The key factor for us in selecting these doors is their high speed," explains Dietmar Dierauf. He is in charge of maintenance and current construction projects at Werkzeugbau Siegfried Hofmann GmbH. "We are a metalworking company. Our products are manufactured in the two-thousandths range. That's why we have 22 degrees Celsius in all areas of our production. If the doors were to open or close too slowly, we would need considerably more energy to heat or cool our halls. Or we would suffer a loss of quality. And no company can afford that." Some of the ten high-speed industrial doors are therefore arranged as door locks. This means that when the doors are opened, only the relatively small space in the door sluice can cool down because only one door is opened at a time.

Also in focus: noise protection
All doors can be operated by the forklift drivers using a remote control on which the respective door numbers are stored. "In addition to the high opening and closing speed of the doors, noise protection is also an issue for us," explains Dietmar Dierauf. "We want our employees to have a pleasant working atmosphere, even though the doors open and close around 27,000 times a year. They write and measure, so they need to be able to concentrate on their work. To do this, they need peace and quiet."

Resilient and stable
This is one of the reasons why EFA-STR are used as interior doors for the locks. With an opening speed of up to 4 m/s, the high-speed turbo roller shutter is not only incredibly fast, but also extremely quiet, low-maintenance, highly resilient and extremely stable. It is designed for 200,000 load changes per year. The flexible door leaf is guided laterally and moved up and down in a friction-locked manner, eliminating elongation. It consists of four-span module segments, which can also be replaced individually in the event of damage. This reduces repair costs and downtime in the event of damage. The door leaf itself is made of PVC-coated polyester fabric. Aluminum profiles reinforce the curtain at 225 millimetre intervals. The door leaf is not wound onto a shaft, but is held at a space-saving distance in the Efaflex spiral. This functional principle guarantees a number of advantages: It combines high opening speeds, as well as durability and effectiveness. Thanks to the spiral, the industrial doors run quietly and wear-free.

Smart collision protection thanks to sensors
The EFA-STR can be optionally supplemented with the Active Crash System. The intelligent EFA-ACS collision protection ensures a fully automatic, electronically monitored return of the blind after a collision. In the event of a collision, the detachably connected slats are pushed out of the guide undamaged. An inductive sensor system registers this and rejoins the door leaf and frame safely and correctly during the slowed upward movement.

About Efaflex
Efaflexproduces high-speed doors for industrial applications. The company works for customers in industry, trade, food production and the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, among others, and employs more than 1,200 people worldwide. Headquartered in Bruckberg, Bavaria, Efaflex is firmly anchored as the largest employer in the region. The company also taps into international markets with ten subsidiaries on five continents. Efaflex generates over 50 percent of its turnover abroad.

About Werkzeugbau Siegfried Hofmann
Hofmann is a specialist in toolmaking and mechanical engineering. Founded in 1958, the third-generation family-run company now employs more than 400 people. The development and manufacture of complex injection molding tools has been one of Werkzeugbau Siegfried Hofmann's core competencies since the early years. From the design to the production of the tools, Hofmann offers everything from a single source and can draw on a large repertoire of injection molding technologies. In recent years, the mechanical engineering division, which offers solutions for series and special machine construction, has also grown considerably. The toolmaking and mechanical engineering divisions also combine their expertise for complete projects involving the full automation of the injection molding process.