ABOUT US
"Propel Doors" isn’t just our name. It’s what we do.
The very first time I heard of a sliding door operator was at a large outdoor farm show in London, Ohio in 2014. A friend and I would attend the show annually. We never went there to really seek out anything but that year I was introduced to a product that would bring some major changes for my wife and I. Later that day at the show we decided to walk through one last exhibit building; there we came across the Propel Sliding Door Operator.
At first glance, I had no idea that this was something that would open and close my large shop doors, but later I discovered the system would do just that. On our way home, the Propel Sliding Door System dominated the conversation between us.
Besides the obvious, the convenience factor of opening/closing doors with a remote, the security factor was reassuring. So many times my wife would remind me that I need to close the shop doors during the day because she would frequently see people coming around looking for me and walking right into the shop when I was not there. Since we previously had an ATV stolen from out of a barn, Heather definitely had legitimate concerns. For days after the show, I was constantly thinking about how nice it would be to automate my sliding shop doors.
I finally decided to give Propel a call to inquire about the cost. The owner, Mark, agreed to come from the home office in Illinois to help with the installation of the operating system on my 30 ft. twin doors. In October of 2014 I could open/close my doors with a remote. To this day, I still get a little grin watching those doors slide by just pushing a button.
Before Mark started back home to Illinois, he asked me if I knew anyone that would be interested in being a dealer in Ohio. I thought for a minute and told him that I might be interested after using the system for a year. I had to be confident with the product before I could recommend it to others. For the next three months we gave those operators a good test. The system worked flawlessly. Being very satisfied with the usefulness and quality of the product, I decided to become a dealer. January of 2015, we started selling and installing the Propel system.
My very first trade show was Power Show Ohio Columbus, at which we did sell several operators. That first year of being a dealer confirmed what I was personally thinking– this Propel Operator is a great product! Others would now have the benefit of getting that little grin on their faces when those large doors would open and close with just a push of a button.
It wasn’t long after I became a dealer there was an opportunity to buy in to the company. So, not only are my wife and I dealers for Propel Sliding Door Operators, we own a minority share of it. In 2018 we started to build and ship some of the operators out of our shop here in Ohio.
As of June of 2022, all light manufacturing, assembly, and shipping happen in our Delphos, Ohio location. Last September we added some new features to the system allowing you to open/close your large sliding shed doors with the swipe of your phone. If you add the optional cameras to this system, you can see in real time your doors moving from anywhere. An additional feature alerts your phone when someone opens/closes the doors.
Earlier this year, we introduced our online store where you could order remotes, floor guides and other accessories. Recently we added the complete system to our online store. Although you can order online, we still encourage people to give us a call, as we like to get to know our customers.
To learn more about how our Propel Sliding Door Operator can open/close your sliding doors visit our website at www.propelohio.com. There you can view the “features and benefits” video. I can be reached by text or phone at (419) 203-8613.
Best regards,
Larry and Heather Bonifas