Sustainable practices are becoming increasingly important, especially in buildings, where there is significant potential for savings. One solution is a certified high-speed door from EFAFLEX, which drastically reduces energy consumption and thus makes a building more valuable.

The EU’s Green Deal, mandatory regulations in national laws, high energy costs, and the advancing climate crisis – the importance of sustainable action is growing. Initially dismissed as a buzzword by green ideologists, it is now clear that slowing down climate change cannot succeed without more sustainability. Industry, in particular, bears the responsibility and obligation to develop and implement effective and meaningful measures against climate change. Renewable energies, such as wind or solar power, are extremely important but alone are not sufficient to significantly mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.

Buildings Cause Around 40 Percent of CO₂ Emissions

An equally important and decisive role is played by the construction and renovation of buildings, as they are responsible for approximately 40 percent of emissions in Germany alone. With proper insulation, resource-conserving construction methods, and, for example, the installation of energy-efficient door and gate solutions, enormous amounts of energy and thus CO₂ can be saved.

Legal requirements, such as the Supply Chain Act, further increase the pressure. It stipulates that companies with 1,000 or more employees must ensure compliance with environmental standards in their supply chains. In addition to the Supply Chain Act, in the coming years, all larger companies in the EU will be required to submit an annual sustainability report, detailing the specific achievements in this area within their company. The goal is to commit companies to sustainable action and to create transparency and comparability in the field of sustainability across Europe. Through the measures described above, this value must also be improved in the company’s own buildings.

EFAFLEX High-Speed Doors Significantly Aid Energy Savings

One solution is the high-speed doors from industrial door world market leader EFAFLEX. With these doors, it is possible to consume significantly less energy, thereby saving CO₂ and costs. Two factors are decisive here: firstly, the high-speed doors have excellent insulation, with measured U-values of up to 0.62 W/m²K. Secondly, EFAFLEX doors are known for their high speeds. Combined with sophisticated sensor technology, the open times are limited to the minimum necessary duration. The doors open as briefly as possible and only when truly needed. This restricts air exchange and the loss of energy to the outside air to the absolute minimum. Especially in areas with numerous door cycles per day, week, and month, this effect is significantly amplified.

Additionally, the reliability and longevity of the world market leader’s doors contribute to more sustainability within the company. Fewer resources are needed, and less energy is required for production. Furthermore, transport routes are saved, and water consumption in production decreases, as the doors need to be replaced less frequently.

Making Sustainability Visible

A major task is to make sustainability visible and usable in real numbers, as the values often determined in theoretical tests appear somewhat different in real-world use. At least for the installation of industrial doors, this requirement has now been solved. EFAFLEX has developed the EFA Energy-Saver, a digital tool that simply and self-explanatorily presents savings through high-speed doors from the world market leader. These values were created based on a study by the Technical University of Munich and were accompanied and verified by a neutral party. The operation of the freely accessible tool on the company’s website is straightforward: depending on the usage environment, factors such as door size, number of doors, desired indoor temperature, door openings per day, productive days per year, and heating costs per kWh can be individually adjusted. Additionally, a conventional sectional door is available as a comparison object. Once all values are entered, the Energy-Saver determines the energy-saving potential in the specific case and presents the result in three units:

• Energy consumption in kWh/year
• Reduction of CO₂ emissions in tonnes/year
• Energy costs in euros/year

In the coming months, EFAFLEX will expand this tool to include a cooling function, so it will also calculate savings for cooling energy.

Certificates Confirm Product Sustainability

In addition to reliable data on the specific sustainability of a product, many companies require certificates confirmed by neutral parties. These documents from independent institutes ensure that a particular product meets internationally valid sustainability criteria. The product undergoes an intensive examination that goes far beyond the mere end product. Already the origin of the raw materials for production as well as the production process are subject to strict reviews. For example, water, energy, and raw material consumption for the creation of the product are precisely documented and evaluated. Only when these values meet the defined criteria is a sustainability certificate finally awarded.

Industrial door world market leader EFAFLEX has several products certified by the ift Rosenheim Institute. Among them are, for example, the two high-speed spiral doors EFA-SST® and EFA-STT®, which have both an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and the Sustainability Product Pass. An EPD serves to transparently and comparably present the sustainable properties of a product. The Sustainability Product Pass, on the other hand, demonstrates to what extent a product supports building certification, for example according to LEED or DGNB.

Sustainability Labels Increase the Value of Buildings

A label from LEED or DGNB increases the financial value of a building by proving that sustainable materials and processes were used in its construction. The importance of sustainability certificates is growing because both commercial and private customers expect reliable evidence before making a purchasing decision.

