What will the state of technology look like in 50 years and what can the high-speed door of the future do? Of course, one can only speculate about this. However, there is no question that EFAFLEX should be at the forefront of this issue. Because “Fast Forward,” the motto of this year’s company anniversary, is not only a review of what has been achieved so far, but also a promise to the future.

EFAFLEX doesn’t just produce high-speed doors: the company develops industry solutions specifically tailored to customer needs. Each product therefore responds to the real demands and requirements of a wide variety of industries. The fact that EFAFLEX, for example, has the fastest vertically opening door in the world in its portfolio, the EFA-STR®, is not just an end in itself. The development was not simply about breaking a record, but rather providing a maximally efficient solution that allows customers to reduce downtime and increase productivity.

Added Value as a Benchmark for Product Development

Likewise, other product features such as the exceptional robustness, the high quality, or the above-average longevity of EFAFLEX high-speed doors. Customer and solution orientation characterise the company’s 50-year history, which is of course also a product history: What started with the first high-speed door today includes a uniquely diverse portfolio that has made EFAFLEX the world market and technology leader for industrial doors.

Repeatedly, the bright minds and resourceful spirits at EFAFLEX have found new answers to the (demanding) questions of constantly changing industries. Folding doors are not flexible enough and cost too much energy and time? The cardan joint technology takes the folding door to a new level. Customers need an economical and space-saving solution? EFAFLEX invents the spiral door. Collision damage is a problem? The Active Crash System provides a remedy.

Door Specialists, Problem-Solving Experts

Or to put it another way: The EFAFLEX research and development department is passionate about delivering not only exceptional products, but solutions with real added value. The aim is not to reinvent the wheel – but to reinvent the high-speed door. Accordingly, there are three drive types in the EFAFLEX portfolio with spiral, rolling and folding technology, all of which have different advantages.

In addition, the number one in the market for industrial doors offers a variety of practical accessories and peripherals such as controls and sensors. Digitality is playing an increasingly important role – as it must be a given for a provider with the highest standards of innovative spirit in 2024. EFAFLEX recognised the potential of digital technology as early as 2009 with the first laser scanner for door systems. The Internet of Things solution EFA-SmartConnect is the latest station and the consistent continuation of this path.

Customer needs become Future Technology

But for EFAFLEX there is more to digitalization than just following a trend just to have a “smart” product on offer. The motivation was rather how technological progress can be used and applied sensibly to

the customers’ situation. In the case of EFA-SmartConnect®, for example, it is much easier to detect and quickly resolve faults or to monitor the general status of the doors without having to check each one individually in detail (and at great expense).

From EFAFLEX’s point of view, the question of how their portfolio will develop over the next 50 years and what the latest high-speed door will look like in 2074 can be answered very simply: exactly as customers need it at that point in time.

With the EFA-SRT® EasyFit, EFAFLEX is launching a flexible and robust solution in the sector of high-speed roll-up doors. Installation and commissioning take hardly any time at all.

The importance of high-speed roll-up doors in the manufacturing or transporting industry, but also beyond, is immense. Highest load-bearing capacity, long service life and all this with a good price-performance ratio, are the requirements that are placed on high-speed roll-up doors. The world market leader EFAFLEX now gives an answer to this with the EFA-SRT® EasyFit.

This door already impresses upon delivery of the parts. “The EFA-SRT® EasyFit comes in just one package and is already largely pre-assembled,” says Lukas Meyer, Head of Product Management at the door manufacturer, explaining the special feature. Add-on parts and cables are already permanently installed and pre-routed. The door cases are connected directly to the winding shaft via a joint and can be easily folded out during assembly.

Easy installation of EFA-SRT® EasyFit

The door can be brought directly to the desired position on the wall by forklift and installed there. This simple installation process makes it possible to commission several doors in a single day, which is a tremendous benefit especially for large customers, since it makes it much easier to plan for the installation of roll-up doors.

In addition, due to the narrow door cases of EFA-SRT® EasyFit, it is even possible to install two doors flush next to each other. At the same time, the door can be used even in confined spaces. The EFA-SRT® EasyFit is available in sizes from 750 mm to 4,000 mm in width and from 1,250 mm to 4,000 mm in height.

