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HOUGHTON - For Dan Huuki, owner of Keweenaw Overhead, the last eight years have been quite exciting. What started out as a business out of his house is now a booming garage door business that recently completed construction of a brand new building on Sharon Avenue.

The new building includes a showroom, office area and warehouse, but most important are the intangibles.

"We actually have office space, a building to deal with customers and visibility," Huuki said. "This property was underutilized before."

Previously Keweenaw Overhead was housed in a larger warehouse that had virtually no room to welcome customers. The building was older and didn't really fit the needs of the company.

The new building's elegant design and custom layout is ideal for his business. Home to a loading dock and larger ceilings, the ability to go from store to office to warehouse without going outside is attractive to customers.

"Walk-in business is undeniably way up," Huuki said. "No question, at least double."

When moving into the building, Huuki was also working with Northern Stove and Pellet. The businesses share the large building, using the parallel halves as a storefronts, offices and warehouses.

The move to the new building probably wouldn't have happened without the second business that is now managed by Ron Berg. The two work together offering solutions to everyday problems for Copper Country residents.

Keweenaw Overhead offers both residential garage doors and commercial and industrial overhead doors, but it's not just about the sales for the prosperous business.

"We don't just sell and install, we do service work as well," Huuki said. "We stand behind all of our work, making house calls as soon as a problem arises."

Huuki said they only sell Clopay doors - the largest manufacturer in the nation - and his company is the only full-service dealership in the entire Upper Peninsula.

"I know it sounds cliche, but they have something for everyone," he said.

The latest line of products includes Clopay Premium Series insulated garage doors. This is the first residential product that Keweenaw Overhead has offered with a notable R-value, coming in at 17.2.

"They are really high quality, very soundly constructed and have a good R-value," Huuki said. "Very price competitive, we're really excited about it."

Huuki said this joins the commercial version of it that was released last year. To see this and other options for a home or business, visit their showroom on Sharon Avenue near Family Video.

Michael H. Babcock can be reached at mbabcock@mininggazette.com.