Propel Doors isn’t just our name. It’s what we do.
We all go through life putting up with little hassles and wish someone would come up with a solution. Sometimes those hassles have been around so long that we assume it’s just a part of life. “Suck it up, Buttercup,” is how one teacher we knew put it.
Well, we were sitting around one day in Springfield having a cup of coffee and talk turned to shed doors. The electric garage door opener was invented in 1926, but didn’t become popular until after World War II. And now very few people would even think of not having an electric garage door.
So why weren’t the sliding doors on pole barns and machine sheds automated? There are a few reasons mainly wind, size, weight, and harsh conditions. You could slap an electric motor onto some track and somehow attach it to the doors. People have done it. But if you don’t control the doors, the wind will yank them off the track and wreck the system. You also had to be careful that the force of the motor wouldn’t tear the doors apart. We knew these were difficult obstacles, but we were convinced that a solution was possible.
So in 2009 we started working on a system that would accomplish the following:
- Keep the doors under control from the time they left the center mullion until they were fully retracted.
- Be self-cleaning so that it wouldn’t become clogged by dirt, rocks, seeds, and debris.
- Keep the entire system, including the motor, inside the building and out of the weather.
- Maintain the vertical and horizontal clearances required by large farm vehicles and equipment
- Take advantage of the latest improvements in door safety.
- Be affordable.
After more than a year of design work and prototype development, we submitted our patent application to the US Patent Bureau. It was quite a celebration when we were awarded “Patent” status.
Now the bulk of our time is spent training and working with local installers. However, our Design Team remains active and meets weekly to continue to improve the Propel Doors System. They also design system adaptations to meet the specific needs of non-standard buildings and doors.
It probably sounds odd, but our people are passionate about sliding doors and figuring out how to automate them. They’d love to talk with you about your doors. We try to answer our own phones, but sometimes we get pretty busy. That’s mostly a good thing. If we aren’t able to answer the phone when you call, please leave a message. We return calls within 24 hours.