Door light grid guarantees safety for both man and machines

And as is standard with EFAFLEX, the EFA-SRT® EasyFit comes with highly efficient safety mechanisms included. “The door has a door light grid as a standard feature, which ensures the door closing edge is not a danger to anyone, without the need for contact, over the entire door width,” Meyer explains the device for the safety of man and machine. The principle is incredibly simple. “If the door light grid detects a person or an obstacle within the closing level, the movement of the door leaf is stopped immediately, even before any contact is made.” If there is a power failure, the EFA-SRT® EasyFit can also be opened manually by hand crank.

With 150,000 possible load cycles per year, with a life cycle of up to ten years, the door is very robust. The EFA-SRT® EasyFit opens at up to 1.5 metres per second and closes at up to 1.0 metres per second. The door curtain is available in a single colour in transparent as well as with warning stripes or viewing panel.

Low maintenance

Once in operation, the EFA-SRT® EasyFit is extremely low-maintenance and therefore has short downtimes, which on the one hand ensures effective and smooth operation and on the other hand also further improves the price-performance ratio, as every minute of downtime costs money.

So what makes EFA-SRT® EasyFit stand out? Product Manager Meyer summarises the facts once again: “It impresses with its ease of installation, even in confined spaces, its high safety standards and its durability despite the most intensive loads.”

“Fast Forward” is the motto under which EFAFLEX is celebrating its anniversary this year. Because speed is not only what characterises the products of the premium high-speed door provider, but also the speed with which the company has always moved towards the future.

If you constantly only look back, you quickly lose sight of the needs of today and the opportunities of tomorrow. That’s why the 50th anniversary at EFAFLEX is seen less as a look back at what was and more as a “go” for everything that is to come – creating innovations that are remembered instead of reminiscing. For EFAFLEX, the direction of movement was always forward – in particularly large steps. Today, in addition to the award for the fastest vertically opening door in the world, the company portfolio is also adorned with industry-changing milestones such as the first spiral door, the patented cardan joint technology and the door light grid, which is unique in the world.

Family business with aspirations for the future

After all, you don’t become a world market leader overnight or without reason. Over the last 50 years, EFAFLEX has always been ready to further develop itself and its solutions. The anniversary is therefore also confirmation that pioneering spirit, out-of-the-box thinking, and industry sensitivity pay off. The strong focus on solutions relating to industrial doors has made EFAFLEX the absolute specialists in this area. This is reflected not only in products that are increasingly tailored to actual customer needs, but also in a holistic service and a sales team in which every sales representative is an expert in high-speed doors. There is also a talent for using modern technology to add value: for example, the digital Internet of Things solution EFA-SmartConnect® or the BIM platform BIMObject®.

With a unique quality standard and awareness, EFAFLEX is now active worldwide and represented on five continents with eleven subsidiaries. Nevertheless, the solution provider has always remained a family-run, traditional company. Values ​​such as respect, loyalty and integrity were the basis for founding the company – and five decades later are still the foundation for any collaboration with and at EFAFLEX. This applies to customers and partners as well as employees.

Quality advantage thanks to Top Qualifications

Although EFAFLEX is famous for fast and safe spiral, rolling and folding doors, what defines the company are its people. On the one hand, there are the engineers who are constantly designing new innovations in their own research and development department; the employees working in assembly, who turn individual parts into usable premium solutions with unfailing precision and conscientiousness; and the perfectly trained service employees and service technicians who implement EFAFLEX’s high performance standards in maintenance and repair.

But even beyond the technical jobs, the entire workforce, from administration to sales, does outstanding work that makes the company the all-round provider that EFAFLEX is. In addition to the unique quality, performance and efficiency of the doors, customers and partners particularly value the individual advice and personal support. Instead of off-the-shelf products, EFAFLEX delivers tailor-

made solutions that are developed in close mutual collaboration.

Real Expertise for Long-Term solutions

Unconditional customer focus and a thoroughly customer-centric business approach are cornerstones of EFAFLEX’s ongoing success. It should hardly be surprising that the company has been the leading manufacturer of high-speed doors for almost half of its existence – a designation that EFAFLEX was the first to introduce over 40 years ago. After all, global players as well as small and medium-sized companies from a wide range of industries or public institutions rely on the top technology and top service from the premium provider headquartered in Bruckberg near Munich.

