by the founders of Wayne-Dalton Corp. 54 years ago.
For more information, visit www.wayne-dalton.com.
