Hörmann, the industrial door and loading bay manufacturer, has long enjoyed a reputation for leading the way in product quality and is on target for another outstanding year.

Alan-Jenkins-1[6]Hörmann’s product range stands out as one of the most advanced on the market and it continues to win orders from customers of all sizes and in all sectors.

In a market first, Hörmann is making it easier for industry professionals to design projects using their products with two major innovations. Construction professionals can now easily specify Hörmann products for builds and project work, following the company’s decision to turn its doors into digital ‘BIM objects’. In a second breakthrough Hörmann’s Architects’ Program on its website lets specifiers generate individual texts for invitation of tenders quickly and conveniently, using drawings of Hörmann products.

Alan Jenkins, Sales Director at Hörmann (UK) Ltd spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.

Warehouse & Logistics News – Alan, you must be a busy man! How has 2016 started for you?

Once again it’s been a busy start to the year. We’ve carried a number of big shed projects over from 2015 and have already seen a further 20 orders come in to our major projects team. Business is also looking positive with smaller projects and within the service department.

WLN – Can you talk us through your current industrial product range?

Our industrial door range is extensive, offering something for almost any building. We supply standard and high-speed sectional doors, roller shutters, hangar bay doors, loading bay equipment, personnel and fire doors. One product that’s proven particularly popular in recent years is our HS 7030 high-speed spiral door. We’ve seen this door installed in a wide variety of settings, from waste management and recycling centres to car showrooms.

In terms of loading bay equipment, we manufacture a range of doors, dock shelters, levellers, lighting and control systems, to make loading and unloading as safe and efficient as possible for our customers. We work with both major brands and smaller logistics companies across the UK.

WLN – What are the most recent products, and how are they different from other makes? What standards are your doors made to?

Two of the latest additions to our product range are the DD and DDS6 roller shutters. These doors come with a flexible direct drive operator that can be adjusted to almost any fitting situation. The S6 in particular includes a Decotherm curtain and powerful FU operator that allows it to travel up to 1.1 m/s.

When fitted with a Decotherm insulated lath, Hörmann roller shutters can achieve UD-values as low as 3.9W/(m².K). Unlike other manufacturers, we only ever provide the UD-value, which represents the U-value of the fitted door. This is in-line with EN 12424 and gives a much more accurate estimation of the insulation properties of the door when in use, compared to the transfer value of the individual laths, which is often provided instead.

All Hörmann doors are manufactured in accordance with EN 3241 and are issued with CE certification. We also provide Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for all of our products, so customers can easily see the environmental impact of the items they install.

SB-rolling-shutter_2WLN – One of your major product offerings is high-speed sectional doors. Can you tell us what these are, when you use them and the benefits they offer? What new products are available in this area?

Our high-speed sectional doors are often used to minimise heat loss or improve traffic flow in areas where forklifts are used. We also offer a range of PVC curtains for internal use. These can be installed in many different settings including labs, distilleries, refineries, supermarkets and warehouses.

We’ve recently increased our high speed sectional range to include alternative vertical and low headroom track fittings. The original spiral door requires around 1m of headroom above the lintel to house the roller, so these new designs allow us to extend the scope of the door.

WLN – You’ve extended and improved your flexible service packages. Can you tell us about those?

We now offer different levels of maintenance packages to suit the varying needs of our customers. The ‘premium plus’ package, for example, includes expert training from our team so that in-house engineers will be able to undertake basic maintenance, thereby reducing the need for costly call outs. Our team is also trained to service any brand of industrial door, so customers don’t need to take out multiple maintenance contracts with different manufacturers.

Customers who take out a service and maintenance package can now receive up to 10 per cent discount on all Hörmann spare parts and labour.

WLN – Who are your big clients in the UK? Can you tell us about your major recent and ongoing projects?

We work with most of the major developers, including Prologis, Roxhill Developments and IDI Gazeley. In terms of end users, we’ve completed installations for the likes of John Lewis, Asda, Argos, Eddie Stobart and Amazon. Most recently we supplied 101 loading bays for TNT’s new south west distribution hub in Swindon (the story was featured on the front cover of the last issue).

WLN – How did the TNT project come about?

As part of its Outlook programme of investment, TNT recognised the need for a new regional sortation and distribution hub to cover the south west. IDI Gazeley was chosen to deliver the warehouse and we were approached to supply the doors and loading bays. We’ve worked with IDI Gazeley on a number of projects and were able to meet the specification in terms of price, quality and capability.

WLN – Can you talk us through your installation at TNT’s Swindon hub? How big is it in terms of scale? What Hörmann products were used? What additional safety features were involved?

