5th Annual Summit Conference: A Complete Success!
We just wrapped up our fifth annual Summit Conference last week, and it was incredible. We had 48 participants, including new and returning MMRs and certified installers, giving us the chance to showcase our latest innovations and strengthen our Summit family.
The conference focused on comprehensive training for our new product launches developed over the past year, along with hands-on installation training for our next-generation systems. As technology evolves, so do we, and being part of the summit team means constantly learning.
We’re excited to say that Summit Automation leads the industry through the 4Rs: Reliability, Repeatability, Relevance, and Reactivity. And we stay committed so that we can always be at the forefront of innovation.
At Summit, we’re dedicated to providing much more than premium materials. Here’s what sets us apart:
- Custom Solutions: We design your products, not the other way around. OEMs and door manufacturers choose Summit because we adapt to their specifications on the fly, every single day.
- Unmatched training and support: We’ve trained over 600 installers through our monthly 2-day certification program, held on the second Tuesday and Wednesday of every month. It’s a wildly successful program, and we appreciate everyone who participates!
- Seamless coordination: We handle all the details, proper RORO setup, pre-wiring, documentation, and communication. Everything about our system includes smooth implementation from planning to completion.
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone. This year has flown by, and as we head into the holiday season, we want to wish you and your families the very best holidays and a safe and joyful New Year.
We can’t wait to work with you in 2026. Let’s kill it together! Happy holidays from all of us at Summit Automation!
What is the Best Solution When Ordering Your Pivot Entry Door?
Entry doors are the most exciting curb appeal items on a designer’s checklist. Did you know that a pivot entry door can provide a spectacular feature to the front façade of your forever home? Be careful though – while pivot doors can add big, bold elegance, they can also become literal wind sails if not designed in properly. Cross winds, facial winds, or negative/positive air pressure can cause pivot doors to open or close very quickly. Luckily, there is a solution….
The Challenge
Wind from all directions can pose a very challenging scenario for a large format pivot door, so what is needed to protect the occupants from sudden slams during both opening and closing? Adding components to the Pivot Door may be the solution:
- Meet user needs while providing an elegant open and close
- Preserve unobstructed sightlines
- Handle low to medium crosswinds as well as positive and negative wind loads
- Require low to no maintenance
- Provide for a “Fail Secure” solution as the front door needs to stay locked long after power and battery back-up fail
- Extend battery back-up life beyond just 24 hours
- Support the mission: Connect homeowners and visitors with nature and beauty without supreme risks to safety
Traditional pivot doors provide a connection to nature and beauty but have added additional risks when operated in low to medium winds. Pivot doors should never be used in high wind situations as their sheer mass make for a massive wind sail. However, homeowners want the big bold entry doors, and they also need a safe solution.
The stakes? Homeowner satisfaction, operational elegance, and the core promise of the inherent beauty of a large format pivot door.
The Solution
When the Customer identified as “Project Hilton Head” envisioned his front entry door to be 6 feet wide by 12 feet tall on the beach of its namesake, he recognized early on that wind was going to be a big factor, not to mention harsh salt contamination from the sea. He knew that going with a front entry pivot door was going to bring some safety challenges with it, so working with his window and door installation company, the Customer recognized he needed an automation solution for his front entry pivot door. Hence, Summit Automation’s CEO, PJ Gruetzmacher, was called to see what he could do to lessen the safety risks, while maintaining elegance coupled with excellent performance. Summit Automation, along with Scot Carpentry, worked together to develop the perfect solution.
The large format pivot door to be featured at “Project Hilton Head” was installed with an automated open and close that not only can hold up to low- to mid-level winds, but it can do so with an elegant Swiss-like movement while offering the best in safety measures to secure the door long after power outages occur:
- Strong enough to open and close the 6’ x 12’ pivot door in low- to mid-level winds
- Transparent enough to preserve the natural vista
- Durable enough to handle wind loads repeatedly with dependable and reliable success
- Maintenance-free for decades of operation
The Engineering
The pivot door solution for “Project Hilton Head” wasn’t a standard solution. Hilton Head’s aggressive and consistent windy conditions coupled with a salt corrosion-rich environment required a custom solution.