In summary, the demand for products that are fair, durable, socially responsible, and resource- and environmentally friendly is increasing as described. Meanwhile, there are over 2.8 million product units with a sustainability label – trend rising. The customer now has the opportunity to make a direct comparison: Which product is truly more sustainable – based on neutrally tested values – and ultimately offers the greatest savings in CO₂, electricity, and the resulting energy costs? Because only through sustainable action can economic success be ensured in the future.

Industrial door world market leader EFAFLEX offers the complete solution in the field of high-speed doors: energy-efficient products, reliable and neutral data on energy savings, and generally recognized sustainability certificates.

What does sustainability actually mean? Sure, dictionaries give a pretty clear definition here. But what does it mean in practice to be sustainable, especially for companies? This question can be examined very well using the example of EFAFLEX. The company has been consistently expanding its own sustainability since the company was founded 50 years ago – and even in its anniversary year, it looks more to the future than to the past.

For EFAFLEX, sustainability means taking tomorrow into account today. And: take responsibility. After all, it is the manufacturing industry that has to deal particularly intensively with challenges such as resource conservation, reduction of CO₂ emissions and secure supply chains. Many of these topics have only become widely known in recent years. However, they were also relevant five decades ago. Therefore, sustainable action played a fundamental role at EFAFLEX right from the start (even though no one spoke of “sustainability” back then).

For people, by people

There is a simple reason for this: Much of what falls under the heading of “sustainability” today is an indispensable part of EFAFLEX’s corporate DNA. For example, the company has always focused on people. Social responsibility continues to shape corporate activities in many ways to this day.

Unfortunately, value chains free of human rights violations or an open working atmosphere characterised by affirmation and respect are not a given in many places today – but at EFAFLEX they are. In addition, the company is involved in a variety of projects, initiatives, and sponsorships both at home and abroad.

Sustainability through Quality

The quality factor is also inextricably linked to EFAFLEX. Of course, a high-quality product does not necessarily have to be sustainably manufactured; in many cases the opposite is probably the case. But for EFAFLEX, exceptional product quality always meant selecting all materials and every component, no matter how small, very precisely, consciously, and with great care. This is why the company does not source raw materials, electrical products etc. from the other side of the world, but primarily from European or, at best, even regional suppliers.

On the other hand, the high-quality standards of EFAFLEX also ensure other forms of sustainability: Because the doors are manufactured so conscientiously, their product lifespan is well above average. This longevity saves enormous resources overall. If a door still needs to be disposed of, EFAFLEX has taken this into account: all products can be recycled according to type.

Reduces the CO₂ footprint

Long before politics and the public discussed energy efficiency, the topic had also become a practice at EFAFLEX. Simply because of the company’s strong customer orientation: In order to keep the operating costs of the doors low, they consume relatively little energy. With their fast opening and closing speeds, they also help keep local productivity high – while avoiding heat or cold loss between the separate areas.

This also saves energy costs and up to 2 tons of CO₂ per year. What at first sounds like “accidental sustainability” or sustainability as a side effect, however, is the result of intelligent design and a comprehensive awareness of various relevant aspects in product development.

Elsewhere, the sustainability efforts (and successes) of EFAFLEX are clearly recognisable as such: for example, when it comes to making the company increasingly digital and paperless or by promoting the eMobility via own charging stations on the company premises. It quickly becomes clear that becoming increasingly sustainable for EFAFLEX does not mean meeting external requirements. It is an almost natural process, as the claim has always been part of the company’s DNA in some form.

You never stop learning. This applies even to an experienced company like EFAFLEX that has been a leader for many years. Because willingness to learn and curiosity are prerequisites for ever new peak performance. The company therefore invests in its sales department, especially in terms of knowledge transfer, specialist expertise and further training – because this has formed the backbone and basis for EFAFLEX’s business success for 50 years.

If a company only has a handful of products and perhaps only serves a very specific industry, the advice will be fairly straight forward and uniform. Things look a little different at EFAFLEX: Here, a portfolio with an enormous range meets an extremely diverse customer base. Not only is every application scenario unique, but every door can also be adapted precisely to the needs of operators and users through accessories, peripherals, and individualization measures. In the case of EFAFLEX, sales success is therefore equated with consulting skills and detailed specialist knowledge.

Build and expand specialist knowledge

Of course, the field staff at EFAFLEX are not service technicians or engineers (at least usually). But in order to find the best possible solution for customers given the complex overall situation, reliable expertise is essential. That’s why EFAFLEX set up its own training program a few years ago: the EFAFLEX Sales Academy.

Both EFAFLEX employees and external sales partners are equipped with absolute top know-how and are kept up to date with the latest technology through regular training. The result is a quality of advice that, not without reason, has given EFAFLEX a reputation as an unimpeachable door specialist.

