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Company · acquired by Cobalt Service Partners

Entrance Technologies

Founded 1995 in Eagle River, WI by Jim Sieren · 1 branch (Eagle River) · sold to Cobalt, Oct 2024

One man in a van fixing Walmart's doors became the Northwoods' automatic-door company

Page as of Sept 28, 2026The sale ↓

Legacy

The founder’s story · from the public record

Entrance Technologies began in 1995 with one man and a van. Jim Sieren spent the early years driving across Wisconsin servicing Walmart's automatic doors, a single-customer, single-technician operation based in Eagle River in the state's Northwoods. In his own telling, the name was a promise: the company would offer a solution for 'any sort of entrance technology'. Jim Sieren, Founding Story (Cobalt company page) · Cobalt announcement, Dec 3, 2024

Over roughly thirty years the one-man shop became what Sieren calls 'a family of techs, salespeople, and support employees' installing and servicing every kind of commercial pedestrian door across Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The company's site describes work for hospitals (including ICU doors), grocery and retail stores, and schools and universities, with sliding, swing, folding and revolving doors, turnstiles and touchless options in the catalogue, and an emergency line staffed around the clock. Cobalt company page · Entrance Tech: Products and Applications

The company built its reputation on technical depth rather than size. Its About page says most employees are factory-trained, AAADM-certified inspectors, that technicians average 14 years of experience, and that installations are done to ANSI and ADA standards. Sieren says his two constant priorities were customers, with 'personalized, responsive customer service', and employees, with 'a family-oriented, collaborative culture'. Entrance Tech: Our Company · Jim Sieren, Founding Story (Cobalt company page)

When Sieren began exploring a sale, he says the test was whether a buyer would respect and support the employees and keep serving customers 'at a very high level'. He describes other potential acquirers as ones that 'would have swallowed Entrance Tech up and disrupted everyone's day-to-day', and chose Cobalt because it would amplify what the company already did well and bring scale that an independent shop could not. At close he retired, and long-time general manager Kevin Galek kept running the business day to day. Jim Sieren, Why Cobalt (Cobalt company page) · Cobalt announcement, Dec 3, 2024

The team

The people who built it

Entrance Tech's site has no team page. The people named publicly are founder Jim Sieren, general manager Kevin Galek (Cobalt's announcement and team page) and Robert Whitney, listed alongside Sieren under 'Owners, Principals & Senior Executives' in The Blue Book directory.

Cover photo on Cobalt's Entrance Technologies company page
Cover photo on Cobalt's Entrance Technologies company page · source
Thumbnail image on Cobalt's acquisition announcement
Thumbnail image on Cobalt's acquisition announcement · source

In the community

What they gave back · on the record
  • The company's public identity is its trade credential: it says most of its technicians hold AAADM automatic-door inspector certification and are factory-trained, and that its work complies with ANSI and ADA standards. Entrance Tech: Our Company
  • Entrance Technologies is listed in The Blue Book construction directory as a pre-qualified automatic-door subcontractor for Wisconsin. The Blue Book ProView listing

In their words

3 public statements by the founder and team
  • 2024
    Founding Story / Why Cobalt (Entrance Tech page) post
    Jim Sieren · cobaltsp.com (Our Companies) · Two first-person statements by Jim Sieren: the 1995 one-man-shop start servicing Walmart doors from his van, the growth into a family of techs and salespeople across Wisconsin and Michigan, his two priorities (customers and employees), and why he chose Cobalt over acquirers that would have 'swallowed' the company.
  • 2024-12-03
    Cobalt Acquires Entrance Technologies press
    Jim Sieren; Anthony Gonzalez · cobaltsp.com (News & Insights); also posted on Cobalt's LinkedIn · Buyer's announcement of its tenth acquisition. Quotes Sieren on serving customers and employees and on choosing Cobalt; Anthony Gonzalez welcomes 'Jim, his exceptional GM, Kevin Galek, and the rest of the Entrance Tech team' and calls the company well known across Wisconsin and the U.P. States Sieren will retire and Galek will continue as General Manager.
  • undated
    Our Company post
    Entrance Technologies · entrancetech.com · Company's own About page: 'Commercial pedestrian doors since '94', AAADM-certified technicians averaging 14 years of experience, ANSI/ADA compliance, and a pledge to treat customers' time and property 'as if it were our own'. Footer still reads 'Copyright 2021' in September 2026.

Founder Q&A

In their own words · by email · published with permission

We’d like Jim Sieren to tell this story in their own words. Ran this company, or built it alongside the founder? Ten questions by email, answered at your pace, published only with your OK.

The sale

As both sides told it · on the public record
Announced Dec 3, 2024 By Cobalt (own newsroom) Deal #10 for Cobalt Service Partners Founder left Cobalt, Dec 3, 2024
What Cobalt Service Partners said

Cobalt announced Entrance Tech on December 3, 2024 as its tenth acquisition since launching in December 2023 and its ninth of 2024. Co-CEO Anthony Gonzalez said the company is 'well known throughout Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula for providing best-in-class service' and welcomed Sieren, GM Kevin Galek and the team. Cobalt's company page dates the acquisition to October 2024.

Announcement
What the founder said

Jim Sieren said he wanted a partner that would respect and support employees and keep service levels high; unlike acquirers that would have 'swallowed Entrance Tech up', Cobalt would 'amplify the things that we do well' and its scale would create opportunities for customers and employees the company could not reach independently. He transitioned out into retirement at close.

Source

Terms on the record: Nothing public. No price, structure, rollover or earn-out disclosed. Advisors: None named on either side.

What happened after

Public signals since the sale · dated
  • 2024-10
    Acquisition closes (Cobalt company page: 'Acquisition Date: October 2024'). source
  • 2024-12-03
    Cobalt announces the deal; Jim Sieren retires and Kevin Galek continues as General Manager. source
  • 2026-09-28
    Cobalt's team page lists Kevin Galek as 'General Manager, Entrance Technologies' under Partner Company Leadership; no Cobalt-installed CEO has been named. Cobalt also lists Michael Hopkins as Group CEO of Entrance Solutions, the door-company group Entrance Tech sits in. source
  • 2026-09-28
    The company's own site is unchanged from its 2021 build (footer 'Copyright 2021'), does not mention Cobalt, and its Careers and Contact pages redirect rather than render. Search results show an 'Automatic Door Installer Technician' opening in Eagle River on ZipRecruiter and Indeed (posting text not fetchable). source

Then and now

Founder and leadership
Jim Sieren
Founder and owner (1995 to 2024)
Left Retired at close per Cobalt's announcement; a public search result shows a LinkedIn profile for 'James Sieren - ENTRANCE TECHNOLOGIES I LLC' source
Kevin Galek
General Manager (pre-sale)
Stayed General Manager, Entrance Technologies (Cobalt team page, Sept 2026); background in law enforcement, casino and resort management and commercial trucking source
Robert Whitney
Listed with Sieren under 'Owners, Principals & Senior Executives' in The Blue Book directory
Now source

Companies Cobalt Service Partners also bought

20 on the public record

All 21 transactions →

Sources

Everything above, dated Sept 28, 2026

Unverified at publish: Founding year (Cobalt says 1995, the company site says 1994); street address (Yelp's title says 313 W Pine St, The Blue Book says 313 E. Pine St); headcount; whether Robert Whitney is a current principal; any local press or community involvement (none found); whether Jim Sieren remains retired (no update since Dec 2024).