About seventy miles south of Cleveland lies Holmes County and Mt. Hope, Ohio, a picturesque farming community steeped in Amish tradition. There's a hardware store, a post office, an auction barn, a handful of neatly kept homes, thousands of acres of rolling farmland, and one world-class garage door and opener company.

Since its inception in 1954, Wayne-Dalton has become known as a company with innovative ideas which far exceed industry standards. Often, Wayne-Dalton is the only source for the latest garage door and garage door opener features. Because the company has always maintained a staunch commitment to developing innovative new products, Wayne-Dalton is now a world leader in the garage door and garage door opener industry.

Wayne-Dalton History

1954

Emanuel Mullet purchases a small garage door business from Ervin Hostetler in Mt. Eaton, Ohio. Ervin became involved in garage doors by inventing a wooden door that folded horizontally to store itself overhead. Emanuel moves the operation into a small, existing plant in nearby Mt. Hope.

1956

Wayne Door, as it was then known, assembles wood residential doors using sections manufactured in Wisconsin.

Wayne Door begins to manufacture the sections in addition to assembling them. The work force totals eight and is all Amish.

1963

The company's first independent distributors are established.

1965

Emanuel Mullet's son, Willis, becomes president of the company.

1967

Wood flush doors are added to the product line. The move helps expand the company into the Cleveland and Columbus markets. At this point, Wayne Door owns one semi and one straight truck!

1973

As company president, Willis starts a new plant, Dalton International, to produce commercial wood and steel doors. The plant is located in Dalton, Ohio, twenty minutes north of Mt. Hope.

1978

Wayne Door builds a new plant in Mt. Hope to develop an energy efficient, insulated garage door. This would be the major investment that would propel the company to where it is today. Its production line is the birthplace of the technology for our insulated thermal doors. The idea for an energy efficient garage door comes from the oil embargo and energy crunch of 1973. The production line is nicknamed VAII.

The new VAII production line begins manufacturing Thermowayne insulated residential doors and Thermospan insulated commercial doors. With its unique built-in struts and thermal break features, there are no other doors on the market like them.

1982

Wayne Door in Mt. Hope and Dalton International are merged to create the Wayne-Dalton Corp. with Willis Mullet as Chairman of the Board. Willis lays the groundwork for company growth strategies.

1983

The company acquires North American Door in Lindenhurst, New York and Crawford Door Products in Century, Florida. North American produces rolling steel doors and security grilles. Crawford manufactures commercial and residential sectional doors.

1985

A new plant is built in Pensacola, Florida to produce the new Foamcore insulated steel garage door. Using technology gained from the ThermowayneTM and Thermospan® doors, it is developed to capture a different market segment. Foamcore becomes the largest individual brand name garage door sold in the U.S.

At the same time, the company's R&D staff is expanded and relocated to the Pensacola facility.

Wayne-Dalton acquires Door Systems, Inc., of Marietta, Georgia. They are a major producer of mini storage doors.

1988

Door Systems is relocated to Dalton, Ohio. It later is moved to its present facility in Trail, ten minutes from Mt. Hope.

1989

Thomas "Bert" Bennett III joins the company as President.

Glass City Springs of Toledo, Ohio, is merged into Wayne-Dalton.

1990

Wayne-Dalton acquires the Kinnear Division of Harsco corporation and Kinnear Canada LTD. Kinnear manufactures sectional and rolling steel doors and has a strong West Coast and Canadian presence in both manufacturing and distribution.

1991

A new foam line is built at Mt. Hope with advanced computer systems and a faster line speed. It becomes known as the Wayne Foam Line.

The Pensacola facility is doubled in size to handle the rapid growth of Foamcore garage doors.

1992

A new 50,000-square-foot Corporate Headquarters is completed in Mt. Hope, 200 yards away from the original spot where Emanuel had first begun making doors. It is fabricated using building panels run off the Mt. Hope foam lines. The building itself wins a statewide architectural award for its design and how well it was integrated into the rural countryside.

Plycraft Plastics in Conneaut, Ohio is acquired to produce plastic window frames for the new StyleLineTM window options and other components.

1994

A revolutionary torsion spring system is introduced to the marketplace. The TorqueMasterTM has great appeal to safety conscious retail consumers by using a completely new design that places the normally exposed springs into an enclosed metal tube. The springs are wound by a drill so that no danger is encountered in winding them.

Wayne-Dalton embarks on a national advertising campaign featuring a well-known celebrity. Richard Karn, who plays Al on the enormously successful television program, Home Improvement, is signed to a multi-year contract as international product spokesperson.

Challenger, a manufacturer of motorized openers located in New Jersey, is acquired. This is part of the strategy to offer a complete garage door system, including door and opener.

Frantz Building Products, based in Sterling, Illinois, is purchased. Frantz is a manufacturer of sectional doors and has a strong retail presence throughout the Midwest. This helps Wayne-Dalton advance further into the ever growing retail markets, especially furnish and install programs.

