July 15, 2004

Viking Door to hold grand opening celebration

By Danek S. Kaus
Special to the Times

Viking Door is holding a grand opening celebration and special sale at 2099 S. Tenth St., San Jose, on July 22 and 23.

The more than 68 employees of Viking Door are ready to greet and serve customers during the two day grand opening celebration scheduled for Friday, July 22 and Saturday, July 23.

Owner and president Dave Ickert invites the Evergreen community to peruse a new showroom three times the size of its former location at 1066 S. Fifth St., where the local homeowner’s icon had been located since 1961. Free food and beverages will be served.

Viking Door is known for its pre-hung doors, millwork, mantels, moldings and door hardware.

“For this event, we’re lowering our already low prices on quality products for your home,” says owner and president Dave Ickert, who worked at the company for 21 years before he and his partner, Kevin Collins, bought it in 1996.
Ickert says he bought the business because the opportunity came up. “It’s in my blood,” he says. “I started working here when I was 20 years old.”

The company has experienced some amazing growth in recent years.

In 1997, Viking Door absorbed The Door Shop in San Martin, taking on their employees and customer base. The company then bought General Windows as well as Creative Doors and Mantel in 2001.

With this growth, the company needed more room to store and showcase their offerings. Viking Door’s former showroom and buildings combined provided only 30,000 square feet of space. The new facility has close to 92,000 square feet.

Ickert attributes the company’s success in part to its product lines. “We sell quality products at wholesale prices to contractors and the general public,” Ickert says.

And there was another reason for the move. “We wanted to have a world-class showroom,” Ickert says.

He feels they succeeded. “Every customer and factory rep who comes here, looks around and says, ‘Wow!’” adds Ickert.

On display are IWP entry doors and other high quality manufacturers such as Simpson, Creative Entries, Art Glass, Thermatrue and Plastpro. Baldwin and Emtek door hardware are also on display. A large molding collection comes in Poplar, F. J. Pine and MDF.

The showroom also features such top window lines as Andersen, Marvin, Vetter, Milgard and Cascade, as well as Velux Skylights. Although there are mantels on display, Ickert says they make them to order.

In addition to the showroom, Viking Door also has five door pre-hanging machines in their state-of-the-art shop.
A fleet of delivery trucks ensures that orders will be delivered quickly and on time.

Ickert believes that Viking Door offers homeowners a better alternative to the big box stores.

“Our staff is knowledgeable and friendly, he says. “Some of the people who work here are family members or are treated as family members, so we have a stake in making sure you are satisfied.”

“This is a chance to get to know us,” Ickert says. “You can beautify your home and save a lot of money on our everyday low prices.”

Viking Door is open Monday to Thursday 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 and Saturday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

For information, call (408) 294-5546 and visit www.vikingdoor.com and www.generalwindow.com.