10 YEARS AGO …: Anti-Codegrabbing Technology Announced

© 2004 Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Fall 2004
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Page 64

10 YEARS AGO …

Anti-Codegrabbing Technology Announced. In the fall of 1994, Street Smart Auto Security introduced a garage door opener transmitter/receiver that randomly changes the digital code with every use. The invention sought to thwart high-tech thieves who could record the transmitter’s radio signal and play it back later to gain entry into garages.
Update: This concept revolutionized the world of garage door remote controls. Nearly all remote control manufacturers now offer “rolling code” technology.

Cordonnier Celebrates 40 Years in the Garage Door Industry. In 1994, Tom Cordonnier was vice president of industry relations at Clopay. Back in 1953, he helped start Francis Products, which was acquired by Clopay in 1969. Cordonnier later retired from Clopay at age 65 in 1997.
Update: On July 22, 2004, Tom Cordonnier died of complications from Parkinson’s/Pick’s Disease. In an interview in 2001, Tom told us that he “worked for nothing for a year” in 1953. In return, he was given 5 percent ownership of Francis Products. An amiable salesman and the quintessential ambassador for the garage door industry, he will be missed.

Corzett Marks 40th Anniversary in the Garage Door Industry. The occasion was marked on Oct. 18, 1994. Don Corzett was hired at age 17 in the office at Frantz in 1954 and rose to become vice president of marketing for Frantz until Wayne-Dalton bought Frantz in early 1994. Active in the industry, Corzett served 11 years on the National Association of Garage Door Manufacturers (NAGDM) board and 3-1/2 years as NAGDM president.
Update: Corzett retired at the end of 1998 and continues to live in Rock Falls, Ill., where he was born and raised. He is now 67 and enjoys golfing.

Wayne-Dalton Introduces TorqueMaster. In mid-1994, Wayne-Dalton described the product as “an innovative counterbalance system for garage doors that is easier, faster, and safer to install than other systems on the market.” The invention was believed to be the first counterbalance to seal springs safely within a steel tube.
Update: TorqueMaster is still an optional accessory with Wayne-Dalton residential garage doors. Other manufacturers have since developed similar technologies for easy spring winding and/or for enclosing springs.

WayneGard Debuts. “The industry’s first pinch-resistant line of garage doors” was announced by Wayne-Dalton in mid-1994. The new WayneGard Series doors initiated the modern trend toward pinch-resistant garage doors.
Update: The WayneGard pinch-resistant design continues as a key component in the Wayne-Dalton product line. Many other manufacturers have since introduced their own pinch-resistant models.

Overhead Door Completes Acquisition of Genie. The fall 1994 announcement noted that the purchase consisted of a cash payment of $181.3 million and the exchange of Genie options of about $2.7 million. Overhead Door then reported that it had 2,820 employees, while Genie had approximately 1,000 employees.
Update: Overhead Door and its Genie division were acquired by Sanwa Shutter Corporation of Tokyo in 1996.