What the team engineered:
- Powered High Torque Pivot Motor with premium minimal backlash gearboxes measured in arc seconds vs. minutes and made from stainless steel and anodized components to withstand the harsh salt environment.
- Custom-Designed Components, including introducing the first-ever, fully integrated secure locking system powered by the pivot motor electronics to securely lock and unlock using one command from Summit’s newly developed 12-in-1 touchscreen control. Given each component operated on its own amperage, Summit developed a solution that regulates the power precisely to provide for a seamless integration. The system needed to not only provide a command, but also monitor the health and position of each component to prevent inadvertent failures.
- Fail Secure with Extended Battery Backup Increased battery backup from 8 hours to 6 days while also incorporating two electric locks within the strike side jamb at third intervals to provide a multi-point locking system. These state-of-the-art locks also minimize the experience of interior to exterior rattle noise doors in windy conditions.
The Result
What was the result for “Project Hilton Head”? The home has a beautiful pivot door that operates flawlessly in zero- to mid-level wind loads using a Summit Automation system that also secures the door in the event of a power outage. With the integration of Summit’s 12-in-1s to the Customer’s home automation system, the doors can be operated from anywhere in the world as long as they have a cellular data connection (= 95% of the world’s cellular coverage). When guests arrive unexpectedly or early, they simply give the homeowner a call and he can elegantly, remotely, and safely let his guests in through the automated front entry pivot door.
The fail-secure feature? Most people forget it’s there, but when it’s needed it is standing ready for service. In fact, that’s Summit’s definition of an elegant, integrated, secure, large format front entry pivot door: Performance that doesn’t interfere with elegance.
From a Homeowner’s perspective:
- Low to No maintenance costs for the life of the system
- Performance without aesthetic compromise
- Enhanced ownership satisfaction (unobstructed views with a secure solution = happy Customers)
- Long-term durability proven in similarly harsh environments
The Summit Automation Advantage
Fully engineered window & door automation solutions meet global door and window manufacturers’ expectations. This installation was executed by Scot Carpentry, Summit Automation’s Master Manufacturing Rep (MMR) in the Carolinas (both North & South).
Summit Automation installations that are now on display at landmark destinations across the Globe:
- Princeton University, New Jersey (Performing Arts Hall)
- Chick-fil-A HQ, Atlanta, Georgia (Front Entrance)
- Federal Reserve Building, San Francisco, CA (ultra secure barrier doors)
- Apple Stores – Tysons, Virginia; Beijing, China; and Seoul, Korea among others
Whether your project is in North America or international, the Summit Automation network of certified installers is ready to deliver:
- Consistent quality installations that exceed your standards
- Local expertise and support
- UL-Listed solutions across North America and CE solutions internationally
- Proven performance
Working with Summit Automation, you’ll enjoy lower cost of ownership, extended life expectancy of door and window systems, high reliability, high repeatability, high relevance, and superior service and support, all with recent technology that lets landscapes take center stage.
Why This Matters for Your Next Project
If you’re planning to purchase a large format door or window system in environmentally challenging areas, or simply because the ease and convenience of just pressing a button or speaking to your door appeals to you, you’re facing similar challenges:
Your Homeowners or Visitors expect:
- Unobstructed views and “discovery” experiences
- Instagram-worthy scenery with more view in the frame
- Indoor/Outdoor living connected with nature
Your project requires:
- Fail-secure safety
- Long-term durability with minimal maintenance
- Solutions that enhance (not compete with) the environment
Planning a large multi-slide door, pivot door, tilt-up window, guillotine/vertical lift window, or drop-down system?
Our engineering team has solved these exact challenges in over 25,000 installations across the globe, from custom homes to commercial projects.
It’s time to meet
Ask for a Lunch & Presentation at your office
About Summit Automation:
Summit Automation is dedicated to bringing convenience, elegance, and luxury to your living spaces by providing the world’s finest door and window automation systems, backed by exceptional customer care. We invent, engineer, manufacture, and supply automation systems tailored for those who demand only the best. Whether standard, retrofit, or custom-engineered, our accomplished team of highly qualified engineers delivers superior automation solutions worldwide. We proudly remain a family-owned, veteran-owned company, manufacturing products in the USA.
Hilton Head Project Credits: Scot Carpentry: Scot Sobieski
More Pictures From Our 5th Annual Summit Conference
