Company History
H&G/Schultz Door was founded on a simple philosophy: to develop better methods of getting materials to customers accurate and on time.
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Our Founders’ Legacy
Today, over 50 years later, Don Guenther and Irv Hills vision continues to help the company maintain its position as one of the most successful door and hardware distributors and fabricators in the nation.
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Founded in St. Louis in 1967, H&G/Schultz Door operated out of a small warehouse in Westport Industrial Park, fabricating and distributing hollow metal doors and frames. The company was small, which provided plenty of room for growth through the sale of standard profile doorframes, steel doors and hardware.
At the time, many architects specified custom-made frames which mandated long lead times. To make matters more difficult, custom frames that had to be shipped long distances by truck often incurred damages. Project delays were common. If the architect modified a design after materials had been ordered, delivery was expected to be delayed even further.
HOW WE SUCCEEDED
H&G realized that shifting from custom-manufactured products to customized standard frames would eliminate many problems inherent in made-to-order products. The centralized location of the shop in St. Louis provided customers with a local source for doors, frames, and hardware, and eliminated shipping delays and damages.
H&G clients who recognized the value of this arrangement included Shell Oil Company, who used products in service stations across the nation, and the Red Lobster restaurant chain that eventually ordered product for more than 500 restaurants.
H&G cut its teeth on the challenges associated with these sales and became even more efficient. Once a system was developed, the company only needed to know if a building was a right-hand or left-hand structure in order to supply product on time and on spec.
Eventually, H&G won significant projects from commercial giants like Anheuser-Busch, McDonnell Douglas, Monsanto, Mallinckrodt, and the Salk Institute. In 1982, the company moved from its warehouse on Fee Fee Road to its present 45,000 square foot facility on Lackland Road.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
Today H&G is a nationally recognized leader in the door and hardware industry, with the largest hollow metal shop in the Midwest. Marketing products by the world’s leading manufacturers including the Assa Abloy Group, Allegion, Masonite, and others. Its once cutting-edge approach has been further refined and has become the construction industry standard by which all others are measured.
Good judgment, good ideas, and vision still power the company, as evidenced by the acquisition of new technology. In 2004 H&G acquired Schultz Door, a 78-year old company that services and installs automatic swinging and sliding doors, revolving doors and ADA low-energy operators.
