Overhead Door of Reading has been providing an essential service throughout the region for decades: the sale, installation and service of residential and commercial garage doors, retractable awnings and a host of other related products and services.
In 1965, Roy Owens found out that Overhead Door, a national company, was changing its business strategy to start using distributorships rather than company owned locations. At that time, Owens acquired the distributorship for Overhead Door of Reading, which had been in operation in Reading since 1940.
In 1967, Owens expanded, adding Overhead Door of Lancaster to the mix.
He also purchased the property at 901 Delta Ave. in Reading that would become Overhead Door of Reading’s headquarters, and in the coming years, expanded the building and the property.
Fast forward 60 years, and Overhead Door of Reading is being run by the second generation of Owens, and has grown to four divisions — Reading, Lancaster, Chester/Delaware Counties and Berwick.
Growing up, Dave Owens and his brothers Bill and Bob worked for the company during summers and school breaks. In 1982 Bill joined the company, with Dave and Bob joining in 1985. The brothers took ownership in 1989. Bill currently serves as company president.
“There were three of us, and I think it was a good time for everyone to hop on board with the company to see if we could make something out of it,” Dave Owens, vice president, said during a recent interview.
GROWTH
Over the years, the brothers continued to expand the Delta Avenue property as business grew, revamping the building to add offices and increasing the size of the warehouse.
Overhead Door of Chester and Delaware Counties joined the mix in the mid-’90s, Owens said.
“We didn’t have the city of Philly, but surrounded Chester and Delaware counties with Lancaster and Reading so it was an obvious good fit,” he said.
Overhead Door of Berwick was acquired in 2020, just before COVID-19, Owens said.
From a financial perspective, Owens said the Reading and Lancaster divisions are fairly equal, each comprising about 35% of the business. The Chester/Delaware Counties division represents about 20%, while Berwick is about 10%.
He added that there is still work to be done to grow the newer divisions of Chester/Delaware Counties and Berwick.
Berwick, he said is very rural, and the Chester/Delaware Counties territory has lots of competition from other overhead door companies.
Overhead Door’s divisions cover Berks, Schuylkill, Bucks, Montgomery, Lancaster, Lebanon, Chester, and Delaware counties, as well as the greater Philadelphia area.
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Owens said his company’s primary business is residential and commercial overhead door sales and services, but not limited to that.
“That is our main focus,” he said. “Roughly, we are about 60% commercial, but we’re heavily invested in service. Doors break.”
A good portion of the business, Owens added, is loading docks — the dock leveler that allows trucks to drive into a building to load or unload. A fluctuating portion of the business is heavy metal doors, and the company has sold and installed retractable awnings for about 15 years, he said.
“It was a growing part of the business, especially during COVID,” he said.
The company sells and installs SunAir awnings, and Owens said they are looking to grow that side of the business.
SECRET TO SUCCESS
“I think we’re honest, we’re customer oriented, and if there’s something we did wrong we fix it immediately,” he said about what sets the company apart from others.
He added that a big thing for Overhead Door is that the company doesn’t have an answering system, except after business hours. With five people in the office and five lines coming in, “you will never get a non-answer from us,” which Owens said is important.
“You don’t want people to call someone else,” he said. “If you’re a homeowner, you want to know when we can service your door. We’re pretty efficient — we can get you today or tomorrow, almost 90% of the time.”
The same holds true from a commercial client perspective as well.
“I think we’re pretty good at that,” he siad. “I think we’re really good at service.”
Owens is also very quick to say that it is the people who work for Overhead Door that are the secret to the company’s success.
There are 19 employees in the Reading division and a total of 65 across all four. One of the company’s employees — John Rohrbach, who is vice president of operations for Overhead Door of Reading — has been with the company for 33 years. Another five or six employees have been with the company for 20 years, and several others have worked there 10 to 15 years, Owens said.
A third generation Owens is also involved in the company. Brittany Weyandt — Dave Owens’ daughter — is vice president finances and human resources.
CHALLENGES
Asked about challenges facing the company, Owens echoed an issue facing many employers — “labor, labor, labor.” He added that there is a need on the sales side, but the major thing is in technicians — servicemen and installers.
Owens said there has been a reduction in interest for people to get into the trades.
“My gut feeling is its changing a little bit,” he said. “If you watch Mike Rowe Works, he is pushing people to get into the trades.
He believes that idea is getting some traction: “I like to see that.”
Source: Berkshire mont