The Hottest New Products at Expo: Three Dealers Offer Their Viewpoints
© 2003 Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Summer 2003
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Page 38
The Hottest New Products at Expo
Three Dealers Offer Their Viewpoints
Rick and Marlene Rinderle
Rinderle Door
Big Bend, Wis.
2002 IDA Dealer of the Year
"Re-Source Industries had a unique battery backup unit for residential operators. In a power failure, it would allow the operator to operate for a few cycles until the power comes back on. Re-Source said they expect to offer a commercial unit soon.
"The unit would be great for condominiums with elderly people who don’t like to be inconvenienced by a power failure or for a doctor who needs to get out. We’re going to put a sell sheet about this product in a residential folder that we give to all residential customers.
"We also saw a versatile new loop detector by Diablo Controls that would work on most detectors out there. It automatically finds the right setting and activates the opener. The cost was very inexpensive (about $60 our cost), and installation seemed easy. We do a lot of commercial service, and it would be a great new product to offer to retrofit the existing loop detector.
"Miller Edge came out with a non-contact safety edge that can go on rolling steel doors or sectional doors. It’s like a traveling electric eye that is hooked to the bottom of the door. When the door contacts the ground, it just folds underneath the door. We’re going to give it a try."
Mark Talon
General Manager
Overhead Door Company of Bangor
Hermon, Maine
IDEA Accredited Dealer
"I was impressed with the new garage door screens by Secure Screen. We have a lot of black flies and mosquitoes in Maine, and that would be an ideal product for this area. One of the screen products was motorized, developed by a door dealer in Texas. They ship anywhere in the country.
"We looked at a couple different GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking systems by FleetBoss and Advanced Tracking Technologies for use in our trucks. These systems use satellites and are available 24/7. The system knows every movement of your trucks, how long they were at each site, etc. Drivers don’t need to fill out a time card. You can save time in billing and even costing jobs since you know exactly how much time spent is on a job. I think it would be a very efficient business tool.
"We also noticed a pneumatic opener for car washes by Magnetic Automation. We’re not sure it will work here in our extreme cold, but car wash doors are always a challenge, and this is something we want to look at."
Dave and Ramona Van Bemen
Dave’s Garage Door Specialists
Panama City, Fla.
IDEA Accredited Dealer
"Napoleon Lynx displayed an ingenious wind load system that is retrofitted to a standard door. The system goes right on the door and weighs only twelve pounds. They’re not marketing it yet, but they brought it to the show to get input. They said their tests show it makes a 16x7 door compliant for 150 MPH wind loads, and you don’t need to upgrade the springs.
"Wayne-Dalton showed a new idrive opener that can be used on almost any torsion shaft door. We thought it was an ingenious solution. It’s a little more expensive, but it’s great for doors with no backroom. We tried to order one but were told it would not be available until the fall.
"LiftMaster has come out with a 3/4-HP opener with a double sprocket. You can install it using either one of the sprockets. We’d use it for an 18x8 door. It has two capacitors that give it some extra pull to get the door started.
"They’ve also added a plastic chain guide that suppresses chain noise. Even the motor has been changed; it’s a whole new concept. We’re going to start marketing that to all my contractors who like large doors, wind loaded doors, or any heavy door."