In 1930, the Crawford Door Company was founded by Frederick C Crawford and some investors from Thompson Products of Cleveland, Ohio, USA. A small operation, manufacturing residential garage doors, begins in Detroit, Michigan and later, industrial doors are added. In 1962, Frederick Crawford sells the domestic operations of Crawford Door. 1956 Fred Bengtsson obtains the right to resell Crawford product range in Europe 1960 Crawford Door European Co AB is formed1962 Own hardware production starts. Sales subsidiary in Finland and distributor agreement in Norway1964 New technical concept of overhead sectional doors is sold to Swedish motor vehicle inspection in Sweden. A unique production technique with a first production line is introduced at Torslanda factory, Sweden1966 Sales subsidiaries in Denmark and The Netherlands1968 Sales subsidiary in Great Britain 1970 50% Share in Norwegian distributor Noractor1971 Sales subsidiaries in Germany and Belgium1973 Sales subsidiary in France.
Production in The Netherlands1974 Jim Walter Company, Beijerinvest becomes 100% owner of Crawford European Co AB1975 Sales subsidiary in Norway1976 Distributor agreement in Iceland1977 World’s first process-laminated industrial door launched. Sales subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates.1978 New process-lamination facility in Torslanda1979 Distributor agreement signed in Austria and Kuwait 1981 Distributor agreements in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia with a new door assembly plant1982 Crawford Group acquired by Swedish industrial group Sonessons1983 Docking is part of Crawford’s core businessAcquisition of Swedish Utec-porten, later (1988) renamed Megadoor. Sales subsidiary in Switzerland. First in the world with electronics-based automatic door system, developed in Strömstad, Sweden1984 Acquisition of German Krueger1985 Part acquisition of French Clever. Remaining part acquired in 19891986 Sales subsidiary in Italy. Acquisition of Austrian distributor Blasnik. Sales subsidiary in Singapore, distributor agreement in Greece.
Rapid roller door introduced, additional plant for docking opened in Torslanda, Sweden. Volvo acquires Sonessons and the Crawford operations are included in the group which later became Cardo. 1989 Acquisition of Danish Faltec. Distributor agreements signed in Cyprus and Taiwan. Sales subsidiary in Spain. Joint venture in Saudi Arabia for a door factory 1990 Acquisition of Swedish Igelfors, acquisition of 25% of German Sommer. Crawford first to exclude freons from manufacturing processes for insulated doors1991 Distributor agreement in Estonia. Acquisition of Finnish Matin Hissi1992 Acquisition of French Hymeca. Distributor agreements in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Portugal, Turkey, Malaysia, Brunei and Hong Kong. Start of cooperation with Chamberlain, US for residental garage doors1995 Distributor agreement in China. Asia coordination office in Hong Kong1996 Residential garage doors introduced. Acquisition of Dutch Alsta, Swedish Carpro and service operation of Danish Windsor1997 Acquisition of Swedish Allhabo and German Nornstahl including Abon.
Crawford largest garage door manufacturer in Europe. Distributor agreements in Latvia and Lithuania. Sales subsidiary in Poland. Joint venture with Chinese Shenyang Liming1998 Acquisition of German Hafa1999 Sales subsidiary in China 2000 Acquisition of British P C Henderson, Danish Miflex and French Quest Fermetures2001 Sales subsidiary in Hungary2002 Acquisition of British Amber Doors2003 Acquisition of FrenshSEA. Distributor agreement in Romania2004 Acquisition of distributor in Portual B Geyssel. Distributor agreement in Croatia2006 Acquisition of Finnish MNC and Spanish Combursa. Acquisition of a Romanian company. Assembly unit in Turkey established.2011 ASSA ABLOY acquires Cardo and Crawford becomes part of the division ASSA ABLOY Entrance Systems.Garage Doors, with uncompromising qualityIn the market for construction components, more and more gates, doors, frames and operators carry the Hörmann name, making Hörmann Europe's leading provider of such products. Environmentally consciousHörmann not only uses environmentally friendly procedures for foaming, using 100% CFC-free PU rigid foam, but also with the colour coating of the doors.
