An unexpected perk of my job has been the opportunity to see American manufacturing at it's best and last week I traveled to Troy, Ohio for an exclusive tour of the Clopay Garage Door manufacturing plant.
This was my first visit to the area known as the Miami Valley and after arriving in Dayton I immediately made my way to Troy which is about 20 minutes North of the airport. You can't miss the Clopay factory which is right off the main freeway and is the probably the largest teal building in existence. The factory is nearly 1 million square feet and the previous tenant, Panasonic, built tube televisions there. I enjoyed the color and admire Clopay for sticking with something different instead of just whitewashing it like every other corporate structure.
Clopay rolled out the red carpet for my visit and really wanted to show me the process of how a steel garage door is built. Although the construction is fairly straightforward, Clopay has spent the last 50 years refining their techniques and continue to innovate in materials and design.
A steel garage door begins as a roll of steel that's simply unwound like thread from a spool. As the steel is unwound it's fed through a machine that makes sure there are no wrinkles or deformaties.
The steel is then pulled through another machine that slowly shapes the edges by passing it along guides that are at increasingly sharp angles. Steel of this gauge needs to be worked like this as to not tear or compromise it.
This panel is then fitted for insulation or sent further along to have the various hardware and brackets installed.
Clopay has two types of insulation that are distinguished by value and performance. Polystyrene is the value insulation that is fitted into the door panel and then locked and sealed into place. It doesn't fill the entire door panel cavity but it does offer some degree of insulation.
The performance insulation is a polyurethane that is sprayed into the door panel and fills up the entire door space and is bonded to two steel panels. The R value ranges from 6.5 to 18.4 which is the leader in the industry.
Once the insulation is installed the door is ready for the final touches which include installing the rubber weather guard on the bottom and adding the required hardware such as springs and brackets to the final order to be shipped.
There is very little extra inventory as every door processed is custom built in regards to design, color, insulation, hardware and materials. This leads to an extremely efficient and streamlined operation.
But beyond the manufacturing process and precision machinery, the people of Clopay are what keeps this plant humming. The greatest compliment an employer can have of it's employees is tenure and Clopay has this in spades. I met Ali who has been with Clopay for 47 years! He still enjoys driving the forklift and building doors on a daily basis.
I also met numerous other employees who had been working for Clopay more than 20 years, many of whom had moved to stay with the company when they consolidated manufacturing to this one factory 5 years ago.
It's rare to see this type of dedication and loyalty but Clopay seems to have found the magic formula to inspire and motivate their people to continue performing at a high level for many years.
I want to thank the Clopay executives who took time from their day to show me around and answer all of my questions. They truly know the business and could tell me what exactly was going on throughout the factory.
Here are more photos from my visit and you can view the complete set on our Facebook page.
We've explored the financial advantages for upgrading your garage door as well the abundance of new designs and materials available, so now it's time to start shopping for a garage door.
Your local Home Depot can be an easy place to start your search but we recommend visiting a garage door showroom. Clopay Garage Doors gave us a peek into one of their showrooms, where the salespeople are trained solely on the design, construction and functionality of garage doors. Once you decide on a garage door they will make sure that installation goes smoothly and that all of your questions are answered.
What's great about Clopay's dealer showroom is that you can see the their full-lineup of garage door designs and in many cases you can view a full-size version of the door. They will also have all color and material swatches and with their trained eye they will be able to assist you in choosing a door style that works best with your home.
We recommend bringing a photo of your home showing your garage door with you when you visit a showroom. This will help you and the salesperson know exactly what type of door your home requires in regards to fit and style.
If you don't have a dealer showroom near you or you prefer to shop online, Clopay has just launched a Door Imagination System that allows you to upload a photo of your home to "try on" various garage door and entry doors designs to find a perfect fit. With over 1,000 different garage door designs in wood, steel, aluminum, composite and glass, there is bound to be more than one that will work for you.
It took two minutes to go through the step-by-step process and we started with a simple photo of our garage door.
Earlier this month we discovered that a garage door replacement can net on average a 71% cost return on resale and is one of the top 5 home exterior improvements that give you the most bang for your buck.
If you've decided to take the plunge and replace your aging/ugly garage door, there are plenty of new models that will catch your eye. We've teamed up with Clopay on this article and since they are the largest manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors in North America we knew they'd have plenty of new product to show us that would be available in most markets across the country. Clopay door styles are also very versatile and they have options that will work on any type of home style.
We've lined up some garage door beauty shots from Clopay's various collections. I'm sure you'll agree that the upgraded doors make a huge difference in the exterior look of the home.
Coachman Collection
Carriage house doors are a very popular look and are quite versatile - they don't just belong on Victorian stye homes and these examples prove it.
The Coachman looks like wood but is actually constructed of layers of steel and insulation topped with a woodgrain composite overlay to create the carriage house look -- so it requires much less maintenance than a natural wood door. Decorative hardware and windows can be added.
Clopay is introducing a 2" polyurethane insulated version in March. Polyurethane insulation provides maximum energy efficiency, dent resistance and strength. The R-value will be 18.4, which will help improve the comfort of rooms next to and above an attached garage.
Premium Series
This is a classic raised panel steel door. Steel is a durable low-maintenance material and offers the broadest range of insulation, color and price options. This door can be dressed up simply by adding decorative windows.
When beginning a home renovation, there are a multitude of things to consider -- cost, time, materials, permits, etc. But have you ever considered documenting your project to be an intregal part of not only the process, but a beneficial one?
Recently we were scheming a potental new project in our house when a couple of possible complications came to mind involving stud and beam placement in a wall. Instead of cutting holes into the wall to figure out if our idea was even possible, all we had to do was go through our renovation photos to before we put up the drywall to answer our question. No mess, no tools, just a couple clicks of the mouse to settle our minds.
