Doors add sparkle to unique
'Scripps Ranch High School' in San Diego

Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego, California placed an order for four Schweiss designer doors. The school has a strong emphasis on "The Green Movement," which some say has changed environmental history, the Industrial Revolution and preserving and protecting the earth.

The Schweiss custom-made Liftstrap Designer Doors had a special inset window design and were powder coated in a light aluminum gray color. The doors also have remote openers and manual latches.

The administration at Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego, California, with the assistance of Casco Equipment Corporation and its assigned architects, knew exactly what they wanted in the four designer doors they ordered for their school. They wanted something that conformed to "green" standards and that would serve a useful classroom function as well.

Schweiss Doors was called upon to build those designer doors and what resulted was a very aesthetically pleasing and functional door system that will last for years to come.

Most door orders requiring windows coming out of the Schweiss factory have a front-face window design. The four 9' 10" x 11' 11" custom-made bifold liftstrap doors for the school were made with an inset window design to fit within a U-channel between the frame of the door, to give them a very clean, less bulky look. In fact, when looking at the doors from the outside, they appear to be large windows matching a smaller window placed between them.

The frames were also powder-coated in a light aluminum gray color. Powder coats are functional as well as decorative finishes, formulated to maximize color, gloss and texture. They provide maximum corrosion resistance that might be required for some outdoor applications. Each door has a remote opener for ease of operation.

"Scripps Ranch High School has emphasis on sustainable technology classroom instruction including solar power labs, robotics and other workshops - they are not your basic run of the mill classes that are offered there," said Mark Coyne of Casco Equipment Corporation based out of Riverside, California. His company coordinated with Schweiss Doors engineers to provide the door design that the high school administrators had in mind.

Each Schweiss 9' 10.25" x 11' 11.5" bifold liftstrap door was custom made at the Schweiss factory. The doors are functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.

Mena Abdo, an engineering teacher at Scripps Ranch High School said the school has an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students and the classes offered there are a excellent stepping stone for students pursuing college careers.

"We have a Green Technology program and engineering classes that teach CAD and electronics courses to help students choose what fields they may want to go into," said Abdo. The doors, he noted, tend to be a talking point and good conversation starter among people who are new to the building he teaches in. The building the doors are on are part of a new addition at the school.

"Two of the doors are used in huge classroom work areas and open to the inside courtyard. We like the glass doors because they allow us to see through them as opposed to rollup doors. We make good use of them, the larger projects we work on need big doors," said Abdo.

A little over seven years ago Casco Equipment at Riverside, California expanded into providing doors for their customers. They recommended Schweiss bifold liftstrap doors for the school addition. They have a history of being one of the largest distributors of loading dock equipment, in-plant equipment and storage systems in North America. They are also a big Cornell dealer and recently have arranged to have doors made for a lot of government buildings, hospitals, schools, warehousing projects and such.

The school building has a matching window placed between each set of doors. This photo shows the placement of all four doors leading into the school workshops and labs that teach robotics, solar power and sustainable technology.

"This is the first time we worked with Schweiss Doors personnel - they were very good and it wouldn't have turned out like it did without their help and ability to think outside the box. Brent (at Schweiss Doors) was very helpful and basically my point man. If I had a question on a drawing or whatever, he was the lead on it. I would absolutely use Schweiss Doors again," said Coyne.

He liked the durability of the Schweiss Doors and mentioned that the school maintenance personnel liked the doors very much. He also appreciated that Schweiss Doors delivered the doors on time.

CASCO Equipment:

Since 1976, CASCO Equipment Corporation has been serving the material handling needs of clients in California and Nevada. Their commitment to customer satisfaction is the core philosophy under which the company operates. They have a fleet of service trucks and service technicians readily available to get the job done right the first time and they service what they install and sell. CASCOs product line includes: Doors, dock levelers, seals and shelters, vehicle restraints, HVLS fans, safety railings & gates, lockers, shelving, racking, cabinets, work benches, mezzanines and modular offices and wire enclosures.

CASCO at 4141 Flat Rock Drive in Riverside, California can be contacted by calling Mark Coyne at 951-324-8500 or by visiting their website at: www.cascoequip.com