Ultramodern regenerative exhaust filter systems greatly reduce the energy required. Made in GermanyHörmann products are developed and manufactured in our own highly specialised factories. Our highly qualified employees work intensively on new products, continuous developments and improved details. The results are patents and one-of-a-kind products. Endurance tests under real conditions ensure mature series products in Hörmann quality. What does a garage door say about its owner?For the modern professional, a garage door frequently doubles not only as the entrance for a car, but as the de facto entry to an attached house. A garage door should therefore convey not only a sense of security, but also of style and personal taste. From the refined mechanisms of a sectional garage door, which recalls the elegant retreat of a drawbridge, to the powerful lateral thrust of a traditional automatic garage door, these garage doors are designed not only to safeguard possessions, but to broadcast a larger aesthetic sensibility.
Sectional Garage DoorsA sectional garage door is ideal for several reasons. Stylistically, it sets a distinguished tone. It is also perfect for denser residential settings, or for driveways which have very tight vertical space constraints. When the sectional garage door opens, it seems to disappear into the structure itself, as panel by panel gently recedes out of view. Because of this intrinsic elegance, sectional garage doors have become immensely popular in respectable homes and in urban institutions where a stylish visual appearance is vital. Sectional garage doors can be furnished with a variety of amenities, including windows, cast-iron fixtures, or ornamental scroll work. Depending on the budget, incredibly distinctive fixtures can be custom designed to the owner’s specifications.Mechanically, the garage door is designed to run smoothly on tracks under the ledge of the garage, so that the door never sticks out or otherwise blocks the vertical line of the structure. Sectional doors can be designed to fit virtually any height or space constraints.
Those individuals or companies who drive lorries can specify taller sectional doors to suit their vehicles. Sectional doors can be programmed to remain half-open for those individuals who enjoy working in the garage during the day. Of course, in colder weather, windows on the sectional garage door provide sufficient light to make working inside the garage a pleasurable experience.Because of their flexibility, sectional garage doors are also extraordinarily durable. Provided they are secured properly, the rubber linings along the base and edges of the door create a weather proof perimeter, while the tightly engineered connections between each panel stand up well to severe wind and storms. The material of the panels themselves are coated with weather proof glazing, making them invincible to rain, sleet, and snow. They make excellent investments for homeowners and business owners who wish to present the best possible public face on a relatively reasonable budget. Automatic Garage DoorsThe category of automatic garage doors applies to both sectional garage doors and traditional single panel doors.
Single panel automatic garage doors, which often extend beyond the vertical line of the garage when open, are not as frequently installed as sectional garage doors, simply because they take up more vertical space. However, in some instances, a traditional single panel automatic garage door provides other advantages, or is a better aesthetic match to the structural configuration or type of the home or business owner.In general, automatic garage doors allow for a rapid entry and exit by use of remote controlled devices. An automatic garage door is also far more secure than a non-automatic garage door. The home or business owner can program the opener to respond to a pre-selected PIN code before the door will open, preventing thieves from unlawfully entering the premises. Automatic garage doors also allow owners to sync their systems to other home security systems, so that if a breach does occur, law enforcement officials will be notified immediately. Garage Door OperatorsGarage door operators are ranked primarily by their speed and smoothness, and also how much noise they produce.
The finest garage door operators will respond immediately to the pre-programmed code issued by the remote control device, lifting the garage doors evenly without jerks, hesitations, or stops. An excellent garage door operator pulls back the door rapidly but gracefully. Purchasing a high-end garage door operator is recommended, primarily because quality garage door operators reduce the wear and tear on the garage doors themselves with their calibrated, even retrieval and replacement motions. Garage door operators usually consist of a high speed pulley system, which pull in automatic garage doors by retracting cables or wire. A sectional garage door may use garage door operators that work without pulleys, but orchestrate the passage of the garage doors remotely.Whichever garage door operators are chosen, the owner should choose a system which he or she is comfortable using. Whether for a traditional automatic garage door or a sectional garage door, garage door operators should not be overly complex, but should make the owner’s garage doors effortless to operate.