That's according to Laurie Karjalahti, whose parents Leo and Cecelia Roberts, launched the business in 1983.
Since then, Lacey Door has grown to occupy a 32,000-square-foot office and warehouse space at 3939 12th Ave. S.E., and employ about 30 people, Karjalahti said.
Karjalahti, who has been involved with the family-run business for about 10 years, works in sales and handles administrative duties for the business.
Karjalahti is joined at work by her brother, Dale Roberts, and their parents still are involved in the day-to-day operations.
But it was a decision to manufacture doors in 1994 that has helped the business compete with home improvement retailers and later caught the eye of South Sound home builders and celebrities such as Suzuki and Berman.
Before 1994, Lacey Door was strictly involved in what is known as the "pre-hanging" business, a process of adding hinges, doorknobs and other features to an existing door made by another company, Karjalahti said.
But as more home improvement retailers moved into the area, such as The Home Depot and Lowe's, the business turned to manufacturing custom-made doors to help it compete, she said.
"The manufacturing side of the business is growing faster," Karjalahti said.
Buehler Homes LLC owner Mike Buehler, whose Olympia business builds about three houses a year, describes Lacey Door as a "gourmet" door company, saying the business has a reputation for making quality doors.
When Buehler built his home, he wanted to incorporate old-growth fir beams he had salvaged from a shipyard warehouse in Bremerton.
Lacey Door was able to cut the beams into doors and flooring for his 3,400-square-foot house, Buehler said.
"You just can't go down to (The) Home Depot and have them pump one of those out," he said.
Todd Larson, president of Parthenon Construction Inc. of Milton, said Lacey Door & Millwork Inc. is one of the few custom-door makers in South Sound.
"I can draw a picture of what I need and they can do it for me," Larson said.
While small South Sound builders are aware of Lacey Door, the company did not experience a real surge in business brought about by the recent housing boom, Karjalahti said.
Large home builders tend not to buy locally, she said.
However, the housing market in Hawaii is a big purchaser of the "Louver," a door made with wooden slats that provides ventilation, Karjalahti said.
Among the buyers in Hawaii is ESPN anchor Berman, who had a home built in the islands, she said.
Rolf Boone covers business for The Olympian. He can be reached by 360-754-5403 or at rboone@theolympian.com.
