Strait Door & Plywood Corporation in Expansioll - lmports New Machinery fo Produce Spiral Core Doors

A NNOUNCEMENT was made last month by Chas. E. A. $trai1, president of the Strait Door & Plywood Corporation, El Monte, California, that his firm has secured exclusive manufacturing franchises from the F. G. Konstandt Co., Hamburg, Germany, to produce the brand new Spiral

Core door for the western trade. The new machinery has been installed and is presently turning out an average of 800 doors per shift. The new unit is geared to produce six doors per minute and this schedule will be reached later this fall, it was said.

The modern plant of Strait Door & Plywood was established in 1956 in the heart of the eastside manufacturing district. During its fledgling years a steady growth has been enjoyed. The first year 141,368 doors were produced; 1957 this figure was doubled and during the 1958, 1959 and 1960 more than a million five hundred thousand Strait doors reached the southwestern consumer.

Million Door Mark in Sight

"This year we will exceed 600,000 doors and during 1962 expect to top the million mark," said president Charles E. Strait.

The new Spiral Core machine produces wood spirals that form the core of the modern Strait Flush Doors. This new core has many salient features of which one is to eliminate completely the telegraphing of ribs even if doors are coated with a high gloss finish. The use of spiral core requires the back of the plywood doorskins to be coated with glue, thereby sealing the inside of each and every door, a desired feature where there are extreme weather changes. All doors are structurally better under this new production system.