Total Door Sets a Standard for U.S. Manufacturers

May 19, 2011 - PRLog -- Waterford, MI, May 19, 2011 – Total Door sets standards that prove U.S. manufactured products can lead the industry in a competitive global marketplace.

“Many businesses assume U.S. manufacturers aren’t competitive when it comes to developing innovative products that provide quality and value,” explains Total Door CEO Patricia Yulkowski.

“Total Door is the only manufacturer in the world to offer integrated commercial door systems and we do it all right here in Waterford, Michigan.  Everything is done locally from designing, manufacturing, testing and even conducting training for our customers,” Yulkowski added.

The Total Door story is proof that buying a US manufactured product does not involve compromise. The integrated door systems designed by Total Door also set commercial door manufacturing industry standards for quality, durability and performance value.  

Conventional doors consist of a door slab and hardware from many different manufacturers, with more than 80% percent of the components coming from outside the U.S.  Total Door is a US commercial door manufacturer that designs custom components to create a unique, unified system for each commercial door application.  More than 98% of these custom components are manufactured locally.

Customization is typically associated with being very expensive.  A Total Door system is cost competitive because it has fewer parts, costs less to install, reduces maintenance costs and cuts customer inventory costs.  

Working with local suppliers also helps reduce costs by supporting lean manufacturing processes such as just in time delivery. Lean processes reduce operating costs for Total Door and its 200 U.S. based suppliers.  

Alternatively, installing a door on location with components from many different manufacturers actually adds costs down the road.  Each component of a conventional door is tested to different standards of durability.  As a result, components fail at different rates which leads to more maintenance and added costs.

“The issue of having all those different components that are not tested to a single standard is one reason we developed the Total Door system,” explains Yulkowski.  “We offer what I like to call performance value.  All our components are tested as a single unit to exceed a durability rate that is more than five times the industry standard to ensure our products last longer.”

Total Door systems are designed for outstanding performance in high traffic and high abuse environments, and are used in hospital, schools, government buildings and many more applications. The commercial door company also manufactures electronic door systems, quick-release patient safety doors and retrofit upgrades that can be designed to any existing door opening.

A Total Door system can be designed, manufactured and shipped in less than a week due to a streamlined manufacturing process and state-of-the-art facility.  Conventional commercial doors take many weeks because components must be sourced from around the world and on-site assembly is required.


Total Door has been in operation since 1975.  The Waterford, MI. facility houses research and development, manufacturing, testing and training facilities.  Total Door has been recognized as an industry leader in innovations such as locking mechanisms, hardware, UV/EB coating and manufacturing. Learn more about Total Door systems at TotalDoor.com, or call 248-773-7350.

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