International Sales Success

And the title of world market leader: 50 years after the company was founded, EFAFLEX can proudly claim to be number one on the market for high-speed industrial doors. The field service and the sales network, which now extends across five continents, also made a decisive contribution to this. Thanks to the reliable knowledge base, the sales team is able to find the optimal combination of product, service, and accessories for each customer. Constant availability in the form of personal contacts as well as respect and transparency round off EFAFLEX’s outstanding sales work – and are the basis for another 50 years of global business success.

Since time immemorial, EFAFLEX, the world market leader for industrial high-speed doors, has set the very highest standards for quality and durability. The “Next Generation” high-speed doors now offer a novel concept delivering many advantages.

Just in time for their 50th anniversary, EFAFLEX is launching the next stage in the evolution of its spiral doors, to maintain its reputation as the solution provider for every requirement: the “Next Generation” high-speed doors, which offer a uniform basic concept that can be customised based on a modular principle.

Four door types are available in three levels, so that a total of twelve door variants are available. In addition, these variants can be configured with different equipment packages or individually designed. Special requests such as a slanted end-shield or the placement of the control in the curtain box can be implemented at any time.

Pivotable frame covers simplify maintenance and repair

The Premium versions of the “Next Generation” doors come standard with safety equipment including the EFA-TLG® door light grid, a manual emergency opening lever and spring breakage detection in both frames. In addition, the symmetrical door design features pivotable frame covers which significantly simplify maintenance and repair – especially in combination with EFA-SmartAssist®. EFA-SmartAssist® is a digital support tool that provides remote diagnostics by trained EFAFLEX employees using a video function.

At the same time, the quality of the product is also improved by the use of identical parts and the standardisation of the door construction for all four door types. The doors can withstand 500,000 load cycles per year, which makes the doors extremely sustainable. But this focus on sustainability starts as early as the production stage. Thanks to the uniform design of “Next Generation” high-speed doors, they leave the factory with an already significantly reduced carbon footprint.

Energy consumption is also reduced as your buildings are used, with the amount of savings depending on the door configuration. EFAFLEX provides you with a “sustainability product passport” that includes all the necessary information about the sustainability of the door. This passport can be helpful for certifying your building.

The “Next Generation” high-speed door types at a glance

Now we take a closer look at the four different door types and their special features:

• The EFA-SST® Therm offers outstanding insulation due to thermally separated EFA-THERM® insulation laths. This creates an enormous insulating effect that minimises thermal energy losses – perfect for closures in halls, buildings and also for noise protection applications.
• The EFA-SST® Alux is very robust in its construction thanks to double-walled aluminium laths and can withstand up to 400,000 load cycles per year. In addition, the door system is certified according to DIN EN 12424 with Wind Class 5, i.e. it can operate even under the highest wind loads and offers the option of certified Resistance Class 2 (WK2/RC2) when appropriately configured. This applies to all doors with the exception of the EFA-STR® Flex.
• The EFA-STT® Clear high-speed turbo door offers an impressive opening speed of up to 3.2 m/s. Together with the EFA-CLEAR® transparent laths, which ensure a clear view with open lines of sight, this door offers extra  levels of safety  in applications involving high volumes of people. The transparency of the door curtain provides a lot of daylight and thus offers potential savings on electricity. The door is also an absolute eye-catcher, by the way.
• The EFA-STR® Flex high-speed turbo roll-up door with opening speeds of up to 4.0 m/s enables efficient and fast logistics. The basis for this enormous speed is the door leaf, which is made of PVC-coated polyester fabric and reinforcements made of aluminium profiles, in combination with EFAFLEX spiral technology. The combination of flexible curtain and solid keder profiles is unique on the door market and also allows segments of the door leaf to be replaced individually.

In addition, EFAFLEX offers equipment packages for each door to meet individual requirements in special applications.

Packages for individual requirements

The ‘cold weather’ package is particularly suitable for use at -1 to -25 degrees, while the process package is used primarily in logistics and manufacturing. In addition, there are also the “Security 1” and “Security 2” packages, which are provided with a mechanical or automatic locking mechanism. The door lock is then connected to the alarm system in each case.

It has never been easier to get a door that can be individually adapted to every need and that combines robustness, durability and sustainability – not to mention the usual EFAFLEX quality. So, help your building “Fast Forward” – the anniversary motto of EFAFLEX – and make it fit for the future with a “Next Generation” high-speed door from EFAFLEX.

Based in Bruckberg in Bavaria, door manufacturer EFAFLEX has been present on the market for 50 years and has grown into the world market leader in the field of industrial high-speed doors, with over 1,400 employees and representatives on all continents. Nowadays, EFAFLEX offers custom, high-quality door solutions for every industry and every requirement.

