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Bill Holcomb
Photo: source
Company · acquired by Cobalt Service Partners

Automatic Entrances of Wisconsin

Founded 1976 in Waukesha, WI by Bill Holcomb · 1 branch (statewide service) · sold to Cobalt, Aug 2024

Service feeds sales, which feeds service: 48 years of a failing distributorship made good

Page as of Sept 28, 2026The sale ↓

Legacy

The founder’s story · from the public record

In 1976 Bill Holcomb and his wife bought a failing automatic door distributorship in Waukesha and named it Automatic Entrances of Wisconsin. The early years, he says, 'were very tight.' In 1978 he brought in a young salesman, Jay Walt, and the two of them ran the company together for the next 46 years, Walt eventually becoming co-owner and President. Cobalt company page: Founding Story · Cobalt: Cobalt Acquires AEW (Sep 23, 2024)

Holcomb ran the business on two rules: 'Service feeds sales, which feeds service,' and 'Treat the customer the way you would expect if you were the customer.' Growth was 'slow and responsible,' and he says they learned from their miscues. The result was a company that calls itself Wisconsin's largest commercial and automatic door provider, has been Stanley Access Technologies' top-performing North American distributor for decades (28 consecutive Stanley Cup awards as of 2021, 35 by the company's current count), and sells and services Boon Edam revolving doors, dormakaba, Record and other brands statewide. Cobalt company page: Founding Story · AEW news: Stanley Cup 28th year · AEW website

What Holcomb says he is proudest of is the people: quality jobs for 50 employees, a collaborative shop, and managers who have stayed 15, 20 and more than 30 years. Walt was the public face of the company's technical side, writing for Boon Edam about breaking into healthcare with the Froedtert health network and explaining, in a manufacturer's blog, why revolving doors save on air conditioning as much as heating. The company earned Acuity's safety award in 2020 for how it ran through the pandemic. Cobalt company page: Founding Story · Boon Edam blog featuring Jay Walt · AEW news: Acuity Safety Award

With more than a century of combined experience between them, Holcomb and Walt began thinking about what came next. They wrote that many long-term employees 'were like family' and had to be looked out for, and that their legacy 'had to be respected.' Typical buyers, in their view, would have stripped the company to boost returns. Cobalt, they said, offered 'a respectful approach to the culture we had fostered' and a commitment to the employees who built the business. The sale closed in August 2024 and was announced on September 23; Holcomb retired after nearly 50 years as owner, Walt stayed on, and Cobalt said it would add leadership over time. By 2025 Cobalt listed Steve Miller as EVP of Operations and Walt's own tenure as President and CEO as '1979 - 2025'; a Boon Edam page now describes him as Senior Advisor. Cobalt company page: Why Cobalt? · Cobalt: Cobalt Acquires AEW (Sep 23, 2024) · Cobalt: Our Team · Boon Edam blog (Walt as Senior Advisor)

The team

The people who built it

AEW's site has no team page; its careers page carries a photo and tribute to Jay Walt. People named publicly are founder Bill Holcomb (and his wife, unnamed), co-owner Jay Walt, and Cobalt's EVP of Operations Steve Miller.

Jay Walt (AEW careers page, 'A Legacy of Craftsmanship')
Jay Walt (AEW careers page, 'A Legacy of Craftsmanship') · source
AEW cover photo on Cobalt's company page
AEW cover photo on Cobalt's company page · source
Image courtesy of AEW, published by BizTimes Milwaukee with the acquisition story
Image courtesy of AEW, published by BizTimes Milwaukee with the acquisition story · source
Jay Walt headshot on Boon Edam's blog
Jay Walt headshot on Boon Edam's blog · source
Family in the business (as the company itself lists them)
  • Bill Holcomb · Founder (1976), owner until 2024 · source
  • Mrs. Holcomb (unnamed) · Bought the distributorship with Bill in 1976 ('My wife and I bought...') · source

