It’s about finding the perfect solution!

Mark Haavisto
National Sales Director

In the role of National Sales Director, one of my primary responsibilities is to focus on improvements relating to the ease of doing business and, in doing so, strengthen partnerships. The distributors and sales team look to Dunbarton to ensure that products are produced correctly and delivered on time, and we need to ensure that happens!

To provide ideal service, we must consider the total customer experience and identify solutions to potential roadblocks that create costly delays; and ask what products take precedence over others, what can be customized, track each order, and accomplish this economically. Resourcefulness will pave the way for quality customer service and lasting partnerships.

Dunbarton’s teams are committed to providing a solution and completing the project on time.

Dunbarton’s products are well-established in the opening systems industry. The SlimFold metal bifold doors have been around since 1954; Dunbarton is still the only manufacturer of metal bi-fold doors in North America! Builders trust the sturdy RediFlex and RediFit door frames in hotels and universities, and many developers utilize the Achiever systems in modular homes and neighborhoods. But to stand out in today’s market, our brand must meet expectations in all deliverables.

It’s all about the process and being solution oriented. Our core belief has always been to help our distribution partners close out projects and the ability to complete the project. These objectives are imperative in today’s construction environment; whether it’s a last-minute job site modification or specific details overlooked at the job site, Dunbarton’s teams are committed to providing a solution and completing the project on time.

Based on ever-changing construction challenges, our customers have always counted on Dunbarton to help finish a project. Providing a quick turnaround was the perfect solution for one customer in Florida. One builder in Panama City required a change in door frames after the original order had shipped. The folks at Dunbarton were able to turn around 85 openings in less than two weeks, completing the job and clearing the way for the hotel to open on time.

Each customer has unique challenges. It is up to us to help navigate through those challenges. A positive customer experience promotes partnerships. These are the partnerships that we continue to nurture for decades.

Phil Bonacorda, a longtime customer with Custom Millwork, Inc. shares, “We are about to celebrate our 19-year partnership with Dunbarton, and we could not be happier with our long business history. From the quote and order entry professionals to the craftsman on the shop floor, to the experts in packaging and logistics, and everyone in between, the people at Dunbarton understand the importance of supplying our customers with a quality product, delivering on time, and at the right price. Leadership and Territory Sales understands our business and supports our efforts to drive sales and deliver project after project. We are thrilled to have Dunbarton, a First-Class partner, to collaborate and help grow our business.”

Like Phil Bonacorda, you are a priority. We will do what it takes to champion you, our friends. Please let us know what Dunbarton can do to make things easier on your end.

Dunbarton and the Independent Sales Rep Partnership

Over the past seven years with Dunbarton as a Regional Sales Manager, I have continued to learn new things each day within our ever-changing industry. One of the most important lessons that I have learned in my current role is the extreme importance of our strategic alignment with our external independent sales agencies. The ISR partnership is paramount to our successes or failures. It has led me to truly appreciate the critical role our independent sales agencies play within our organization and our industry.
Dunbarton continues to work directly with the best independent sales agencies across the county. Each agency focuses on being a valuable resource and a solution provider to our customers. Many of our sales agencies represent a variety of integral components to our customers that assist in completing the door opening. These many opportunities provide many valuable options to our customers.
We recently had a sales agency retire from the industry. I was able to experience firsthand how much daily interaction and product support our sales teams provide to our customers. Dunbarton’s extensive product lines, collaboration, communication, and day-to-day interaction are vital in supporting our customers in distributing our products. The number of touches from the project bid to complete installation typically spans over many months. Our sales teams provide technical support, feedback, and assistance throughout this complex process.

Mark Haavisto, Dunbarton Regional Sales Director, with ISR Scott Schelp, accepting the 2021 Commercial Vendor of the Year award from our customer, D&M Industries.

I am very proud to work with our incredible sales teams across the country. They do an outstanding job supporting Dunbarton and working directly with our customers and end-users. If you need a project quoted or a general product application question, I trust our teams will take care of any of your needs.

Best Regards,
Mark Haavisto
Dunbarton Regional Sales Director

We heart color!

