Pacific Northwest firm celebrates half century

post-war boom years and the new owner soon developed a thriving trade. Keeping careful track of market trends, he observed a demand for cupboard doors and window frames which could not be met by his suppliers.

So he made the transition into manufacturing and soon had a profitable enterprise in supplying cabinet work, custom millwork, window frames and doors.

,\ company that started out as a ^fr\buildlns materials store in Everett, Wa., has- just completed its first half century of operation and is heading into its second half century as the world's largest manufacturer of stile and rail doors and architectural spindles.

The story of the E.A. Nord Co. is a story about its founder, 82-year-old Eric A. Nord, president and chairman of the company.

Brought to America from Sweden by his parents when he was 10 years old, he went to work early in his career for hardware and building material firms in Seattle and A-laska.

In 1924 he bought out a small building materials store in Everett for $2750, money which he had saved from his wases. It was the time of the ln 1947 the company bought land and built a new factory. At the same time the company initiated improvements in machinery to speed production, use better tools, faster cutting procedures, improved drying and sanding and mechanized handling.

The relatively new firm weathered the depression years of the 1930s and, with the advent of World War II, shifted into war production, furnishing detailed millwork for war housing. By the late 40s Nord had become the leading manufacturer of stock and detailed millwork in the Pacific Northwest.

When hollow-core flush doors came heavily into the market, some door manufacturers decided to drop stile and rail doors. Not E.A. Nord, however.

"We felt that by shifting our production IOO% into stile and rail doors and by discontinuing the manufacture of stock and detail millwork we could then move into national markets," E.A. Nord explains.

It became the first door plant in the Northwest to install a carving machine, the first to manufacture louver doors and the first to make glass available in doors.

Coupled with these improvements was the firm's commitment to so

Story at a Glance

Beginning as a building materials store 50 years ago, E.A. Nord Co. is now the world's largest manufacturer of stile and raildoors and architectural spindles.

heavily into national marketing so that it became both a manufacturing and marketing company selling to national sash and doorjobbers through personal sales calls as well as through representatives.

It also became evident that the manufacturing methods used for the stile and rail doors also could be easily adapted to related products.

In 1953 the company went into wooden screen doors, louvered doors in 1954, expanded wardrobe doors in 1957, bifold doors in 196 l, architectural spindles in 1965 and Nord firelogs, utilizing waste material, in 1969. More recently the firm has added a line of wood dowels.

The past decade has been one of rapid expansion for the company.

ln 1972 the company announced its second $5 million expansion program. During 197 Iit completed an earlier seven year $5 million plant and equipment expansion program which doubled its facilities and work force over previous levels. Its manufacturing area was increased to more than

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