But what might come as a surprise to some people is that ecological and social responsibility has always played a role in EFAFLEX’s 50-year company history. Sustainability is not a trendy topic, but rather an integral part of the company philosophy – the keyword is “future-oriented.” This includes respectful collaboration at eye level with employees and partners worldwide or environmentally friendly value chains as well as products that enable customers to be more sustainable thanks to their properties. For example, the short opening and closing times of the high-speed doors make a significant contribution to minimising heat and cold losses – including significantly reduced energy consumption and a saving of up to two tons of CO₂ per year.

Quality awareness and Innovative spirit since 1974

Five decades have now passed since Manfred Seysen, Gabrijel Rejc, and Gustav Meyer founded EFAFLEX Tor- und Sicherheitsysteme GmbH & Co. KG in 1974. Nevertheless, the company still thinks and acts with the foresight that means lasting advantages for customers, and with the strong drive for innovation that always produces new top performances. The future can’t start fast enough for EFAFLEX, so why not continue to drive progress? “Fast forward.”

To the industry overview

What is actually important in a machine safety door? Sure, the opening and closing speeds play a role in order to avoid long downtimes and waiting times. But there is another factor that counts, particularly because the doors are predominantly used in an industrial and commercial setting: durability. Because only particularly durable solutions are also reliable, efficient and safe in the long term. EFAFLEX has just such a solution in its range with the EFA-SRT® MS Performance – and an industry record besides.

At first glance, the EFA-SRT® MS Performance is largely not so different to other machine safety doors. Door curtain, door case, control element: everything is in its expected place and in the high production quality you’d expect from the global market leader. But Lukas Meyer, Head of Production Management at EFAFLEX believes that “anyone who takes a closer look will quickly realise that the door is innovative on a number of levels and may redefine one standard or another in the industry.”

Redefining performance

The fact that “Performance” appears in the product name is no accident: the EFA-SRT® MS Performance is all about, well, performance. In concrete figures, that means up to 1 million load cycles per year in operation. “This performance is unique on the market,” Meyer knows, “particularly when you consider that we are talking about a long projected equipment service life of around twelve years here. This sort of performance, durability and reliability makes it possible to drastically reduce outage time and downtime in the long term.”

The other parameters of the moveable separating safety guard are also impressive. The EFA-SRT® MS Performance achieves above-average opening and closing speeds of up to 2.0 m/s – a major advantage for person and material flows and therefore for on-site productivity. 

Details with added value

EFAFLEX has never been a manufacturer whose only concern was “just” achieving certain maximum values on paper. Added value for the user plays the most important role in every new innovation, every design idea and every additional function. To some extent, the EFA-SRT® MS Performance takes this approach to the extreme. Because a whole range of details, features and extras can be tailored to customers’ specific needs.

This includes even relatively mundane but still practical elements like the choice of door curtain, which is made from flexible PVC as standard, is transparent and can be provided with warning marks in a variety of colours. Alternatively, the door curtain is also available made from transversely stable material in a range of colour variations with and without window.

Completely adaptable

“When it comes to flexible adaptability and customisation, though, the actual ‘secret weapon’ is the door case,” Meyer explains. These have been specially redesigned and are made from extruded aluminium profiles. “The door cases make it possible to fit a wide range of components – with infinite variability at any desired height. The doors can thus be equipped with sensors or fence connection and a total of up to four limit switches, for example.”

Thanks to the transparent frame cover, the door can also be fitted with LED strips and its functionality thus expanded to include a traffic light function. And the EFA-SRT® MS Performance has another special feature: the drive is not only high performance but also can be turned in 45 degree steps. As a result, the door can also be customised during installation and set-up and precisely tailored to its surroundings.

For a safe environment

The benefits of such a high degree of customisation are clear. On the one hand, the flow of people, vehicles or goods can be improved through tailored adjustment, and overall operational efficiency can thus be improved. On the other hand, employee protection and safety can be ensured with the help of appropriate add-ons.

