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About Us

Our Core Values

DDM Garage Doors meets or exceeds customer expectations because we perform for an audience of One, God our Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit Who proceeds between the Father and the Son.

This triune God is our first core value. It is He we "love with all our heart, soul and mind;" (Matthew 22:37) it is He we worship and treasure above all things.

Customers prefer DDM, and our employees like to work here, because our worship of God and obedience to His ways transform us as we live out our second core value, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:39 NKJV) This love forms the foundation of our respect for the dignity and value of each person.

DDM's quality standards are not based on the reviews or accolades of our customers, but on God's standard: "Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48 NKJV) Perfection is our third core value.

Our fourth and final core value is stewardship before God and our accountability to Him. This stewardship drives us to seize every resource, every opportunity to accomplish God's purposes. We each yearn for the day our Lord pronounces on us, "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21 NKJV)

Kingdom Purpose

Thoughtful reflection of God's transforming work in our lives has produced our kingdom purpose. God has uniquely positioned, gifted and called DDM Garage Doors to glorify God by exemplifying Christ-likeness in our leadership, by praying for and discipling our employees, by sharing the gospel with our customers, and by funding ministries that take the gospel to the ends of the world.

Mission

With our core values and purpose clearly defined, we have established a clear mission: We help customers find, order, and safely install garage door and dock components.

Vision

Since the growth of our company has resulted from God's work in and through us, and not wishing to limit His infinite resources, before Him, we humbly envision what only God can accomplish. "If and only as God so chooses, do-it-yourselfers and maintenance personnel around the world will select us first for our clear instructions and for quality garage door industry parts."

The DDM Story

DDM Garage Doors was begun in 1982 by Dan Musick in West Chicago, IL, to provide training for maintenance personnel in manufacturing plants, distribution centers, auto dealerships, and other facilities with numerous overhead type doors. The initial corporate name was DDM Enterprises, Inc.

In 1983 our first catalog was printed and distributed to provide door parts for our training customers, as well as for other maintenance personnel who needed parts because they were already repairing their own doors.

In the process of providing training and parts to this narrow market niche, a separate residential and commercial garage door sales, installation, and service company developed. This sole proprietorship was named DDM Garage Doors, and it grew and came to dwarf the parts and training division. In 1989 the company name was changed from DDM Enterprises, Inc. to Dortrak, Inc., and in late 1991, this sales, installation, and service division of the company was sold to one of our employees, who continues to do well with the business.

The company name was changed back to DDM Enterprises, Inc., at that time, and we continued to provide parts and training for maintenance personnel who repair their own doors.

Profits from the sale of the other division of the business were used to launch a marketing business that flopped. A line I learned from that business that I will never forget has to do with experience: "Experience is something that's happening to you that you wish to God was happening to someone else."

I lost a lot - it seemed like everything, and it may very well have been, at least financially. I would not have wished that experience on my worst enemy, but as it turned out, I would not trade it for anything. In the process of greedily building my own dream - my own idol, a friend confronted me with Jesus Christ, the only Son of the God Who created and sustains the universe. He broke my greedy, clutching fingers; He opened my hands to release me from the bars of dark imprisonment, and I began to receive all that God has for me. I died to myself and came to life with the life of Christ. If Christ is not living in you, I urge you to invite Him in. You may lose everything, but nothing of any value.

On the bookshelf at the foot of my bed where I unload my pockets every evening are two sticks with a nail driven through them. The sticks form a cross. Nailed to the cross are 38 pages of goals, affirmations - my dream, my life. It is a daily reminder of who I am and Whose I am. It has molded the company's purpose, values, and vision.

It is no longer about us, but everything about God.

After the business failure I decided to get back in the door business. We changed our business name from DDM Enterprises, Inc. back to DDM Garage Doors, Inc. At that time I wrote as our business purpose the the company exists to bring glory to God, and that we would do this by serving our customers in any way we can, especially by fulfilling our commitments to them in the best way we can find.

I wrote that we would also do this by serving our few faithful stockholders by bringing them a good return on their investments. For many years, rather than retain all the profits to build the business, we distributed all the profits at the end of each year. We finally bought back all the stock after doubling their investments in the company.

Important to serving our customers and stockholders was and still is a principle from Proverbs. "We will do this for ourselves by seeking "neither poverty nor riches," but the food allotted to us, lest we be full and deny God saying, "Who is the Lord?" or lest we be poor and steal, and profane the name of our God. (Prov. 30:8-9 NKJV). Over the decades our lifestyle has remained the same.

Over the decades God has pruned and tested the business and me. One of the treasures He molded into my soul in 2019 is a quote from Clement of Alexandria. He who has Christ is in want of nothing. Christ, the Word, "is a possession that wants nothing, and is the cause of all abundance. . . This Word Who trains us, confers on us the true riches. Nor is the growing rich an object of envy to those who possess through Him the privilege of wanting nothing. He that has this wealth shall inherit the kingdom of God."

In recent years our products and services have been extended to include residential DIY homeowners, commercial and industrial customers who need dock door and leveler parts and training, and garage door companies who need parts and training.

The DDM Story in Links

Here are some links you can follow to find more information about DDM Garage Doors.

Who are We? This post details the Biblical basis for our core values, kingdom purpose, mission, and vision.

Business Kingdom Purpose. This blog post provides background information about the framing of our purpose and values.

Garage Door Training. This details some of our training history.

Celebrating 20 Years on the Web. This post covers part of our history during our first 20 years.

In Memory of Harold (Butch) Poling. In 1979 I began working for Overhead Door of Elk Gove. Harold's father, Bob, took the time to train me to fix doors. Many years later, I worked for his son, Harold.

Training Garage Door Businesses and Companies in Related Fields. This blog chronicles some of our training history as we have expanded our customer base to include door companies that want to add additional products or services.

WWJD - What Would Jesus Do? Desiring to do what Jesus would want me to do begs this question. Asking the question made me a better garage door service technician.

The Only Thing in Life that Really Matters. When all is said and done, Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers are truly the only things that matter.

We hope our story has helped you. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.