For TNT we installed 101 loading bays, comprising 40 for large trailers and 61 for vans and PUD trucks, over the courier’s 56,000ft2 warehouse facility. Our SPU F42 insulated sectional doors were chosen for installation throughout, with electronic versions being used within the larger docking stations and manually operated doors for the smaller bays. We also supplied hinged-lip dock levellers, seals, Nytrex slider bumpers and an LED traffic light system to aid safe loading and unloading.

Loading-bays[1]

WLN – Why is the Swindon project unusual? How does it fit into TNT’s overall plans?

What’s unusual about the TNT installation is that the doors cover three full sides of the building. The depot sorts thousands of consignments every day, so with this in mind, the warehouse design needed to be as efficient as possible.

In terms of TNT’s overall plans, the new south west hub means the courier no longer has to pass deliveries through its Midlands base, which is much more efficient and will free up capacity elsewhere in TNT’s network.

WLN – How are your forward orders looking for the rest of 2016?

So far the order book is looking very positive for 2016. We have multiple projects in the pipeline throughout the year, with many jobs due to complete in spring 2017. That said, we’re conscious that the repercussions of the economic issues in China and the recent decision by Canadian Pension Funds to limit investment in infrastructure projects could affect the industry in months to come.

WLN – For the uninitiated can you explain what ‘digital BIM objects’ are, and how they make specifying Hörmann products easier? Is the whole Hörmann product range now visible this way?

BIM objects are 3D digital models of construction products that are used by architects and specifiers when designing buildings. All government construction projects are now required to be built using BIM and it’s generally considered to be the design platform of choice for many industry professionals. So far all Hörmann roller shutters, sectional and high-speed doors are included within the National BIM Library. We’re currently in the process of expanding this, with a view to having all Hörmann hinged doors and loading bay equipment available later this year.

WLN – How can having your products as BIM objects help prevent errors or make savings in project costs?

BIM is a more reliable method of modelling than CAD alternatives because of the Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) data included within each BIM item. In terms of Hörmann products, this means that building professionals have built-in access to any restrictive parameters, such as maximum door height or width. Consequently, the architect can be sure that the door they specify is suitable for the desired purpose, preventing potentially complicated and costly alterations at a later stage in the construction process.

WLN – Similarly, how does your Architects’ Program work? Can potential customers view demonstrations of past projects using the Program?

The Architects’ Program is available to all trade partners but it’s particularly useful for those involved in building design or construction tenders. 2D drawings of Hörmann products are available to download in DWG, DXF and PDF formats and National Building Specification (NBS) text is also available for use in tender documents. WLN – How else are you working with specifiers to make their job easier?

This year we’ve doubled the number of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions that we’ll be running for specifiers. We created the seminars to help architects identify which type of door product would be best to use in their projects, as different models have specific features for different conditions or applications.

The sessions were first piloted in 2014 and after significant interest from architects, further locations were added for 2015. This year the seminars will take place in a number of new locations, with twelve sessions in total. The presentation also counts towards the 35 hours of CPD training that chartered members of RIBA are obliged to undertake on an annual basis.

WLN – It’s a way off, but what products will you be exhibiting at IMHX?

We’re very much looking forward to this year’s IMHX; it’s a major event on the Hörmann calendar. We’ll be exhibiting a range of industrial doors and loading bay equipment, including our high-speed spiral door, our new DD rolling shutter, a selection of personnel doors and our DOBO intelligent docking system, which allows a lorry to open its doors after it’s positioned on the loading bay.

WLN – What other highlights can we look forward to from Hörmann this year?

We’ve recently opened the Hörmann Forum, a training and exhibition centre at our headquarters in Steinhagen, Germany. The Forum will no doubt turn out to be an invaluable resource for the company and is available for use by our trade partners, as well as architects and specifiers wanting to know more about Hörmann products.

Hormann-Insulated-High-Speed-Spiral-door_HS7030

WLN – Going forwards, are you planning to take on more people or invest in the business? What about launching any more new products?

We’re always looking for ways to improve and extend our product range, so research and development is taken very seriously at Hörmann. We have a number of new products in the pipeline and we’ll be sure to share the details with WLN as soon as they’re ready to be launched in the UK.

In terms of personnel, we’ve taken on a number of new staff in recent months and are planning to extend our estimating, projects and sales teams further over the course of 2016. Watch this space.

HÖRMANN (UK) LTD

TEL: 01530 516888

EMAIL: INFO@HORMANN.CO.UK

WWW.HORMANN.CO.UK

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