The EFA-SRT® MS Performance also contributes to this in another way. For instance, the door has a safety light grid and manual emergency operation feature as standard. And because maintenance is an essential factor in long-term reliability and therefore also safety, the door has a hinged front cover and removable cable covers. This makes maintenance significantly easier – even though the EFA-SRT® MS Performance is already remarkably low-maintenance and characterised by the renowned robustness of EFAFLEX products.

Simple self-installation

The EFA-SRT® MS Performance still holds one more real highlight: customers can install the machine safety door themselves comparatively easily. To this end, EFAFLEX delivers a corresponding set-up manual and all of the necessary additional parts along with the door. “Self-installation was a common customer request,” says Meyer, “we have fulfilled it with the EFA-SRT® MS Performance.” The machine safety door is available in a range of variants, both for installation on the wall and as a self-supporting, free-standing version. 

The door also stands out with a space-saving and compact design which nevertheless allows for maximum dimensions of 3,500 mm in both height and width. An opening height of 4,000 mm can be achieved with a door case extension spiral. As a result, the door is a reliable solution in a wide range of application scenarios – and is a real high-performer among machine safety doors thanks to its high durability.

To the industry overview

What are the typical challenges faced by today’s airports, and how have EFAFLEX responded to match these niche needs?

Airports – there are more than 40,000 of them around the world, each transporting cargo, or passengers. The USA dominates the most popular top ten positions, with Jackson Atlanta International greeting over 75 million passengers in one year. Airline travel is on the increase, with the largest passenger traffic growth expected in the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Lower budget flights have become increasingly available as airlines vie to fill seats, resulting in passenger numbers soaring in recent years as more and more people take to the skies to speed up travel. With this added traffic comes increased pressure to safeguard against the risk of security threats, and the wider potential impact such as noise pollution and air quality.

Today’s airport challenges

• As traveler numbers increase, this has a knock on effect such as concerns for security and safety. The risk of terrorism threats and the recent pandemic means that airports need, more than ever before to ensure their facilities feel safe for their staff and paying customers.
• Combine this with consumers becoming increasingly impatient, with additional security checks and the risk of failing technology causing levels of stress to rise.
• Factor in labour shortages such as within baggage handling, with fewer people needing to do more.
• More passengers equals more baggage which in April 2022 alone resulted in 220,000 being lost, damaged or delayed. Think of the compensation and insurance claims!
• Increased numbers of customers mean an increase in meal preparation and additional pressure for the catering facilities.
• The list goes on.

Across the airport campus, these new and additional challenges can be grouped into two main types of solution being required; those that enable ‘speed’ of movement (people, goods, or logistics), and improving the  overall ‘safety’ throughout and around the facility.

How has EFAFLEX responded to these new challenges to these new challenges

Always looking to evolve, and improve their product offering to their growing customer base, and it’s little wonder that EFAFLEX have reacted to these changes; responding to introduce new door solutions, each with their niche features and functions, and all designed to improve speed and safety.

Take the journey from the initial car park, where the PS Series of doors are designed to open swiftly to prevent the risk of unwanted access. Move onto the check-in desks where their roll-up fabric, and spiral doors come in a variety of sizes to help speed up and manoeuvre baggage swiftly and safely to their next destination.

What’s new?

New to the range is the EFA-SRT® MHT Compact; a high-speed roll- up door which has an extended service life of around 10 years and designed to speed up busy baggage handling facilities.

Meanwhile the ATEX high-speed door is ideal for areas where potentially explosive substances are used, and classified into EX zones based on the probability of the occurrence of this atmosphere. The ATEX door within the EFAFLEX EX Series is designed and built to guarantee the highest levels of safety for people, products, and facilities.

Another new addition to the portfolio is the Secure door; available in either Resistance Class 3 or 4 (RC 3 or 4) – the first anti-burglary high-speed door which opens of speeds up to 1 metre per second.

Let’s not forget to feed our customers from the help of the catering facility and here again you could see the EFAFLEX TK100; an ingenious product which is the first truly single door solution for areas of temperature variants of between plus and minus 30°C to save energy usage.

