The key to building a lasting legacy in Maine: Behind the Business with PDQ Door Company, Inc. in Hampden, ME

The key to building a lasting legacy in Maine

Anyone who’s started their own company faces the same inevitable question: what happens when I retire? David Plowman, founder of PDQ Door Company, may have the answer. After 30 years in business, he’s perfected the art of planning not in terms of months or years, but in terms of generations. 

PDQ Door Company specializes in garage doors, security doors, ADA-accessible entrances, loading docks, fire doors, and more. Founded in 1994, the company now has six locations across the state of Maine as far north as Presque Isle and as south as Bath. Their business model includes residential construction, commercial construction, and service.

“There are no quick hits, no shortcuts,” Plowman reflects. “What’s right is right even in the hardest of times. Whether it’s an employee, a customer, a supplier. People know if you’re honest.” Sometimes that means spending extra time or money to do a job right the first time. But the payoff is not only a happy customer, but the time you’ve saved not having to go back to fix it later. On the rare occasion that a customer isn’t satisfied, PDQ Door guarantees their work for life.”

This philosophy is especially important when working in remote locations. “Our bread and butter is rural Maine. Relationships are everything, and reputation is incredibly important.” Plowman quickly learned that when expanding into new markets, it was best to hire someone from that area, someone with local connections. “I know they can run it, and I know I can trust them. That’s made it a lot easier as we opened each of these six locations in a big state like Maine. I’ve seen out-of-state contractors come in and not have much success.”

So much of PDQ Door Company’s strength comes from its people. Plowman personally hired each employee, some he knew for years before bringing them on. Each person gets hands-on training and exposure to all aspects of the business versus just being trained on a set of tasks. Plowman credits PDQ Door’s low turnover to having simply great people. 

“My theory in hiring is that if you hire the right people, whether they have the skills, they can be trained,” he continues. “If they work hard, learn, and treat people right, that’s where you’ll get the most value. You can teach anyone to do anything if they’re willing to learn. They need the right attitude.”

Take the example of PDQ Door General Manager, Ben Kelleher. Ben came to PDQ Door with no industry experience—just the right attitude and work ethic. “He worked for my wife, and I saw that he always worked hard, he was smart, and learned quickly. When he was ready to explore a new career, we hired him.” Ben was first put into the field so he could learn all aspects of service and installation. He then moved into sales before managing one of the smaller locations. Eventually, Plowman brought him in to work with him directly. “He started working with me and slowly taking things away from me. Now eight years later, he’s buying into the business.”

Building on the foundation of having well-trained, highly engaged people, Plowman implemented the perfect succession plan. “Seven years ago, we started the process of making the management team part owners. All our managers have bought into the company. The next generation is taking over,” he says proudly. “I can retire knowing that the people I’ve known for about 20 years are going to stay here and make it go the next couple of generations. They worked to help build it. Now they’ll benefit from it. That’s the best part.”

With more time on his hands these days, Plowman still finds ways to set up future generations for success. As a member of the Board of Directors for the International Board Association, he works to give back to the industry that’s given him so much. Just this week, he spent hours mentoring new business owners who needed advice to get off to a great start. “It’s important to give back to others. It’s not just about our company,” he says of his time. “When I started 30 years ago, there were people who helped me, who made it easy for me to get started. It’s my responsibility to help those who are going to take my place.”

When asked what advice he’d give to the next generation of business owners, Plowman makes a plug for Maine. “Maine doesn’t have as many dramatic changes in economy as other parts of the country. The spikes aren’t as high, and the lows aren’t as low, so it’s easier. There aren’t as many competitors.” Ultimately though, Plowman says, “Just go for it. I didn’t have a big business plan when I started. But I had a good reputation, and we grew it from that. Don’t try to grow too big or too fast. Have a clear vision of what you want to do, long term. It will be scary but if you do it right, it will work out.”

For more information about PDQ Door Company, check out their BBB Business Profile. To learn more about BBB and read more stories like this, visit Behind the Business Stories.