TEN YEARS AGO: Expo ’95: Final Blowout for DODA

© 2005 Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Summer 2005
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Page 63

TEN YEARS AGO

Expo ’95: Final Blowout for DODA

Expo 1995 attracted 3,000 to New Orleans for Expo 95. The event marked the end of an era, having been being co-sponsored by five industry trade organizations: Door & Operator Dealers Association (DODA) and the Far Western Garage Door Association (FWGDA) in cooperation with the National Association of Garage Door Manufacturers (NAGDM), American Rolling Door Institute (ARDI), and the Door Operator & Remote Controls Manufacturers Association (DORCMA).

Update: By Expo 1996 in Las Vegas, the entire industry’s organizational structure had changed. DODA and FWGDA had merged into the International Door Association (IDA) and NAGDM and DORCMA had formed the Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA). IDA continues to operate the annual Expo.

Internet Introduced at Expo ’95

Each attendee at Expo 1995 was offered a 3-1/2" floppy disk with software that allowed access to “the World Wide Web and the information superhighway commonly known as the Internet.”

In addition, each DODA and FWGDA member was given a Web presence at the association’s Web site. At the time, the association home page was located at http://www.smartpages.com/doorcom.

Update: At the time, few people probably knew what to do with this new Internet technology. Today, the smartpages site has long since been abandoned, and IDA operates a progressive Web site at www.doors.org. Hundreds of door dealers now have their own Web sites, and nearly all dealers have their own E-mail addresses.