Alexander Fuchs, EFAFLEX’s airport specialist helps to sum up, ‘Look at any airport facility and you can visualize how an EFAFLEX high-speed door can improve the speed and safety. From car parks to catering areas, from freight handling to fire departments, we have a door solution to match the niche needs. Our doors are designed to withstand the highest wind load, operate with maximum reliability and capable of performing thousands of cycles every week.’

Who have benefitted from EFAFLEX doors

EFAFLEX high-speed doors can be seen in airports around the world.

At Budapest where several have been installed to speed up and secure logistics within baggage handling, at Vienna where fire fighters must be able to reach every location around the airport within 3 minutes. Iceland to Ireland. Australia to Argentina. Canada to Croatia – they all benefit from the speed, security and safety which the EFAFLEX brand delivers.

To the industry overview

The automotive industry places the highest demands on machines and personnel. With its special doors for the automotive sector, EFAFLEX offers manufacturers and suppliers, among other things, maximum security, high availability, speed, robustness, durability, and high opening and closing cycles. Regardless of whether the door is used indoors or outdoors, in the production areas, in the climate chamber or on the production line. It is not for nothing that EFAFLEX counts well-known German and international groups among its customers. The door specialists find an efficient solution even for the most unusual conditions.

A mechanical arm that lifts a body panel and clamps it into a machine. A welding machine driving along a rail spraying sparks. A production line in which several robots simultaneously stamp devices into car roofs. Another in which paint is automatically sprayed onto bare plastic elements. A production hall in which two side parts are lowered onto a vehicle floor from above. A climate zone in which extreme temperatures, wind, and precipitation act on the automobile for test purposes. A test chamber in which emissions tests and light tests are carried out. “The automotive industry is very much characterised by automation, speed and parallel processes,” says Florian Anzeneder, Vice President Sales & Marketing at EFAFLEX, world market leader in the production of high-speed doors. Each area has its own specific requirements: for example, high thermal insulation to keep
temperatures constant; soundproofing to minimise noise levels around the workplace; Blackout to check lighting effects; flexible hangings so as not to damage objects; or transparency to allow insight into the work area at any time.

Protective device separates man and machine
An essential important factor that all door solutions for sensitive areas in the automotive sector have in common is security. Whether welding chamber, climate cell, production hall or robot line – wherever automated machine work takes place, the risk of accidents and malfunctions must be reduced to a minimum. “Our doors act as a separating protective device between machine and person,” says Florian Anzeneder. “We can equip them with appropriate characteristics.”

Opening only when stationary
Using the example of a press in the production process, he makes the importance of a controllable door solution clear: “Before the skilled worker can approach the machine to put material in, the door has to open – at that point, the machine is switched off. If he leaves the safety zone, the door closes again. Then the press starts and performs its operation. The door only opens again and grants access to the machine when it has finished its activity.” In short: the door recognises when the machine is running and only opens when it is at a standstill. Only in this way is the staff reliably protected.

Doors communicate with machines
A prerequisite for such a safe and coordinated process is the possibility of being able to integrate the door into the higher-level control system of the respective machine or system in order to ensure an appropriate signal exchange. According to Florian Anzeneder, EFAFLEX offers specific solutions for the needs of the automotive industry. “This includes special communication interfaces such as AIDA or Profinet Safe. Depending on the requirements, our doors can also stand freely in the room – of course they are just as safe as structurally integrated doors.”

High availability as a customer requirement
The availability of the doors is just as important to EFAFLEX customers as security, says Anzeneder: “Smooth processes at the workplace are only possible if the door works reliably over the long term.” EFAFLEX’s customers include well-known automobile manufacturers from Germany and internationally space and numerous supplier companies. “With our products, we offer the industry alternative solutions. Because we understand their needs and have more than four decades of experience in the field of high-speed doors, we can tailor the doors to any environment and meet the requirements for security, energy
efficiency and process optimisation.”

Comprehensive service package thanks to global positioning
Another important feature is the comprehensive service at EFAFLEX available in 65 countries worldwide, says Anzeneder. “We offer our customers the complete package, exclusively with specially trained and certified staff. Unlike other manufacturers in our industry, we do not work with external service providers. In this way, our customers receive everything from a single source.”

