Tough Steel doors Handle The Traffic At Cabela's Outdoor Catalog Showroom

OWATONNA, Minnesota-May 1, 2000

Everything about Cabela's catalog showroom is big. From its 150,000 sq. Ft. retail floor to the 80,000 products on display, it offers sportsmen a huge selection of fishing, hunting, and outdoor gear. To handle the volume of shipments required to keep the store well-stocked, the hardworking, gigantic warehouse that supplies it was equipped with steel doors designed to handle constant traffic, maintain security, and accommodate oversize objects when needed.

A Showroom Big as All Outdoors

Cabela's, founded by Dick Cabela in 1961, started with a small store in Sidney, Nebraska and grew into a major catalog seller of hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor gear. In 1991, the company built a larger store near Sidney and moved more heavily into retailing. While maintaining a strong catalog business, Cabela's has firmly positioned itself as full-service retailer with its new 150,000 sq. ft. Owatonna store, which opened in 1998.

The facility carries a huge selection of goods covering almost every conceivable need for hunting and fishing. Outdoor hiking and camping gear includes everything from boots and clothing to tents. A gun library showcases high-quality firearms, while displays feature a wide selection of some of the finest trophy game animals and fish mounts in the country. A 53,000 gallon aquarium is filled with gamefish found in Minnesota waters, and spectacular larger-than-life bronze sculptures help showcase the outdoor theme. Conference rooms are available for DNR seminars and Cabela's staff training meetings, as well as for use by outside firms and organizations looking for a new and interesting setting.

The store is more than meeting expectations, drawing people from far and near. Bob Braun, retail facilities manager, says "On a summer day, you can go into the parking lot and find license plates from 20 to 30 states and two or three Canadian provinces."

Tough Doors Meet Rugged Needs

Keeping the busy store stocked with merchandise takes a big staff and a lot of back-room activity. Cabela's employs from 400 to 475 part-time and full-time workers to operate the store and warehouse. In the back, people and goods are continuously on the move, and many of the doors are in constant use as deliveries and people come and go. In a facility filled with such desirable merchandise, security is an ongoing concern, but it cannot compromise the life safety of employees and customers.

To meet these needs, Steelcraft L-18 hollow metal doors and F-16 metal frames were selected for all warehouse-area doors, as well as emergency exits throughout the building. The 18-gage doors combine the strength and dimensional stability of steel with the structural integrity of a honeycomb core. Continuous bonding of core to metal provides an attractive, absolutely flat door, free of face welding marks. Tests have proven the "L" Series door's high resistance to impact damage. The doors are hung in 16-gage flush frames installed as part of the wall-framing sequence.

The building is effectively in use around the clock. Store hours are 8:00 AM to 9:00 P.M. Monday through Saturday and 10:00 AM to 6:00 P.M. on Sunday, but cleaning, stocking and inventory are done at night so customers are not interrupted.

Elephant Doors Live Up to Their Name

The store's outdoor adventure theme is carried out by several major displays of mounted wildlife, including North American game such as bear, deer, moose, elk, and mountain goats, as well as African game that includes lions, zebra and an elephant. For moving in displays like this, normal doors wouldn't do. Instead, Cabela's had Steelcraft make a special set of elephant doors. Resembling huge sets of dutch doors, these two pairs of doors are topped by pairs of slightly smaller doors that are separated by a removable beam. Removable mullions separate the pairs of doors themselves.

Braun points out the need to maintain security, even with such a complex configuration. This was accomplished by wiring monitors to the beams as well as to the doors. These can be unplugged from the secure side when it is necessary to remove the beams and mullions to accommodate a large load such as the elephant, or possibly a pickup truck or other outsized object.

Contractor for the project was Kraus Anderson Construction Co., Circle Plains, Minnesota. The architect was Neilsen-Mayne Architecture, Omaha, Nebraska. Doors and hardware were furnished through Greene Door & Hardware, Inc., Dodge Center, Minnesota.