Doorway to the Top
CORPUS CHRISTI'S POWERFUL WINDS PROVIDED THE IMPETUS FOR THIS COMPANY TO CREATE A NEW INDUSTRY. HORTON AUTOMATICS TODAY ENJOYS WORLDWIDE DOMINANCE IN THE AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOOR INDUSTRY, REPORTS APRIL TERRERI.
A Typical Saturday for the average American family might include a string of
stops, including a trip to Home Depot for supplies for those weekend projects,
then on to Walgreen's, the supermarket, then to Toys-R-Us to reward a good
report card, then on to McDonald's to fuel the kids, then to pick up Grandma at
the airport. What do all of these stops have in common beyond an exercise in
family togetherness? The answer is Horton Automatics of Corpus Christi, Tex.
Each one of these establishments is equipped with doors manufactured by Horton.
Open-Door Policy
"We are a manufacturer and marketer of automatic sliding doors for
pedestrian use," says Don Moerbe, 30-year Horton veteran and vice-president
of sales and marketing for Horton Automatics. Convenient access is taken for
granted by those entering commercial, retail, institutional and industrial
facilities, but automatic doors are serious business to Horton. The company's
product range is the broadest in the automatic door industry and includes
automatic sliding and swinging doors, folding doors, revolving doors, service
windows, presence and motion detection systems and controls to meet the
requirements in commercial and industrial applications.
"Our sliding doors might be used in a supermarket or an airport," says Moerbe. "They are also used in clean-room manufacturing facilities such as microchip manufacturing plants. Our revolving doors are used as exterior doors protecting against the weather and can also be used in an airport terminal for pedestrian traffic control."
Horton doors are used as a security precaution in high-tech manufacturing
facilities. Control is guaranteed in and out of the facility using employee
identification cards to start the revolver which will revolve a quarter-turn,
allowing only one employee in at a time, thereby guaranteeing security.
"The automatic sliding door has always been dear to Horton Automatics because we are the developer of that concept."
The largest bulk of Horton's business is focused on providing automatic doors for the convenience of everyone, including disabled people, visiting facilities such as supermarkets, libraries, and universities. Other facilities utilizing Horton automatic doors include retail stores, hotels, airports, nursing homes, and medical centers.
Open Sesame
The automatic sliding door has always been dear to
Horton Automatics because we are the developer of that concept," says
Moerbe. The company put the first commercial automatic sliding door on the
market in 1960, literally establishing a brand-new industry where one had not
existed before. "Although there were automatic swinging doors, there were
no automatic sliding doors prior to our first," explains Moerbe. Forty
years later, Horton still maintains the lead in the industry it created. It has
enjoyed continuous growth and is now a leading full-line company operating in
its 135,000-square-foot facility.
It all began when Dee Horton, who owned and operated Horton Glass Company,
and employee Lew Hewitt, noticed that they were repeatedly repairing glass doors
damaged by the strong Corpus Christi winds. Both felt the solution to the
problems caused by these winds would be to create a sliding door. "But the
public wasn't used to using sliding doors; they were used to pushing and pulling
them," explains Moerbe. "So they set out to develop a mechanism that
would automatically slide the door open and closed." Thus was born Horton
Automatics.
Distributor-Oriented Philosophy
Horton Automatics prides itself on its distributor-oriented philosophy. "In every major and minor city in North America our distributors represent us," says Moerbe.
"Each distributor is capable of selling, installing, and servicing our doors after the sale. That method of going to market has worked well for us." The company also uses its own employees to sell, install and service doors. Horton markets worldwide and in its goal to become a global player, the company opened a 25,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Telford, England, in the late 1980's, preparing for a European expansion.
"We make all the main components here, and once a month we ship a
container to England where the parts are assembled for European customers. The
market in Europe is different and we don't use a distributorship method; we
distribute our products ourselves, says Moerbe. About 35 percent of automatic
door users encompass the large retail companies like Lowes, Toys-R-Us, and
Walgreen's. Sales to these customers are developed through the company's
national accounts division, where direct calls are made to potential customers.
"We present our products directly to them," says Moerbe. The remaining
two-thirds of Horton's market is developed through the influence of local
architectural firms, contractors, and glass companies, with whom Horton's sales
divisions and distributors are well acquainted.
"Our product line sets us apart from our competitors," says Moerbe. "We have the broadest product line in the industry. And our own distributor system is one of the best in North America. Wherever you are, there is a Horton distributor nearby. "As independents, they depend upon selling our doors to make a living, and our distributors are very loyal to us. We share our ideas and training with our distributors as we build markets together."
Platform Doors
The company has recently found a new niche helping airports run efficiently. With its innovative engineering capabilities, Horton is capitalizing on a trend that began in airport terminals about five years ago. Instead of using moving sidewalks to move people from point to point within the terminals, airports now use shuttle trains. "We are now the supplier of choice for train suppliers, explains Moerbe. "We provide them with the safety barrier doors, known as platform doors, which operate using highly engineered and sophisticated controls." When the train car enters the station and positions itself to accept passengers, the train signals Horton doors when to open and when to close. Horton's platform doors work in this capacity in about five major airports around the world, including Rome, Frankfurt, Dallas Fortworth, the new Denver International Airport, and Minneapolis. "This is a specialty niche for us, and it demonstrates the range of our capabilities," says Moerbe. If the doors don't work, the train won't operate. And this could be critical to the operation of the entire network of arrivals and departures. Horton's doors are reliable 24 hours a day, every day.
Horton is currently working on the engineering of platform doors that will operate in San Francisco International Airport. Delivery will begin toward the end of this year; and the doors should be operational by mid-2000.
A pioneer in the industry, Horton's "firsts" are impressive,
underscoring the company's commitment to continued advanced technological
excellence. It was the first to gain nationwide building code acceptance for the
automatic sliding door; the first to patent internal shockproof checking in
sliding door operator design; the first to achieve UL listing of the patented
swing-and-slide breakaway feature on an exit-way; the first to market the
automatic pass-through window; the first to include the door as an integral part
of the automatic sliding door installation package; and the first to catalog a
motion detector with safety beam and the wide pattern Sonar Scan presence
sensor. Horton also patented the unique segment revolving door design.
As many astute business managers know, a company is only as good as its worst employee. Horton excels in its commitment to its 400 employees, and its many employees who have been with the company for many years bear testimony to this fact. Horton employees offer customers dedicated experience and extensive product knowledge. A value-added service Horton offers its customers is best-in-the-industry lead times.
Horton Automatics' future development will focus on maintaining the industry's leading edge of product development within the family of products it now manufactures to assure customers of the latest and the best features. "We have always been a leader in the industry and I see no reason for that to change," concludes Moerbe.
"Our product line sets us apart from our competitors," says Moerbe. "We have the broadest product line in the industry. And our own distributor system is one of the best in North America."