6 | Overly Manufacturing Company
that can withstand against heat, pressure and
impact from bullets. In one demonstration,
Overly’s lowest rated door withstood blast
from a 235 mph gust of wind, velocity that is
significantly greater than the highest surface
wind-speed ever recorded. While Reese fully
understands how these kind of protective
barriers serve in coastal communities that
encounter hurricanes, he acknowledges that
in some cases, he isn’t so gifted with aware-
ness as to how his company’s products are
serving in terms of other applications. For
instance, in creating massively thick doors
and assemblies for institutions like Lawrence
Livermore and Oak Ridge National Labora-
tories, he once occasioned to ask an engineer
what exactly was going on behind the doors
to necessitate the use of so much steel. “The
engineer told me I would sleep a lot better at
night if I didn’t know,” says Reese.
A LEGACY OF INNOVATION
Overly origins date back to 1888, when
a metal smith known as Overly opened a
small firm in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. As
a sheet metal worker (or tin-knocker as they
were known) his company garnered a reputa-
tion for producing marquis or spires for area
churches, and continued in that capacity for
several decades until the advent of fire doors.
The early varieties of fire doors were tin-clad
(wooden doors complemented with a metal
veneer) and Overly was among the very first
in the industry to achieve UL approved fire
rating. The company soon became a leading
manufacturer of fire doors, but continued to