Dunbarton has a long history of custom color projects. Our Dunbarton Partner, El & El Wood Supply, is working with a client whose project’s design team requires a durable factory finish with unlimited custom color options. Dunbarton’s Pre-Finish Hollow Metal and RediFrame® solutions were selected and continue to meet the challenge of this multi-phase project. The UC Davis Student Housing project in Sacramento, California, is unique due to several factors. We began working with the architect group in 2019, so the Dunbarton products could be used for this project in the specified prefinished custom color. RediFrame® is finished in a state-of-the-art paint assembly line with electrostatically applied, baked-on enamel. Dunbarton paint finish meets or exceeds the 200-hour salt spray test per ASTM–B117-97 and finished a 700-hour humidity test per ASTM–D1735-87. Dunbarton’s paint standards more than met the architects’ benchmarks, so the project was approved. We provided a mock sample of the RediFrame with their UC Davis Smokey Blue custom color in mid-2020, and once approved, production began on the project. Shipping started at the end of 2020, and Dunbarton awarded Phase 2 of the project in 2020. There was a color change for Phase 2 as this is for a different dorm on campus to a light green and tan. Like many businesses worldwide, Covid threw a kink in the production and installation during this time. We found that during Phase 1, our customer and ourselves could not over-commutate details on the size of the project. Therefore, we worked with El and El to set up a process to expedite the flow of Phase 2, ensuring their customer’s deadlines were met and didn’t fall behind schedule.

While we say no project is too large or too small, we should also add no color is too common or unique; this week, we are painting Show Stopper Red for a different client! Working with your local sales representative, like in this project EL and EL, is the best method to ensure your custom color matches up perfectly with your project spec. Additionally, having a knowledgeable, hands-on, Independent Sales Rep Agent like Jeff Halverson at Unified Solutions and Jeff’s Dunbarton Regional Sales Director, James Decker, are all tools available to ensure the standard and special projects get completed without a hitch.

Visit El and El Wood Supply’s website for more information on their full offerings!

For more information on RediFrame® or adjustable RediFlex® frames, visit our website. You may also order samples of Dunbarton’s standard colors via our website here.

Stay tuned for completed project pictures, but here is a sneak peak of the UC Davis project from Phase 2!

UC Davis Dorm Phase 2
UC Davis Dorm Phase 2
UC Davis Dorm

Change Is Good

When opportunity comes knocking, what do you do? For me, it’s a tough question. I usually fight change, which is ironic since my job requires me to change folks’ habits. But I answered the knock, and here I am.

My name is Dee Spencer, and I am the newest member to the Dunbarton Sales Team.

Since 1989 I have been in this crazy industry called “Doors & Hardware.” I do not regret a single day. Thereof course, have been ups and downs, but that’s life. There is something about this industry that seems to get in your blood. Those of you that have been in for a while understand what I mean. I knew this would be a career for me the first time my wife, Courtney, came back from a restaurant bathroom to tell me what type of toilet partitions they had and asked if I sold those.

I have been fortunate to have been involved in many phases of the industry. My career started as a distributor. After about five years, I had the opportunity to move into the independent sales representative side of the business, where I really found a passion. Now, I have the pleasure of being a Regional Sales Director for Dunbarton Corporation.

I never imagined this job would be a challenging one for me, but this is a whole new role. Not leading conversations and driving the direction of a meeting but instead providing support for my talented sales group is more challenging than it sounds. Finding ways that make sense for them, even if it is different than the way I might have done it did not come naturally at first. So, I am learning to sell from the background by understanding better where and how I fit into their agency to be more effective to help them sell our product lines and support them as independent sales agencies. They work very hard to bring Dunbarton to the market on our behalf, and I feel I owe them my very best so they can succeed. I am very fortunate in that regard; I have a Great Team to work with already.

When John Klesath, President of Dunbarton, knocked on my door with this opportunity, I knew that if I would jump to this side of the business, Dunbarton is where I’d want to land. Rediframe/Slimfold, as it was called back in the day, was top on my list of companies I’d open the door for and listen. I have very fond memories of working with Gary Tew, Wendell Floyd, Michael Bush, and Steve Love while serving as their ISR for years. The camaraderie we shared, challenges we faced, wins we enjoyed, and lessons I learned from Gary made an impression on me that I’ve not forgotten to this day.