To the industry overview

There is hardly an industry that is not affected: disruptions within logistical processes can cause delays in the process or even failures of an entire production. Such incidents, in turn, harbor both a cost and an image risk for the respective company. With the EFAFLEX special doors for the logistics sector, customers contribute to making all processes in their company efficient, smooth and low-maintenance.

In the logistics area in particular, internal and external doors must be designed in such a way that they do not hinder the processes in the relevant areas. On the contrary: with the right door, numerous processes can even be optimised – an elementary competitive criterion in today’s world. The EFAFLEX special doors for the logistics sector meet these requirements precisely and offer the optimal solution for every situation, from the automatic high loading bays to deep-freeze facilities.

Every area of ​​application has its requirements
The EFA-SRT® MTL high-speed roller door, for example, is particularly suitable for intensive logistics applications with and without a conveyor system. It is characterised by up to 250,000 operating cycles per year and offers a high degree of flexibility with regard to equipment and safety configurations, both for operations with and without personnel. Its space-saving design blends in perfectly. The high-speed spiral door EFA-SRT® MS is particularly popular in the automotive industry in the vicinity of robots and conveyor systems.

From all-round use to the frozen food area
A real all-rounder, on the other hand, is the EFA-SRT® Premium high-speed roller shutter, which impresses above all with its resistance to high wind loads and its robust construction. When it comes to logistics processes in the deep-freeze area, customers from the food trade, for example, rely on the high-speed spiral door EFA-SST® TK 100. The one-door solution seals the door practically hermetically, and thanks to a sophisticated heating design, prevents the build up of condensation or ice. It works perfectly in a generous temperature range – between minus and plus 30 degrees Celsius.

All-round reliable construction
All EFAFLEX logistics doors convince with their robust, resistant and long-lasting construction, patented elements for high reliability and with a long service life with low maintenance intensity. High opening and closing speeds of up to 3.6 meters per second, excellent windproofness and the fulfillment of all material and functional safety requirements guarantee smooth operation.

Click for more logistic door solutions: www.efaflex.de.

The world food market generated over 8 trillion US dollars in 2020, but what impact did the global pandemic have in the short term, and what trends are likely to remain as we enter into a recovery state? Here we look at the factors influencing consumers and producers alike.

What impact did COVID have on the food industry?
At the beginning of the pandemic, many shoppers entered into panic buying, stockpiling certain goods which led to product shortages. Much of the food industry operates a ‘just in time’ model, which isn’t sufficiently agile to cater for peaks and abnormal purchasing. Agricultural food producers and their wider supply chain will have incurred significant losses during COVID while shoppers switched from food services, restaurants and take-aways forced to close, to buying produce to home cook instead. This added to the intentsity on supermarkets who reacted, rationed certain foods and switched capacity to key products.

The events of 2020 caused a fundamental reset in human behaviour. As we entered into lockdowns, so too did the trend to home cooking with a stocked pantry providing a sense of security. The panemic made consumers more aware of their well being; physical, mental and emotional, with food playing an important role as other priveldges and freedoms were compromised.

What are the trends that may be likely to remain?
Here are some of the trends that you may identify with during the pandemic.
– Increase in home cooking with ‘meal-kit’ companies such as HelloFresh™ experiencing a boom as consumers switched to the ‘hometainment’ – the experience of creative dining at home.
– A demand for manufacturers and producers to increasingly use natural ingredients, and a decreased use of artificial colours and flavors.
– An increase in vegetarian, vegan, and plant-based foods to provide meat and dairy free options for consumers. 2020 was the year where people relooked at their diet with over 13 million people in the UK cutting back on their meat consumption.
– The desire for convenient, protein-rich, and healthy food. The pandemic may have seen many of us working from home, but this didn’t necessarily increase our spare time and capacity to cook healthily.
– Online shopping – consumers looked for increased convenience during the pandemic with a third of people likely to continue to online shop.
– A focus on hygiene. The pandemic taught us about the importance of cleanliness, and hygiene.

How does EFAFLEX help the food industry?

As manufacturers of high-speed doors, the food and beverage industry is a significant sector, with customers using our products throughout the supply chain from source to fork.

Versatility, functionality, and durability are some of the key reasons why supermarkets and food producers have come to rely on our doors.

