Bullet & Blast - About Us

Blast Doors - Bullet Doors - Marine Doors - Hollow Metal Steel Doors

Bullet & Blast - About Us

Deansteel Manufacturing fabricates a complete line of independently tested bullet and blast resistant doors, frames, & windows to suit your security needs. Our bullet resistant products have been tested to all threat levels set forth by UL-752, NIJ 0108.01, and ASTM F-1233. While most of the time we custom manufacture these products to meet project requirements, we also offer a number of ballistic and blast resistant door assemblies as “stock” items, allowing us to ship directly from our warehouse to you immediately.

This innovative product line is backed up by Deansteel’s commitment to the highest quality products, attentive customer service, and “small business-style” relationships that have served as the building blocks for this family owned business for over 50 years.

Our BRP line now includes all of our standard products, such as:

Flush doors
Vision doors
Fixed windows
Transaction and sliding windows
Package passers

Deansteel also offers custom products like pneumatically assisted return fire, opening windows.

All of Deansteel’s Ballistic Resistant products have been independently tested by Southwest Research Institute^© (SwRI^©) to ensure compliance with the appropriate threat level as specified by the following criteria;

Each product is certified and labeled to withstand the specified threat level by Deansteel based on the testing performed by SwRI^©.

Deansteel has also expanded our existing line of security products to include blast resistant door assemblies and fixed windows. We now offer the following new solutions to challenging security demands:

Blast doors and frame assemblies to withstand peak blast pressures up to 50 psi and a wide range of blast durations.
Blast resistant windows that can meet GSA Level D and UFC 4-010-01 requirements.

Deansteel does not rely on "in-house" calculations to substantiate the design performance of our blast resistant products. All of our Blast Resistant products have been tested and/or analyzed by independent, internationally recognized engineering laboratories to withstand specific levels of blast events. Our blast door assembly designs vary from our DSLB-1 (Deansteel Level Blast 1) providing low-level blast resistance for peak over-pressures in the range of 1 psi up to our DSLB-5 products that provides blast resistance to a peak pressure of up to 50 psi and a moderate duration event. These door assemblies provide blast resistance to meet the requirements specified in ASTM F 2247-11 Standard Test Method for Metal Doors Used in Blast Resistant Applications, UFC 4-010-01 (2012) Dod Minimum Antiterrorism Standards for Buildings, GSA-TS01-2003, or ASCE Design of Blast-Resistant Buildings in Petrochemical Facilities.

Company History

Deansteel Manufacturing Company first ventured into the sheet metal business in 1856 when J. Dean & Son Joseph Dean, the great-great uncle of Company President John Dean, learned the craft of sheet metal working as an Indentured Apprentice issued by the Crown of England. After completing his apprenticeship, Joseph and his wife immigrated to Texas and set up shop in San Antonio. His primary business consisted of fabricating common steel household items like pots and pans, rain gutters, and stove pipes to name a few. The Dean name quickly earned a reputation throughout South Central Texas as a mark of quality workmanship.

At the close of World War II, Albert Dean, Jr. returned to San Antonio from his service in the US Navy, and through hard work and determination acquired the old sheet metal shop on South Flores Street started by his great uncle, and founded what is known today as Deansteel Manufacturing Company.

Deansteel’s first job was to manufacture doors and frames for the Laredo, Texas Hospital. The entire order was manufactured on a single, four foot, manually operated press brake; and the job was delivered on time! This was the start of our Hollow Metal division and for the next decade Deansteel focused on manufacturing high-quality, commercial duty steel doors and frames.

In 1969, Livingston Shipbuilding, located in Orange, Texas, asked Deansteel if we could provide them with Marine doors, frames, and wall trim durable enough for duty on offshore drilling rigs. We said yes, and Deansteel’s Marine Division was born. What started out as one custom job grew into an entire division of marine products.

Over the years, the company president, John Dean, saw a worldwide need for more specialized security products and branched out to start Deansteel BRP, Bullet Resistant Products Div Home Made ision. This is our newest division but is already expanding with the inclusion of Blast Resistant Products; and we expect to see steady growth as security concerns continue to be challenged around the world.

In the past 50 years, Deansteel has matured from a small sheet metal shop to a production facility that encompasses more than 138,000 square feet, and is equipped with some of the most modern fabricating equipment available. Deansteel maintains a stock inventory of 4,000 doors and more than 20,000 frame components to supply to our distributors.

While the company has experienced growth far beyond our founder’s expectations, the management and employees at Deansteel have retained Joseph Dean’s original commitments to quality craftsmanship, honest business practices, and the belief that without our customers we would not be here.