1995

Major expansions are completed at Mt. Hope and Pensacola facilities. Square footage for all plants is over 2,000,000.

After four years of research, the new pinch-resistant doors are test run on manufacturing lines at Pensacola and Mt. Hope. The new pinch resistant design helps prevent homeowners from accidentally getting fingers caught between the sections of a closing door. Combined with the TorqueMasterTM counterbalance system, it is now the safest garage door system ever made.

1996

The first doors with the pinch resistant design are sold on the open market.

Wayne-Dalton receives Ohio's "E" Award for Excellence in Exporting. The award acknowledges Wayne-Dalton's growing export business. Only 35 other companies received the award, including Babcock & Wilcox and the Chrysler Toledo assembly plant.

1998

Wayne-Dalton receives the Consumer Product Safety Commission's coveted Chairman's Commendation for "significant contributions to consumer product safety." It is the only garage door manufacturer ever to receive the honor.

The Thermowayne II® is introduced to the public. This door, with an increased R-value and pinch resistant design, continues to display Wayne-Dayton's commitment to safety.

1999

Wayne-Dalton unveils the revolutionary DoorMaster® opener. This opener requires no photo eyes when installed with a pinch resistant door; no bulky opener rails, and even a pet-opening button. When combined with a Wayne-Dalton pinch resistant door, it is the first and only opener and door combination to earn the University Laboratories Listing Mark.

2000

Wayne-Dalton embarks on a new endeavor with the introduction of the elegant Carriage House wood door. Carriage House doors provide customers with the look of high-end wood garage doors with the convenience and practicality of sectional door design.

The web site expands to offer customers a Design Center that allows them to see various types of door styles on a home. The Dealer Locator is also unveiled, which allows web visitors to find an authorized dealer in their area.

2001

Wayne Dalton's Door & Systems Division introduces the TensionPro® Adjustable Spring Device for roll-up counter shutters, mini roll-up doors and roll-up steel doors. This device allows owners to adjust the tension on a door with a simple twist of the wrist.

2002

Wayne-Dalton revolutionizes the market by introducing the innovative new idrive® garage door opener. idrive replaces old chain and screw drive garage door openers with a compact and powerful motor that mounts on the wall directly over the door. The numerous benefits of idrive include its compact design, no rotating chains or belts, and no photo eyes when its installed with a pinch resistant door.

Wayne-Dalton presents homeowners an opportunity to break out of garage door boredom with a newly expanded line of 7100 series Carriage House Doors that are positioned at more affordable prices. All 7100 series doors feature kiln-dried Hemlock stile and rail frame with mortise and tenon construction. In addition, the doors feature a variety of hemlock trim patterns in vertical and raised panels, along with true divided window patterns in either square or arched design.

2003

The Torsion idrive® residential garage door opener is added to the Wayne-Dalton line-up. This allows the opener to be offered with doors equipped with standard torsion springs. It also provides homeowners with an additional option for their existing doors that utilize torsion springs in which the door is not ready to be replaced, but the homeowner wants the features and benefits that idrive offers.

2004

Wayne-Dalton introduces the Door Selection Center (DSC) on its web site. DSC allows homeowners and builders to see what a home would look like with a Wayne-Dalton garage door in a variety of designs, colors and accents. Homeowners that visited a participating dealer could use a digital picture of their own garage to see exactly what each of the multitude of doors to choose from would actually look like on the structure.

2005

Wayne-Dalton Model 9700 garage doors are launched. These doors offer completely new options for homeowners and builders who are tired of the standard raised panel garage door. The doors looks strikingly similar to wood Carriage House doors, yet offers the durability of steel, high insulation value, and safety with its pinch resistant design.

2006

Wayne-Dalton rolls out the industry's first fiberglass clad garage door, the Model 9800, which offers a deep, rich wood look without the high cost and maintenance hassles of real wood. The revolutionary fiberglass skin used on the 9800 is created through a patented manufacturing process developed in conjunction with Therma-Tru. It is combined with an underlying polyurethane insulated steel door, creating a beautiful door that maximizes value with insulation, strength, and pinch resistant safety.

Wayne-Dalton also introduces windload-rated doors during this timeframe on its most popular models, including the 9100 and 9700 doors. Engineered to protect homes in areas prone to hurricanes, tornadoes and severe storms, the doors meet Florida Building Code, International Code Council and Texas Department of Insurance, and Dade County PSF requirements.

Taking the best of everything learned from its garage door opener experience, Wayne-Dalton rolls out the all-new prodrive® ceiling mounted opener. It is the first Wayne-Dalton manufactured opener offered in the highly popular belt drive design, in addition to the traditional chain drive version.

It's main focus is to be quiet, reliable, easy to install, and available exclusively through Wayne-Dalton professional dealers. The prodrive is compatible with more than 25 million Homelink®-equipped vehicles on the road, and is also compatible with Car2UTM systems found on most popular, new GM cars and trucks.

