Timeline
1963 — Austin Baer earns patent for inventing the geared continuous hinge while working for McKinney Products Co. Earns a second patent in 1968. Soon after, leaves to start Roton.
1985 — Baer’s patents expire.
1989 — Baer sells Roton to Hager Companies. SELECT develops its geared continuous hinge.
1991 — Pemko Manufacturing Co. (a division of Assa Abloy) develops a geared continuous hinge. Soon after, Ives (a division of Ingersoll-Rand, now Allegion) offers geared continuous hinges.
2002 — SELECT begins endurance test (hinge eventually completes 25 million cycles)
2005 — SELECT offers industry’s only Continuous Warranty™
2019 — SELECT relocates to a new facility in Kalamazoo.
The History of the Geared Continuous Hinge
A Better Hinge Is Born
For more than 60 years, the aluminum geared continuous hinge has helped keep commercial doors moving smoothly, even in the busiest, most demanding environments. By distributing a door's weight along its entire length, this innovative design offers a durable, dependable alternative to traditional hinges.
The story begins in 1963, when Austin Baer, an MIT-trained engineer working for McKinney Products Co., patented a new hinge design featuring intermeshed gears. In 1968, he earned a second patent for adding thrust bearings, further improving the design.
Unlike traditional butt or pivot hinges, which concentrate a door's weight at just a few points, geared continuous hinges spread that weight along the full length of the door. The intermeshed gears also allow smooth, consistent movement through thousands of daily openings and closings.
Baer went on to establish Roton Corp. to manufacture and sell his invention, helping introduce geared continuous hinges to the commercial hardware market.
The Partnership That Launched SELECT
As the original patents expired and demand for geared continuous hinges grew, the industry began to change. For Special-Lite, a manufacturer of heavy-duty commercial entrance systems, those changes presented an opportunity.
Special-Lite had long recognized the value of geared continuous hinges in demanding entrance applications. The company also had established relationships with experienced sales representatives who understood the technology and the needs of commercial customers.
When changes in the industry disrupted those relationships, Special-Lite took an important step. In 1989, the company partnered with those experienced representatives to establish SELECT Products Limited.
From the beginning, the relationship with Special-Lite helped shape SELECT's approach to product development. Working closely with a manufacturer of heavy-duty entrance systems gave SELECT valuable insight into the challenges commercial doors face every day, from constant use and heavy loads to demanding environmental conditions.
That practical experience became a foundation for refining and improving the geared continuous hinge design, with an emphasis on strength, smooth operation and long-term reliability.
As geared continuous hinges gained wider acceptance throughout the commercial hardware industry, SELECT continued building on that foundation. The company's reputation for quality also led other hardware manufacturers to offer SELECT-made hinges under their own brands.
Taking Performance to New Levels
SELECT's commitment to building better hinges has always been backed by a willingness to put them to the test.
In 2002, SELECT began an independent endurance test at Architectural Testing, Inc. in St. Paul, Minnesota. The hinge completed an extraordinary 25 million open-and-close cycles without failure, exceeding the BHMA Grade 1 cycle requirement by a factor of 10. That's equivalent to more than 50 years of use on a high-traffic commercial door.
These achievements demonstrated what SELECT had been working toward since its founding: hinges engineered to stand up to years of demanding use.
In 2005, that confidence led SELECT to introduce the industry's only Continuous Warranty™, a warranty that never expires.
A Legacy of American-Made Quality
More than three decades after its founding, SELECT continues to build on the same principles that shaped its beginnings: innovative engineering, dependable performance and a commitment to understanding the needs of commercial entrance systems.
From its longstanding relationship with Special-Lite to its ongoing investment in product development and testing, SELECT's history is one of practical innovation and a belief that a better hinge makes a better door.
Today, SELECT continues manufacturing its aluminum geared continuous hinges in Kalamazoo, Michigan, carrying that commitment to quality into the future.
