River City Six: Jim Hannum
Headquartered in Omaha, NE, A United Automatic Doors & Glass, Inc. (www.aunitedglass.com) is a family-owned company with three generations of experience in glazing and commercial manual and automatic doors. A strong emphasis on quality is the focus for all products and services. The company’s 9,500 sq. ft. office and Service Center is located at 1410 N. Saddle Creek Rd. Jim Hannum is the owner of A United Automatic Doors & Glass.
Tell us a little about your business. – We specialize in the installation of ADA handicap operators, automatic sliders, and storefront metal and glass. Our experienced service staff can also repair or replace door glass, manual door hardware, and any kind of automatic operators. However, we do not service or install garage doors.
How did you get started in the business? – I started as an apprentice in the glazing union back in 1979. My father was in the union for 45 years. We started our business in 1997 with the Stanley Distributorship in automatics, which went well with storefronts and glass.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally? – Growing in size while maintaining the same quality one-on-one service and always being there for our customers when they need us.
What has been your most important achievement professionally? – Building the business. We’ve grown from a team of 3 people to 15 people and now service the whole state of Nebraska and Western Iowa, along with some of South Dakota.
Tell us a little about your family. – My wife and I have four wonderful children and eight grandchildren with one more on the way. All of our children work for A United, along with my brother and wife.
What do you see as one of the biggest turning points in your life? – Breaking away from being an employee and becoming an employer.
What is your favorite thing to do on a day off? – I like to trap shoot and relax at home on the mower.
What are you the most proud of? – My family.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – My father would always say “If it’s worth doing, do it right and always keep trying until it’s done right.”
If you could choose only one descriptive word to be remembered as, what would it be? – Fair.
If you had a theme song, what would it be? – The Gambler by Kenny Rogers.
If you could have a super power, what would it be? – Super-speed like The Flash.
What is your greatest talent that you don’t utilize in your daily work life? – Singing.
Which talent would you most like to have? – I would like to be able to draw.
If you could choose any other profession to be successful in, what would it be? – Architecture.
What local non-profit organization(s) are you passionate about or involved with, and are there any special reasons why? – Open Door Mission. They utilize their funds well and do so much good for those in our community.
What is your favorite movie? – Once Upon a Time in the West.
What is your favorite TV show? – The Blacklist.
What is your favorite local restaurant? – Nate’s Stumble Inn Bar & Grill in Bennington, NE.
If you could have dinner with one famous person from the past or present, who would it be? – John Wayne.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so? – All are welcome to contact me at www.aunitedglass.com or via email at jim@aunitedglass.com.
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