Notice Board
‘ The door guy ’
When Bruce Cloney responded to an ad in a newspaper 35 years ago , he wasn ’ t even sure what the position was . Three decades later , it ’ s fair to say that phone call changed his life . Bruce spotted an opportunity for ‘ door guys ’ to adding locksmithing to their tool box , and now he ’ s helping locksmiths through the same door ( albeit the opposite direction ) to aid personal and professional development and add to their profits …
» IF I GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE beginning of this “ door guy ” experience , I would reflect to a job search back in early 1988 , using the newspaper . There was a help-wanted ad for an automatic door technician , with a toll-free number . Of course , I ’ m dating myself because has anyone done a job search in a newspaper in the past 5-10-15 years ?
When I responded to the ad , I assumed this was for an overhead garage door job . Because the company was very small , the owner answered the phone . By the end of the call , all I knew was that sounds like a great job and I wanted it . You just drive all over the place in a company van , and repair doors in supermarkets , retail stores , hospitals , etc . Instead of being locked in a factory all day I would be paid to drive around and be in a respected role , like an ‘ on-the-spot hero ’.
I got the job and for 32 years , it has been very good to me . I have worked for major manufacturers such as Stanley , ASSA Abloy and others for most of my tenure . I have worked in every corner of the market , from high security clearance facilities , such as Department of Defense , government , military , municipal , medical , educational campuses many with hundreds of automatic doors at one site , then over to retail stores , small laundromats with one sliding door , or liquor stores with two sliding doors , to small bodegas in the heart of NYC , with one automatic door .
Looking back , I have mostly all good memories . As I entered the industry in the late 80s , automatic doors were still a specialty item , mostly found in large places like the hospitals , airports and major retail stores . The doors were mostly activated by those old dirty , heavy floor mats . You stepped on it and it just closed a switch and the door opened ; the doors were powered open by air pneumatic , a compressor in a remote location ( usually a dingy basement or crawl space ). We would run 1 / 4 ” air lines from it , up through the floors , into the storefront frames and into the header and let me tell you , when those doors “ took off ” ( started to open ), it was like a hurricane . If someone was behind it , there was no mercy ! Then there were hydraulics , similar but sometimes much more of a mess , hoses run from pumps under sidewalks , hoses breaking in winter , it was just too much fun to relive here .
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NOV / DEC 2022
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