According to the Aluminum Association, the aluminum industry, in the United States, is the world's largest —producing nearly 40 billion dollars worth of product fordomestic use and export.

With over 300 plants in 35 states and a payroll in excess of five billion dollars the aluminum industry, in America is one of our more significant success stories. It is also a home grown industry which in terms of its positive economic (over 300 plants in 35 states) and environmental impact; remains one of our nations true success stories.

Approximately 13% of America’s aluminum production is utilized for building products. Aluminum storefronts, curtain walls, entry doors and door hardware (like pivots, hinges and thresholds) account for a goodly share of the 3,237 millions of pounds or aluminum products used in the construction and building industries. Again, according to the Aluminum Association, building and construction is the third largest domestic market for aluminum products.

So, what does all that mean to the service technician who’s looking to add some extra shekels to their overall paycheck each week?

It means that there is a niche available that has a severe shortage of qualified service people willing to aggressively seek out and take advantage of an ever-expanding service and maintenance market.

Although there are a multitude of reasons why these doors do not get serviced, the primary reason is that there are too few capable technicians willing to undertake this type of work. The main reason for that reluctance seems to be based on the fact that many folks do not understand the mechanics of servicing aluminum stile doors and the ancillary hardware that is found on those doors. The real reason is they’re not familiar enough with the service requirements to feel comfortable servicing these doors.

Thus, the motivation and reasoning behind this book.

Aside from repairing broken stiles, separated headers and sagging or out of square doorframes; aluminum stile doors offer a veritable gold mine of potential service work, repair, replacement and adjustment opportunities.

There are the pivots that go bad, the closers that quit working, flush bolts that break, locks that refuse to function and more. There are thresholds that loosen, floor closers that bleed oil on the surrounding floors and sidewalks. There are concealed rod panic-exit hardware that get broken or need adjustment. There are coordinators, astragals, mullions and weather stripping that require attention, repair and replacement.

Concealed overhead closers require service, repair and replacement. Surface mounted closers need new arms, adjustments and often replacement.

And that’s service work that does not address the locks that need to be rekeyed, masterkeyed or simply replaced because the lock ceased to function.

There are continuous hinges to be installed on aluminum stile doors. There are electromagnetic and mechanical digital locks to be installed for traffic control and security purposes.

You can have as large a piece of that business as you might want. All you have to do is “go for it”. If you’re willing to undertake that kind of service work and let folks know that you’re willing to do it — you can’t miss. Why? Because there are literally millions of aluminum stile doors that need servicing every year.

This book will more than pay for itself by showing you how to shake the Aluminum Stile Door Shekel Tree very, very vigorously. This book will take you from the very basics of recognizing the difference between a pivot and a butt hinge to the more esoteric procedures of adjusting a center hung concealed closer, to repairing a concealed vertical rod or replacing a flush broken bolt.

But the absolute, very best thing, this book will do for you — if you decide to utilize the information it contains to your advantage — is to make you money … lots of it! But, this book can only help you make money if you’re willing to seek out problem doors and say to your prospective customer (or existing customer, for that matter):