Editorial Contacts
Jim Austin - 715-323-3588
Managing Director, Targeted Content Inc.
Mike Schweiss - 507-426-8273
Owner, Schweiss Doors
Images (from top left): DeanShed1.jpg; DeanShed2.jpg; DeanShed3.jpg; DeanShed4.jpg; DeanShed5.jpg; DeanShed6.jpg; DeanShed7.jpg; DeanShed8.jpg
‘Sleek’ Minnesota cold storage building sports decorative bifold door from Schweiss Doors
HECTOR, Minn., Dec. 4, 2024 – “Sleek” is a good word to describe Erik Dean’s new cold storage building in Hector, Minn. The clean lines and brown accent, all the way down to the exterior LED lights and large Schweiss Doors bifold liftstrap autolatch door finished with decorative windows, give the structure a great working and farm site appeal.
Dean is a part of a new generation of GPS-knowledgeable farmers across the country. He dedicated himself to this career path following college and a stint in Iraq with the Army National Guard. At that time, he farmed with his dad, Gary, until his dad retired a couple of years later. He runs the farm now with help from his cousin, Terry Dean, his dad and a neighbor, Jim Roebke. The Renville County farm produces mostly corn and soybeans, with some sweet corn and peas.
Dean recently built a new machine shed, measuring 80 feet by 108 feet, with a 48-foot by 20-foot bifold liftstrap door from Schweiss Doors. The door is equipped with autolatches and has three windows measuring 48-1/4 inches by 42-1/4 inches, allowing natural daylight to brighten up the building which has no windows on the west wall.
“My neighbor, Kurt Sandgren, and I are on the township board together,” Dean says. “He has Schweiss doors and encouraged me to talk to Mike Schweiss when I was looking for a door. Mike took me all around and talked about the hydraulic doors and pointed out the benefits of the bifold door; being able to park right in front of them and the advantage of being able to open it even if there was a lot of snow. Most of the farmers around here have bifold doors. Country Wide Lumber in Hector did my building and they also told me they liked working with Schweiss Doors.”
Dean said he really appreciates the width and height of the door, which makes it easy to move his machinery in and out and that it seals well. He is amazed at the engineering that went into the door.
“Everybody told me that when they built their building, they wished they would have put in a bigger and taller door,” Dean says. “I was even debating about putting in a 22-foot-tall door, but I’m happy with the 20-foot door. The Morton shed, built in the 80s, was where we used to store the combine. It was only 16-feet and we would have to collapse everything down on the combine to get it in. Now we just drive it in.”
He said he didn’t even consider a cable lift bifold door … he likes the straps. He chose the autolatch door system because he heard from others that you never have to remember to unlatch or latch the door. Schweiss completed the install and had it up and running in less than a day.
Dean also has two rollup doors on the building for additional easy access to the building for smaller equipment. Those doors are 16 and 24 feet tall.
“My neighbors have all come up and checked out my Schweiss door,” Dean says. “I’ve got some relatives in the Twin Cities that have come and seen it and they were pretty amazed at it, too.”
About Schweiss Doors
Schweiss Doors is the premier manufacturer of hydraulic and bifold liftstrap doors. Doors are custom made to any size for any type of new or existing building for architects and builders determined to do amazing things with their buildings, including the doors. Schweiss also offers a cable to liftstrap conversion package. For more information, visit www.bifold.com.
Photo Captions
DeanShed1: Erik Dean has been farming for more than 10 years at his Renville County farm near Hector, Minn. Last year he put up a new farm machine shed with a Schweiss Doors bifold liftstrap door, measuring 48 feet wide by 20 feet tall.
DeanShed2: Erik Dean’s 80-foot by 108-foot machine shed was built by Country Wide Lumber of Hector, Minn. The Schweiss Doors bifold door has three windows on it that match the surrounding windows on the east side of the building. It also has exterior LED lighting.
DeanShed3: Erik Dean chose to have his bifold door installed with an automatic latching system because with it, you never have to remember to unlatch or latch the door before opening and closing it.
DeanShed4: Erik Dean’s 48-foot wide bifold door is easily operated with two Leeson motors and five liftstraps, each capable of lifting 29,000 pounds. The door also has the Schweiss autolatch system.
DeanShed5: One of the primary reasons Erik Dean chose a bifold door over a hydraulic door was that he can park closer to the building. He also likes being able to open it during heavy snowfall conditions.
DeanShed6: When Erik Dean’s bifold door opens to the top it gives him a 42-inch wedge that provides for a nice, shaded canopy.
DeanShed7: Thinking ahead in case his equipment gets any taller, Erik Dean decided on a 20-foot tall bifold door. Farmers like Dean with large equipment appreciate being able to drive their large combines in the machine shed without having to do anything else.
DeanShed8: Erik Dean can park a lot of farm equipment in his new machine shed. Additional 16-foot and 24-foot doors make the job even easier. The Schweiss bifold door gives him ample headroom for all his equipment.
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