Published on: December 2, 2025

You will never meet someone as passionate about doorknobs as Chad Riches, the President and third-generation owner of Beacon Metals. It’s actually the whole door he’s passionate about. Mountain West Small Business Finance President and COO Danny Mangum says when it comes to business, “the only thing that may equal Riches’ passion for doors, is his passion for ice cream.” Much to his employees’ (and vendors’) enjoyment, Riches recently invested in a state-of-the-art soft serve machine at the company’s headquarters. And while a huge source of pride for the company is low turnover achieved through competitive benefits packages, a culture that supports work-life balance and a sense of camaraderie, Riches said that employees were way more enthused about the soft-serve than any benefits package increases they’ve ever offered.

There may be no official title for someone who shares Riches’ level of enthusiasm for doors and their components, but his expertise is trusted by a wide range of customers. Including K–12 schools, universities, hospitals, government and military bases, retail shopping centers, airports, sports venues, prisons and jails, conference centers, and many more across the Mountain West and beyond. 

“For most people,” he explains, with a sincerity that brings a level of reverence to the conversation, “when they walk through a door, they see that very thing: it’s a door. And there’s hinges, and a lock set – and that’s perfect. But when we walked through an opening, we see all kinds of things here at our company. We see things like the fire ratings, ballistic and blast ratings and all kinds of things that go into doors.” 

He talks about the role his company plays in bridging form and function. “When architects put together these beautiful buildings, the last thing they want is just some slab opening,” he says. “They’ll usually do some pretty ornate things, whether it’s glass or panels or something different. And it’s our responsibility to take that design and figure out how we can meet all of those safety ratings…all of those codes and put that inside the door. Then make the door look like what the designers want it to look like.”

The SBA Connection

“Beacon used the SBA 504 to refinance their existing building and used their equity to qualify for the expansion,” said Judd Blakesley, Senior Lending Officer for Mountain West Small Business Finance. “By doing so, they were able to have working capital available to support their growth. They also were recipients of the SBA PPP and EIDL loans, which allowed them to get through COVID.” That time period brought unprecedented challenges for Beacon like unpredictable costs of raw materials and manufactured goods, as well as delays in the supply chain. At a critical time, Beacon decided to ramp up in-house manufacturing which led them to streamlining their process and having more control over their production.

In a recent visit from William Briggs, deputy administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Riches shared that since 2018, revenue has grown its workforce by 22 percent, its revenue by 28 percent, and net income by nearly 400 percent.

The Origin

In 1966, Chad Riches’ grandfather John Riches was working at Beaner Block Company, located on the same piece of property where Beacon now operates from (there’s still a sign on property showcasing the company’s history.) The block company had various business components to it, and one of those components was steel door frames and aluminum door frames. But Beaner wanted to get back to just blocks.

As Chad tells it, “He went to my grandfather (Beaner’s son-in-law) and said, ‘Why don’t you take this business and see what we can do with it?’ So they formed this company called Beacon Metals, and focused on doors and frames.” And with lots of potential, Beacon expanded, changed and adapted over the years.

Right before his SBA 504 loan with MWSBF, the company purchased a company that was a quasi-competitor (i.e. partner/adjacent on many projects) that would help Beacon have long term diversification. The acquisition played a role in needing a single location to bring both businesses together and room to grow, which is where the SBA 504 came into play.

Mountain West Small Business Finance is honored to be part of the story of Beacon Commercial Door and Lock, and honored to nominate them as Utah’s Small Business Manufacturer of the Year and Chad Riches as a candidate for the SBA’s Small Business Person of the Year.