In the community

What they gave back · on the record
  • AEW received Acuity Insurance's Safety Award in 2020, given to businesses exemplary in maintaining a safe workplace, and says it kept full service and sales support running through COVID-19. AEW news: Acuity Safety Award · AEW news: AEW earns Acuity award
  • The careers page frames the company as 'built on the grit, craftsmanship, and dedication of hardworking Wisconsinites' and promises training, certification programs and career pathways for installers and technicians. AEW careers page
  • Jay Walt has contributed industry education through manufacturer channels: a Boon Edam blog on what customers don't know about revolving doors and a Boon Edam project write-up on the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin health network. AEW news index

In their words

7 public statements by the founder and team

Founder Q&A

In their own words · by email · published with permission

We’d like Bill Holcomb 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 Sep 23, 2024 By Cobalt (Business Wire); Alpine newsroom; Security Systems News Deal #9 for Cobalt Service Partners Founder left Business Wire, Sep 23, 2024
What Cobalt Service Partners said

Cobalt announced AEW on September 23, 2024 as its ninth acquisition, calling it Wisconsin's leading automatic door installation and service provider. Anthony Gonzalez said Jay and Bill had 'built a behemoth in the automatic door market' by taking care of their people and customers, and that Cobalt would 'double down on what made AEW great.' Holcomb retired at close; Walt continued; Cobalt said it would add leadership talent over time. Cobalt's company page dates the acquisition to August 2024.

Announcement
What the founder said

Holcomb and Walt said that as they looked ahead they realised many long-term employees were like family and had to be looked after, and that their legacy had to be respected; typical buyers would have stripped the company to boost ROI, whereas Cobalt offered a respectful approach to the culture they had fostered, matched their wishes for the employees, and brought resources for today's workplace. 'With Cobalt's vision, resources, and commitment to the future, we feel confident our legacy is secure.'

Source

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

What happened after

Public signals since the sale · dated
  • 2024-08
    Close (Cobalt company page: 'Acquisition Date: August 2024'); announced September 23, 2024. Holcomb retires; Walt continues. source
  • 2024-09-23
    BizTimes Milwaukee and The Freeman report the sale locally. source
  • 2025-03 to 2025-04
    Website rebuilt at aewdoors.com (aewinc.net redirects there): new logo files (Mar 2025), a Jay Walt photo and 'A Legacy of Craftsmanship' tribute on the careers page written in the past tense ('Jay believed the customer always came first'), footer now reads 'Automatic Entrances of Wisconsin LLC'. Site does not mention Cobalt. source
  • 2025
    Cobalt's company page signs the Why Cobalt statement 'Jay Walt, President & CEO (1979 - 2025)', and Cobalt's team page lists Steve Miller as 'EVP of Operations, Automatic Entrances of Wisconsin' (nearly 20 years in manufacturing, facility access and construction). A Boon Edam blog byline now styles Walt 'Senior Advisor at Automatic Entrances of WI, LLC'. No announcement of either change was found. source
  • 2026-06 to 2026-09
    New brand-guide logo files uploaded (June 2026; last modified Sept 1, 2026); homepage claims '35 consecutive national awards' from Stanley. source

Then and now

Founder and leadership
Bill Holcomb
Founder and owner (1976 to 2024)
Left Retired at close after nearly 50 years (announcement, Sep 2024) source
Jay Walt
Joined as salesman 1978; co-owner; President and CEO (1979 to 2025 per Cobalt's page); styled Vice President in earlier company posts
Stayed Continued after the sale; Cobalt now dates his CEO tenure to 2025 and Boon Edam's blog styles him Senior Advisor at Automatic Entrances of WI, LLC source
Steve Miller
Now EVP of Operations, Automatic Entrances of Wisconsin (Cobalt team page, Sept 2026) 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: No photograph of founder Bill Holcomb on any permitted source (hero photo is co-owner Jay Walt from the company's careers page); whether Walt has fully stepped back in 2025 (Cobalt dates his CEO tenure to 2025 and Boon Edam calls him Senior Advisor, but no announcement); whether Steve Miller or someone else now runs AEW day to day; the '35 consecutive awards' claim versus the 28 documented in 2021; current employee count; the pre-sale aewinc.net site content (not archived through this proxy); Google ratings (not fetchable).