SELECTING a high speed door is not all that simple. It requires significant product and applications knowledge to ensure the appropriate solution is chosen for a specific operation.
Wim Dessing, sales executive at Apex Strip Curtains, highlights that incorrect selection can impact on the efficiency of an operation and lead to additional costs being incurred.
“Factors such as size of opening, frequency of opening and closing and the volume of vehicular traffic must be taken into consideration,” he explains. “Purchasing a high speed door is not about selecting something from a catalogue during a quick office meeting. It is essential that a company with the correct level of knowledge does a comprehensive application-specific assessment and then presents the best overall solution.”
Fast opening and closing actions of the Apex high speed door not only improves productivity levels, but also enhances supply chain activities. These doors do not hinder personnel, forklift or vehicular traffic and, depending on the actual operation, can be either automatically or manually controlled.
Dessing says that, in addition to selecting an appropriate high speed door solution, it is also essential to deal with a company whose products are manufactured according to high quality standards and will stand the test of time. Apex Strip Curtains undertakes thorough quality testing of all working components of the high speed doors it supplies and this ensures complete customer reassurance.
The electronic units of the Traffic and Sector high speed doors, which form part of the company’s range of solutions, comply with all IEC regulations and can be activated by any type of remote control equipment including photocells, pressure sensitive mats, movement detectors or induction loops. The counterweight balancing system is designed for high standards of performance and safety as well as fast semi-automatic reopening. The built-in automation unit protects the components from wear caused by the elements.
For the safety conscious business, the high speed doors available from Apex Strip Curtains feature a proximity sensor. This ensures that these high speed doors will not accidentally close while a vehicle or person is positioned in the open doorway.
In instances where doors need to be opened for short periods of time to allow the passage of vehicles, the Apex Traffic high speed door is the best option. This door is ideally suited to outdoor access applications in shipment areas and warehouses. Available in sizes up to 8 000 mm wide and 8 500 mm high, the door is a robust and aesthetically pleasing solution for medium and large entrances.
Standard Apex Traffic high speed doors can resist wind speeds of up to 50 km/h although a custom model which can withstand winds up to 90 km/h is also available. The material of construction is a strong self-extinguishing Class 2 fabric with excellent thermal insulation properties with a supporting structure made from high quality galvanised steel. Vision windows can be incorporated into the panels.
Installation is quick and easy as all the electrical drive gear and a special mechanical counterbalancing system is housed within the support structure. Doors are fitted with a safety release lever that opens it from either side in the event of a power failure or malfunction.
The fast acting Sector high speed door uses the same exclusive counterbalancing system as the Traffic door, and also has an extension spring activated by a release lever to facilitate semi-automatic re-opening. This door is compact, structurally flexible and has interchangeable transparent or coloured panels.