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Heritage of Excellence: The Steel Door Institute The Steel Door Institute, a Legacy of American Manufacturing As we celebrate the Heritage of Excellence in American Manufacturing theme this July, it's important to highlight organizations that uphold the highest standards in manufacturing. The Steel Door Institute (SDI) is one such entity, playing a crucial role in the steel door and frame industry. Founded with the mission to produce quality and performance standards, SDI ensures that steel doors and frames manufactured by its members meet rigorous specifications, providing superior safety, durability, and reliability. The Origins and Mission of SDI The Steel Door Institute, established in 1954, is a collective of leading steel door manufacturers committed to producing the best steel d...

Heritage of Excellence: Mesker's Enduring Legacy and Bright Future Mesker Invents the Hollow Metal Door For over 150 years, Mesker has been a stalwart in the commercial door industry, delivering decades of quality and innovation. Founded in 1846 by the Mesker brothers in St. Louis, the company initially specialized in ornamental sheet metal storefront facades. These facades, often referred to as “Meskers”, can still be found all across America. According to the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the Mesker Brothers facades represented life at the turn of the 20th century, the industrial revolution and the possibilities of that era. One of the many milestones in Mesker's history was winning the Architectural Gold Medal Award at the 1904 World Fair. This accolade set the precedent ...

Observing Child Safety Week Child Safety Week is an annual campaign dedicated to raising awareness about child safety. It provides an opportunity for us to come together as a community to share practices that help protect children from harm. It is a great way to kick off summer. Like many of you, I am a parent and grandparent. Thirty (or so) years ago when I was raising young children I was (and still am) a worst case scenario thinker. I agonized over the littlest things. For instance, every night I left their bedroom door open so that I could hear them if they needed me. Little did I know that was not the best decision and I am so grateful that I didn’t have to learn that lesson the hard way. Now, I am sharing the practice of closing your child’s bedroom door at night to you in an eff...

Insights from the Industry: Current State of the Metal Industry. Discovering valuable resources is always a delight, especially when they offer profound insights into industry trends. In the process of gathering data for a market analysis, I was recently introduced to ITR Economics and their podcast, TrendsTalk. Their latest episode "US Metal Production Recovery and Outlook" hosted by Taylor St Germain delves into the current state of the metal industry. As an advocate for both my manufacturer partners and distribution customers in the commercial door and hardware industry, I recommend this podcast for a quick listen. I found the information shared to be vital in crafting a successful strategy for navigating the estimating process amidst fluctuating steel and aluminum costs. At Sout...

SEAS Teams Up With Trimco The first half of 2022 led us on a path of uncertainty after dormakaba's announcement to divest its Mesker business at the end of the previous year. We were encouraged to learn that Mesker was being purchased by a partnership formed between the owners of Trimco and MMI, Mesker MBM LP. During the transition of ownership it became evident that the Trimco and MMI principals are passionate about the industry, manufacturing high quality products and putting the customer first. As we began sharing the latest chapter in the Mesker story with our distribution partners one thing became clear, Trimco's products and people have a well respected reputation in the marketplace. With that knowledge, Raul and I are very excited to announce our representation agreement w...