Door firm capitalizes on openings in market

To many consumers a door is merely a door, but not so for Rodney Hyatt, president of Architectural Hardware of Virginia.

"We have any kind of door you can imagine, from wood and hollow metal to watertight and acoustical," he said.

Architectural Hardware sells manufactured and custom-made doors, frames and hardware. The company was started in 1971 by Frank Pitt, who passed ownership to his son, Steven, in the early 1990s.

In 2004, Steven Pitt sold the company to Lavonne and Gerry French, who have owned Virginia Automatic Door since 1988. That business specializes in commercial entrance systems that include sliding, revolving and industrial doors. The Frenches felt Architectural Hardware would be a good companion company.

"I saw synergies between the companies," Gerry French said, noting that the businesses are based in the same building in Richmond off Hermitage Road. "I operated them as two separate companies but I could offer package deals to general contractors."

A year after buying Architectural Hardware, Gerry French hired Hyatt, his son-in-law, to run the business. Hyatt was working as a retail business manager for Ace Hardware Corp., traveling throughout Virginia, Maryland and Washington.

"I was with Ace for seven years," Hyatt said. "I would meet with business owners from a financial and strategic planning perspective to help them grow their business."

Moving from the retail side of the business to the wholesale/manufacturing side proved challenging.

"It was a different thought process," Hyatt said. "It took a leap of faith."

Hyatt realized the company's potential right from the beginning. The first year the Frenches owned the company, sales increased 100 percent.

"Since 2004, our sales have grown 317 percent," Hyatt said. "With our growth pattern, we hope to double the size of the company in five years."

Hyatt discovered that his new position was all about relationship management.

"We are a niche market player," he said. "We don't go after really big jobs. We go after jobs that are unique. Having Virginia Door in-house gives us a step up with our competitors."

Last year, Hyatt and his wife, Erin, bought Architectural Hardware to give Gerry French the chance to focus solely on Virginia Automatic Door.

"Both door companies were growing and it was time for the transition," Hyatt said.

Much of Architectural Hardware's work is customized to meet a specific concept for the customer.

The company completed a retrofit of doors of The National Theater in downtown Richmond, which reopened in 2008 after a major renovation.

"We did a lot of customization work," Hyatt said. "The contractor and architect weren't sure what hardware they needed from a design perspective. We helped them make that determination."

Architectural Hardware installed 100 doors at The National Theater, including 11 at its front entrance. It worked in tandem with Virginia Automatic Door on the project.

The job was complicated by the fact that the front doors were surrounded by marble.

"We had to keep the historical aspect and create the functionality," Hyatt said.

Architectural Hardware's on-staff carpenter created the theater's entrance doors from slabs of African mahogany.

"He had to machine it all and customize it," Hyatt said. "The project was one of the most unique experiences."

The company can make any modification to a door that may be required.

"We have carpentry, welding and lock shops in-house," Hyatt said. "We also have about 25,000 products to pull from."

Jeri Smith, vice president of sales and operations at Commonwealth Construction, works with Architectural Hardware most every week. The majority of Smith's clients are hospitals.

The first time she called the company, she said, she needed a door installed that same day. Virginia Automatic Door, acting as a subcontractor to Architectural Hardware, had its installation crew in Harrisonburg that day.

"They drove all the way from Richmond to install the door," Smith said. "I've used [the two companies] for all the projects we've worked on ever since. They are great to work with and they have a good product."

Eighty percent of the Architectural Hardware's company's clients are contractors. The remainder are hospitals, schools, churches and city governments.

Architectural Hardware is open to homeowners who have been referred by general contractors. But the company doesn't work with many homeowners directly.

John Gillenwater, vice president of business development at the construction firm KBS, and Brian Bargo, KBS project estimator, have worked with Architectural Hardware on several projects, including doors for some of the tenants of The Shops at White Oak Village in eastern Henrico County.

"They are a reliable company," Gillenwater said. "I've been working with them for about seven years. They're very professional."

Bargo has the same impression.

"They are easy to work with," he said. "They are always willing to get us pricing in a timely manner and usually in budget."

Hyatt and his staff work with clients to ensure that the proper doors are installed and that the doors meet code requirements.

"Contractors look to us to help them with regard to building code requirements and Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility," he said.

The company's sales market includes Charlottesville, Petersburg, Fredericksburg and Williamsburg in addition to the greater Richmond area.

"We are so focused on customer service that if we go beyond 60 miles from the greater Richmond area it's difficult for planning and execution," Hyatt said. "There is so much business to be had in our local market. We wanted to look there first."