So, today I am so excited to be working with a Great Group of talented people here in Dothan. Since my start, they have welcomed me in and are always eager to help in whatever way they can. Even Ralph will very politely listen to one of my crazy ideas for a new product or a change to an existing one. Then he’ll smile at me and turn back to his computer with a chuckle. I could tell stories about just about all the folks I have the pleasure to work with, but I’ll leave those for another post. Suffice to say, I’m glad I answered John’s call, and I’m thankful he and Douglas Webb have given me this opportunity to change and grow.

So, I’ll end with this to my Dunbarton Family, THANKS for making me feel a part of your GREAT TEAM!

There’s a Knock at the Door…are you going to answer?

Cheers, 
Dee Spencer
Dunbarton Regional Sales Director

WOW 2022

Last week Dunbarton participated in Southeast WOW: Worlds of Work with the Southeast AlabamaWorks and it was a great experience. Southeast WOW is a 2-day event held at the Peanut Festival Fair Grounds for all 8th graders and 11th graders in the Wiregrass area. WOW gives these middle schoolers and high schoolers the opportunity to see various industries in our area so they may hopefully become interested in a career path that encourages them to stay here in the Wiregrass and work for one of these area employers.

We had two activity areas for students to engage in participation; measuring a frame sample to test their measuring tape reading abilities and a contest to see which student could screw in a hinge the fastest! The hinge contest winner received a Dunbarton mini measuring tape. Thank you to the Dunbarton employees that helped at the event telling about their office or plant job while demonstrating our product! I think fun was had by employees and students! We can’t wait for WOW 2023!

For more information on WOW (World of Work), visit their site: https://www.southeastwow.org

P.S. Turn up the volume…

3rd Quarter Service Awards

The solution that keeps Dunbarton successful is our employees. We are so thankful for these 2021 third-quarter employees that hit 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years. We could not provide our customers with solutions and meet their needs without our employees and for that, we say a heartfelt, Thank You for your loyalty! Please let them know individually how appreciative we are for their time at Dunbarton.

Happy Retirement, Tony!

Thank you Tony for your many years of loyalty and dedication to Dunbarton. While Tony was an employee of Dunbarton, he was an advocate for employees with disabilities in the workplace in the TriState area. However, as hard as Tony worked, one would never know Tony had any disability! Tony represented Dunbarton and the hearing-impaired community well and we are grateful for your 31 years with us. It truly is employees like Tony that allow us to have a Made in America heritage. We hope you enjoy your retirement!

Happy Retirement Tony! P.S. Turn your sound on.

Dave Goetzinger Retirement Honor

Dunbarton President, John Klesath, said it best when talking about Dave’s retirement, “Dunbarton operates as a family and that makes saying goodbye difficult!” Dave Goetzinger has been a part of the Dunbarton family for over six years as the Marketing Director and Technical Director. We are sad to see him leave, but know he and his wife, Molly, have great adventures planned! We celebrated his time at Dunbarton with cookies, awards, a dinner, and a few funny gifts!

Introducing, Bruce the Peanut

Being located in the peanut capital of the world comes with many advantages; one of those is boiled peanut season! Dothan loves to celebrate its love and gratitude for peanuts and one way is through the community and art project, Peanuts on Parade. The Peanuts on Parade project began in 2001 by the Downtown Group as a way to revitalize the downtown area. Currently, there are over 50 peanuts with a map for people to drive around town to visit each peanut and learn the idea/history behind that peanut.

At Dunbarton, we love being a part of our community and needed a solution that would give us a good footprint in our community! When we decided to have a peanut literally “put us on the map” we knew it needed to represent Dunbarton completely! We even had a contest among our employees to name him.

“Bruce the Peanut” is named for our original owner, Bruce Cochener. He is wearing Dunbarton’s signature blue polo while sporting safety glasses, safety earplugs, and holding on to a Dunbarton RediFrame. We think Bruce would be proud!

Thank you to the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce for hosting the ribbon-cutting, Replica Plastics for making our idea come to life, Jay Marchman at Mid-City Farmers Market for the delicious boiled peanuts, and everyone that came out to support us as we introduced Bruce!