With the Innovation Center at the Cologne-Porz site, Deutz has been offering its employees a space for working on ideas, prototype development and project work since November of last year. It has a flexible design and is equipped with state-of-the-art technology - and its feel-good design is intended to help make visions a reality. Deutz has installed two Efaflex EFA-SFT Therm high-speed folding doors to enable engines, tractors and other large equipment to be brought into the 380 square meter building.

"Around 40 different high-speed doors from Efaflex are already providing reliable service here at the plant," explains Harald Krämer, responsible for the plant infrastructure at Deutz in Cologne. "So it made sense to rely on the premium manufacturer's doors again in this modern building." Michael Halfen, Head of the Agile Competence Center at Deutz, emphasizes the importance of the doors for the building: "We are located here in the creative heart of our company. Ideas grow beyond departmental boundaries in these rooms, which, according to our vision, should be implemented within a day using the most modern means." For this plan to become reality in the shortest possible time, effective planning and logistics are required in the Innovation Center. All participants and components have to work together perfectly. That's why the doors also have to work reliably.

Door leaves leave the driveway clear
The appearance of the doors fits in well with the theme of innovation, according to those responsible for construction at Deutz. The planners opted for the folding doors for various reasons - for example, because of the crane runway, which allows heavy equipment to be moved. It would not have been possible to install any other door. In addition, the door leaves must not block the driveway in front of the building. This is why the folding doors were the obvious choice. In the EFA-SFT Therm door types used in the Innovation Center, a decisive new development was introduced in the door curtain: The highly insulating door leaf consists of a frame made of thermally separated sheet steel profiles and 40 millimeter thick EFA-Therm slats. These thermally separated slats, which come as standard, achieve a level of thermal insulation that was previously not available for folding doors. Specially developed for external applications and due to the high level of thermal insulation, this door type meets the high requirements for installation in an existing building, for example in the case of energy-efficient refurbishment. The doors also have a positive effect on the energy efficiency of new industrial buildings. A PMMA infill is available as an option. With new retaining strips in the door leaf, the infill elements can be replaced quickly and easily.

There are various options for optimally adapting the folding door to any façade. The surface of the door leaf in the Innovationcenter was provided with a special coating according to the DB color chart as requested by the customer. A safety edge and a safety light barrier ensure door safety. If the safety edge encounters an obstacle during the closing process, the door leaf stops, the door system opens completely and closes automatically after the hold-open time. The safety light barriers built into the sides of the frames are offset to the door closing level. The height of the safety light barriers is variable. For additional protection, an optional light grid can be fitted to the frames to monitor the area in front of the closing level up to a height of 1.755 millimetres. The light grid prevents the door system from closing if an obstacle is detected.