We have a range of products that have been specifically designed with the food industry in mind. Products that are fast to operate (opening up to 4 metres per second) to reduce exposure to the elements, minimise the risk of cross contamination, and maintain air quality. Doors that offer exceptional insulation from chill to deep freeze in zones that operate in temperatures of ±30°C.

The range includes doors that open using a spiral mechanism for speed (S Series), curtain fabric roll-up doors (EFA-SRT EC®) that offer the highest hygiene and easy to clean, and our deep freeze thermal door (TK) with its exceptional insulation properties.

Look around any food production facility, whether at the unloading bays, production areas, packing, storage, or dispatch areas, and EFAFLEX have a high-speed door to match these bespoke needs.

Demand driven shifts may have reshaped the global grocery market, but EFAFLEX has the ability and flexibility to adapt to these changes and support the food industry in their quest to provide food to consumers and supermarkets alike.  

Who are EFAFLEX and what do they manufacture?
EFAFLEX are global leaders in the design and manufacture of high-speed industrial doors. With a head office in Germany, they have a network of sales and distribution centres that enables them to supply products in over 53 countries including India. Each of their products have been design engineered to improve user safety, speed up logistical processes, whilst minimizing energy costs by as much as 50%.

What should I do if I am interested?
Simply click the website link here, to visit the Food Industry sector on our website where you can view our industry specific products.
Visit our website.

India is expected to have a popuation of 1.4 billion by 2025, surpassing China. This will create an upsurge in demand for housing, public transport, and infrastructure with the government planning to build 100 airports and 20 million affordable homes. If you are an architect working in India, and want to work smarter, faster and more accurately then BIM (Building Information Modelling) is a must for you!

What is Building Information Modelling?
BIM is a 3D digital modelling tool which aids architects, engineers, and construction professionals, by helping them to visualize, plan and predict a building projects profitability and total cost of ownership. It provides all project stakeholders with full transparency and product information including sizes, materials along with possible product positioning.

Whilst the concept of BIM has been in development since the 1970’s it only became an agreed term in the 2000’s with certain countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany being early adopters. Architects, planners, and construction companies embraced the many advantages that using BIM offered. With the expected increase of construction within India, there is now a need for designers and architects to adopt BIM to improve the efficiency and expedite the execution of projects inline with the more developed countries.

What are the benefits of BIM to me as an architect?
This is a frequently asked question. Architects can use various ways of working, whether that is with traditional methods of pencil and paper, or more modern computer-generated 3D modelling and artificial intelligence. Regardless of the way you prefer to design and create your visual impressions, BIM has advantages for you all.

What BIM offers: 
– Provides one shared portal for all stakeholders to view the progress in real-time
– Make planning easier and more accurate
– Improves visibility and informs better decision making
– Integrates multi-disciplinary data

Who are EFAFLEX and what do they manufacture?

EFAFLEX are global leaders in the design and manufacture of high-speed industrial doors. With a head office in Germany, they have a network of sales and distribution centres that enables them to supply products in over 53 countries including India.

Each of their products have been design engineered to improve user safety, speed up logistical processes, whilst minimizing energy costs by as much as 50%.

Why should their products be of interest to me as an architect?
Similar to architects, EFAFLEX provide a bespoke solution; creating a tailored door that matches the needs of the client. Within their range of products, they have high-speed door that opens using either a spiral, roll up or folding design. Their opening speeds are unsurpassed and their insulation properties are exceptional. Aesthetics and design features are of key importance too, such as colour matching to a building’s façade. They harmonize form, function, and design. With the construction of so many differing buildings taking place in India, EFAFLEX can offer an all-encompassing solution. They have designed industrial doors to suit virtually every industry sector including food and beverage, cleanroom, automotive, and manufacturing, with their products being used throughout facilities and at interior and exterior positions. They even have an ATEX high-speed door that is explosion proof!

What do EFAFLEX have to offer regarding BIM?
EFAFLEX have teamed up BIMobject® which is a global marketplace for the construction industry. On their portal you will find a spectrum of object categories ranging from electronics, fabrics, and flooring. Detailed downloadable technical files are included from over 2,000 brands such as Electrolux, AEG, and Duravit. There are over 25,000,000 downloads each year with users including architects around the world who all use the data files to help speed up, plan, and make costing calculations more accurate.

