posted on 07/08/2021 in Architectural Doors - News

How Technology & Innovation Impacted VT

In the early days of VT Industries, in 1956, technology was not as widespread as it has become today. Business meetings were done face-to-face, email technology was non-existent. Order details were communicated via telephone or snail-mail and manufacturing technology was driven by paper order details and we relied on our skilled craftsmen to physically transport doors from one department to the next.

Fast-forward 65 years to 2021. Today, almost everything you do can be traced in some form of computer data. Whether it’s purchasing an item online, signing up for a class, or watching a video on YouTube. Every one of these instances relies on computer data to streamline the customer experience. This technology has truly allowed us to transform our business and how we operate.

Today, we enable lead generation through our website and marketing materials, our sales and customer service teams communicate daily with our customers via email, virtual meetings, and telephone technologies, and our internal processes all flow through our technology-driven databases. Quotes are logged and tracked in our internal systems. Once a quote is approved, our customer service detailers collaborate with the customer to ensure the correct machining is entered into the system. After the job is approved, the order is released through the system to the manufacturing floor and assigned a bar code.

This bar code technology is unique to each door. The bar codes are scanned at each stage of the production process and communicate to our highly automated equipment the exact manufacturing specifications for that door. Our customer service teams can also track each door from the system and see exactly where it is at in the manufacturing process.

This technology and innovation have not only allowed for faster communication with our customers, but also has increased order accuracy and employee safety. Instead of waiting for order details to arrive via fax or snail-mail, we are now able to send a quick email with all the relevant project information our customers need to know.

Our internal systems are set up to recognize data error entries and prevent large mistakes from occurring, although they cannot safeguard against all errors, this helps our detailing team and saves much time and effort.

Lastly, our technology has allowed us to make our employees’ safety a top priority. Instead of lifting doors by hand, all our products flow through the facilities on roller beds and are moved with the help of pneumatic lifting devices which requires far less physical exertion.

I think we can all agree a lot has changed since 1956, but our dedication to our customers has remained the same. You can expect to see VT continue to innovate for the next 65 years and were excited to see what new technologies emerge to help us move our products, service, employees, and company forward.