An important component of EFAFLEX’s door systems is the spiral, which enables a quiet, fast and almost wear-free winding of the door leaf. This technology helps ensure that EFAFLEX doors are durable, robust and sustainable, as they achieve a much higher number of door cycles than comparable doors from other companies.

It feels like every company is talking about digital transformation. And EFAFLEX? Just do it: digitalization has long been in full swing here. The best example of this is the service offering of the world market leader. This advantageously uses modern technology and continues a tradition that has defined EFAFLEX’s service for 50 years..

Half a century of company history also means half a century of technical progress. It has gained such momentum, especially in the last two decades, that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the useful tools and technologies from those of no real use. However, this is exactly where one of EFAFLEX’s strengths has always been: closely monitoring every development, but not unconditionally following every trend. The digital solutions used in the service area therefore offer real added value and optimally put the motto of this year’s company anniversary, “Fast Forward”, into practice.

Networking, Management, Simplification

At the forefront is the Internet of Things solution EFA-SmartConnect®. In keeping with Industry 4.0, this connects high-speed doors with mobile devices such as smartphones. Using the associated app, operators can check the status of their doors at any time and immediately determine any defects, damage, and malfunctions. Anyone who is part of the exclusive EFAFLEX partner program – and therefore benefits from a whole range of other advantages – can also contact the company directly via the app and order a repair.

Of course, even if you are not a member of the partner program or use EFA-SmartConnect®, the EFAFLEX service technicians will take care of every repair immediately and with the utmost care – even if it is not an EFAFLEX door. Because the service mentality is what sets EFAFLEX apart from its innovative and reliable products. When people talked about quality over the past 50 years, at EFAFLEX they always meant service.

Digital Data as a Secret Weapon for Efficiency

To ensure this quality, the company regularly conducts training courses. After all, the EFAFLEX service network now extends over 80 countries and what was once a regional operation has long since become an international company with corresponding responsibility. Maintaining your own service excellence at a consistently high level everywhere is a challenge, but at the same time there is no alternative: every single customer must be able to rely 100 percent on EFAFLEX without exception, according to the company’s claim.

For this reason, the company maintains an extensive database that stores detailed information about each door. If a customer needs to change components, the EFAFLEX service employees immediately know which spare part is needed.

Support at every Point of the Product Lifecycle

Of course, as a digitalized company, EFAFLEX also uses the BIM platform BIMobject® (BIM = Building Information Modeling). For EFAFLEX, the service concept begins with the planning. Once the door has been installed and put into operation, the solution provider supports its customers with professional maintenance and reliable availability in emergencies.

Because all services at EFAFLEX are designed to ensure that things go “fast” – quickly – “forward” – forward or further – and that the customer’s productivity remains high. Through the clever and sensible use of digital possibilities, this is guaranteed – even in the next 50 years.

“Made in Germany” is still a seal of quality in many ways. Of course, the Federal Republic has not simply earned its reputation for delivering outstanding engineering work and reliable products. The reason is companies like EFAFLEX, which represent Germany with premium quality in the world – and have done so for many decades.

In the case of EFAFLEX, it is exactly five decades this year. During this time, a small business has become an internationally active company. Today EFAFLEX is represented in 80 countries. And it stands for everything that defines the “Made in Germany” seal: high engineering art that offers maximum reliability, precision, and product quality. Users and customers worldwide associate the seal with products that have gone through strict quality controls and are valued for their longevity, innovation, and efficiency.

Solutions for people

However, the EFAFLEX brand stands for much more. The core idea of ​​the company philosophy is to develop premium solutions by, with and for people. Machine safety doors, for example, are ultimately intended to protect users from machines instead of the other way around, and cleanroom doors aim to ensure hygienic standards and thus the safety of consumers. Every detail of EFAFLEX products and services is therefore geared towards human added value.

This also applies to external and internal collaboration. Of course, EFAFLEX is a business company and profit, growth and financial security undoubtedly play a role. However, they never come at the expense of the company’s integral values ​​of respect, loyalty, and integrity. Appreciation and cooperation on an equal level are what characterise interactions within the company, as well as exchanges with customers and cooperation with partners.

Represent respect

EFAFLEX is a family business through and through. Not only because the company is now run by the second generation and is still independent, but also because family values ​​continue to shape the company DNA to this day.

With its 50th anniversary, EFAFLEX is also celebrating proof that economic success can be implemented and reconciled with solidarity, consideration, and fairness. Perhaps this is a value that the “Made in Germany” seal also represents – at least as far as EFAFLEX is concerned.

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 high-speed industrial 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 for high-speed industrial doors, 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 high-speed 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 industrial 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.”

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.