For homeowners in disaster-prone areas, doors and windows can many times be the key as to whether wind, rain and storm-driven debris create minor, major, or catastrophic damage. Wayne-Dalton extends its commitment to protect homes beyond the garage with Fabric-Shield® Storm Panels. Created to protect doors and windows, these PVC-coated, woven poly fabric panels block wind, rain and projectiles, and are a highly effective alternative to steel or aluminum hurricane panels.

They are flexible and easy to deploy for homeowners of any age or strength level, as they are safe and easy to handle because there are no sharp edges, and can even be rolled up for storage.

2007

The Model 6100 door is introduced, which feature a flowing vertical design for an aesthetically pleasing look. Offered in six designs, the door also features the new DecaTrimTM stiles, which are made of a material that is extremely weather resistant while allowing the door pattern to achieve the vertical pattern design that makes it unique to the Wayne-Dalton product line.

Also coming on board is the Model 9400 door. This door is a spin-off of the Model 9700 door. Though it doesn't have the detailed depth or color options of the 9700, it does offer the designer look that some builders and homeowners want at a more economical price.

TorqueMaster® Plus becomes a reality as the biggest advancement for the unique counterbalance system since its creation is introduced. In addition to safely sealing the springs inside a steel tube, the TorqueMaster Plus also prevents the door from free-falling should the spring ever break while the door is in the up position.

Wayne-Dalton, through a groundbreaking alliance with major innovation leaders in the wireless home controls industry, launches a complete line of Home Access Controls, driven by the power of Z-Wave wireless technology. The move expands Wayne-Dalton into the world of home electronics and one of the fastest growing segments in the housing industry.

The system utilizes a mesh network technology called Z-Wave, developed by the Zensys Corporation. Many companies join together with Zensys to form a group known as the Z-Wave Alliance. Wayne-Dalton is one of the six original charter members of the group. Z-Wave's mesh network technology allows homeowners to manage home controls for items such as garage door openers, lighting, security systems, thermostats, and entertainment systems. The two-way wireless technology works through a radio frequency mesh. Up to 232 devices can be installed in a single Z-Wave network, allowing increased convenience, comfort, security, safety and energy conservation.

The idrive® (and eventually the prodrive®)garage door openers are the main portals for Wayne-Dalton's initial foray into home automation, as each model is Z-Wave ready, although the company offers many other additional HomeSettings products, such as lighting, thermostat, and small appliance modules.

2008

Wayne-Dalton is recognized once again as an industry leader at the recent International Builder's Show in Orlando, receiving the Builder Brand Leader award from publisher Hanley Wood for its #1 Quality Rating in the garage door category. Wayne-Dalton's strong commitment to excellence allowed it to be ranked #1 among all manufacturers when builders across the country were surveyed for their opinion on outstanding quality garage door products.

A new Commercial Web Site is launched for sectional and rolling doors that brings the entire commercial product line up to speed with a fresh new look and content, along with easy-to-use functionality.

The Rolling Door Division come out with the FireStar 700 (non-insulated) and FireStar 700C (insulated) rolling fire doors which feature vast improvements in performance and ease-of-installation over previous models.

Wayne-Dalton becomes the first and only garage door and opener manufacturer to join the U.S. Green Building Council. Members work to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible and establish healthy places to live and work. Because of its many energy savings features, Wayne-Dalton products, such as insulated doors and energy-smart openers, are a natural fit with the green energy-savings movement. What is impressive was that Wayne-Dalton was already developing and promoting these features long before "green" became what it is today.

A full collection of Decorative Hardware is added to the product mix, giving homeowners and builders the opportunity to bring a distinctive, yet subtle touch of individuality of their garage doors.

The Model 8800 and 8850 Full View doors are launched. These doors take the concept of commercial Aluminum Full View doors and incorporate vibrant colors for the rails and glass that make them appealing for residential use.

Thanks to its new Z-Wave compatible construction, the prodrive Garage Door Opener is named one of the Top 100 Best New Products for 2008 by Professional Builder magazine. Professional Builder supports innovation and new technology and uses the 100 Best New Products Award to recognize the most significant products introduced each year.

2009

The Model 9800 Cherry Sonoma door is created and proves to be a big hit with consumers, as the authentic looking cherry combined with the deep groves and contour of the popular Sonoma design is a tough combination to resist.

The Z-Wave® Thermostat from Wayne-Dalton is been named one of the Top 100 Best New Products by Professional Builder for 2009.

Paul Deffenbaugh, Editorial Director, said, "We believe the advancements made in products for new homes that have been recognized, such as Wayne-Dalton's Z-Wave Thermostat, benefits our country in a variety of ways, including reducing energy reliance, improving comfort, increasing quality, incorporating more efficient installation methods and more."

Wayne-Dalton introduces a complete new Web Site that greatly improves the looks, features, and functionality of the previous site.