High-Speed Roller Doors

A roller doors case study from the world of manufacturing offers useful pointers in upgrading legacy warehouses that run fast-moving logistics scenarios.

Established 30 years ago in the buildings of a former concrete factory, Telford-based Hager UK Limited has transformed the site into a high-calibre modern manufacturing base. It is a leading provider of solutions and services for electrical installation in residential, commercial, and industrial building, with products ranging from power distribution, cable management and cabling accessories to building automation and security systems.

As the company grew, so the buildings needed to be modernised. The internal doors were also gradually replaced, but this did not bring the desired results. For this reason, the factory planners decided to assess an EFA-STT® high-speed spiral door from Efaflex.

The first door was installed in 2020, intended as a test to replace and upgrade the old roller doors at the factory. The test was an undoubted success. In addition to opening speeds of up to 3 m/s, the door offers maximum wind resistance and can be supplied in standard sizes of up to 8,000 mm in width to 7,800 mm in height.

Plenty of daylight

Thanks to slats made of crystal-clear acrylic glass, the door leaf of the EFA-STT® is more than 70 percent transparent and allows plenty of daylight into the production areas. The unobstructed view through the door brings decisive advantages: accidents are avoided, and smooth transport processes are guaranteed.

The door leaf of the EFA-STT® is kept at a distance in a spiral. Thanks to contact-free winding, the transparent slats remain virtually wear-free and ensure a clear view for years to come. Due to the individual design of the slats, the EFA-STT® can be adapted to the desired application. All visible sections of the door are made of PVC-free acrylic glass as standard. Any combination with grey coloured slats is also possible on request. A translucent lamella look is also optional. This allows full incidence of light and at the same time protects against prying eyes.

More orders announced

For Hager UK, the EFA-STT® was equipped with the EFA-TLG® door light grid, which monitors the closing level of the door up to a height of 2.5 metres. Infrared rays create an almost flat light grid that can detect even the smallest obstacles without contact and, in this case, stops the door movement immediately. The door light curtain was integrated into the factory’s existing safety equipment.
In 2021, due to the favourable experience with the first door, another was ordered from Efaflex UK. A heavily worn high-speed door with a textile curtain was to be replaced. For this application, the planners opted for an EFA-SST®-S high-speed spiral door. Thanks to the efficiency of the Efaflex technicians, the old door could be replaced and the new one handed over ready for operation within two days. Hager UK has also announced that it will order further systems for the exchange of old doors from Efaflex in the coming years.