Open Door Drafting was established in 2012 after the successful sale of Door Controls, Inc., a leading pedestrian automatic door distributorship in Louisiana. With over 40 years in the door industry, my experience spans from sweeping the shop floor as a young worker to leading installations, managing operations, and overseeing day-to-day activities. One of my key responsibilities was using AutoCAD to create detailed drawing submittals for customers, architects, and contractors.
Following the acquisition of Door Controls, Inc. by Overhead Doors, I smoothly transitioned to delivering submittals for various automatic door and glass house distributors.
In the end, I’m not just a CAD guy drawing doors; I’m a door guy drawing with CAD. This unique perspective allows for a comprehensive understanding of each project, blending installation expertise with drafting skills to deliver exceptional results.
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9
If you’re curious about our banner, here’s the story: In the early days of the automatic door industry in the U.S., there was only one automatic folding door with a breakaway feature in emergencies (BWN). At that time, other manufacturers struggled to develop their own effective breakaway systems. In the early '90s, my father, Ron Borgardt, designed and patented two innovative breakaway systems. We built and tested these systems in our shop. Horton was the first to adopt the initial breakaway system but chose not to secure exclusive rights, leading to its widespread adoption across the industry. The second system was exclusively acquired by Besam, now Assa Abloy, and is still in use today.
In addition to these patents, my father holds several others related to the industry. He was a pioneer in the automatic door field and was among the first to use CAD software when it was introduced as a DOS-based program in December 1982—an experience that I also share. I can’t help but imagine how amazed my dad would be to see just how essential AutoCAD has become in the automatic door industry today.