BIMobject feature the key EFAFLEX doors on their portal with files that are Revit, AutoCAD and ArchiCAD compatible.

What should I do if I am interested?
Simply click the website link here to visit the BIMobject portal on the EFAFLEX website where you can find out more and start downloading your files. 

Visit our website 

These are highly critical, even life-threatening situations: Oxygen and explosive matter mix in the air and with just a single spark, the combination explodes. Fires and pressure waves caused by explosions repeatedly cause major damage in factories. Special safety regulations therefore apply in hazardous areas: among other things, equipment, machines and all installations must be designed so that they prevent sparking from the outset. EFAFLEX manufactures roll-up and spiral doors for indoor and outdoor use especially for this purpose that meet these strict requirements – a reliable solution for every commercial area.

Gas, steam, mist, dust: when combined with atmospheric oxygen, these and other flammable substances can ignite. There are correspondingly vulnerable areas in many industries, including pharmaceuticals, mining, petrochemicals and metal processing. To guarantee comprehensive safety in these explosive atmospheres (French: Atmosphères Explosives, for short: ATEX), standardised directives apply throughout Europe. The specialists at EFAFLEX manufacture both roll-up doors and spiral doors for individual use in accordance with these regulations. In their search for the best product, they spent more than a year researching and developing, and also involved TÜV Süd in the processes. After all, doors should not only provide comprehensive protection against explosions, but also do so at all times in accordance with the regulations.

Safe solutions for explosive atmospheres
Both explosive gases and explosive dust-air mixtures can be responsible for the formation of explosive atmospheres. These two sub-areas are each dealt with separately in the associated EU standards. EFAFLEX has therefore developed its own suitable solution for each of them. Three components are needed to cause an explosion. The first: oxygen. This is always present in the air in sufficient quantities. Second: an explosive medium. The third component is an ignition source – one single spark from it is enough. You usually have no influence on the oxygen content and medium but you can make sure that there is no ignition source. In simple terms, this is the essential feature of these special doors.

All components interact efficiently
The design of the EFAFLEX explosion-proof door systems includes mechanical and electrical precautions so no spark can occur anywhere to cause an ignition. All elements work together and have the appropriate ATEX certificate depending on their purpose and quality. These include the activators and safety. Everything that EFAFLEX installs or attaches directly to the door is therefore safe. All electrical/electronic components used in the door are connected in the control cabinet, which is mounted outside the hazardous area. Each individual door is manufactured in compliance with directives according to customer specifications in the company’s own factories. The customer informs the EFAFLEX specialists of the prevailing hazardous situation inside or outside their company premises above ground. They build the door system based on these parameters. Good for the customer: it is available in various dimensions including customised sizes – whether it’s for a production plant, warehouse building or paint shop.

Customised features for all purposes
The door systems for these demanding applications are therefore fundamentally different, as they are always adapted extremely precisely to their areas of use. For example, the roll-up door for ATEX applications, EFA-SRT® EX, has a frequency converter and a microprocessor control as standard. In addition, there are dynamic door-blade tensioners, counteracting equipment using springs as well as a hand lever on the door case for easy manual operation, for example in the event of a power failure. It is designed for indoor use and equipped with a likewise certified black, non-transparent ATEX special curtain as well as all-round modern technology. Provision is also made for emergencies: if the power fails, for example, the doors can be opened quickly using a hand lever. The ATEX high-speed spiral door (EFA-SST® EX) can be installed both inside and outside. One of its characteristics is its fixed door leaf, which is extremely fast to open and close. It seals completely tight and also withstands high wind forces at any time.

Proven EFAFLEX quality and customised production
What both door solutions have in common is their inherently high opening and closing speed as well as their durability. They are extremely robust and reliable and can complete millions of openings. In addition, they are designed in such a way that they do not injure anyone when moving up and down and do not cause any damage, for example, to vehicles underneath them or any obstacles that have accidentally got in their way. It doesn’t get any safer than this!

Read more

Would you like to find out more about the explosion-proof door solutions from EFAFLEX? 

Click here here for more information.