Leading door manufacturer, Hörmann, has dominated the industrial and domestic door industry around the world for more than 80 years, and the company continues to expand its customer offering here in the UK. Renowned for quality and innovation, the last three years have seen significant developments across both industrial and domestic product ranges. Hörmann’s loading bay technology has improved warehouse safety and provided greater flexibility for companies to adapt to distribution changes.
![Alan-Jenkins-1[6]](https://warehousenews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Alan-Jenkins-16.jpg)
Meanwhile, its domestic door range combines style with smart technology, including new contactless control systems, to complement 21st century living.
Building on its success, Hörmann has plans to expand its UK offering over the coming years and the 2016 IMHX will provide the perfect opportunity to showcase what’s come…
Alan Jenkins, Sales Director at Hormann (UK) Ltd speaks to Warehouse News about the forthcoming IMHX exhibition.
Warehouse & Logistics News – First of all, Alan, as Sales Director, what is your role in the company from day to day?
I look after the sales of both our Domestic and Industrial aspects of the business and my work pattern can vary from day to day. My prime function is to ensure that we maintain market share across all of our product groups and explore avenues for growth in new business areas. I also ensure that we achieve our product and turnover targets, and I’m in daily contact with our Area Sales Managers and other departments to ensure that our customer offering is as good as it should be, if not better.
WLN – Can you talk us through the different products and services Hormann provides?
On the industrial side, we are best known for our vast selection of highquality industrial doors and loading bay technology. Our intelligent docking systems are considered to be among the best and are hugely beneficial in terms of improving safety, efficiency and productivity in a warehouse setting. Following significant investment, we’re also becoming well regarded for our exceptional maintenance support.
On the domestic side, we offer an impressive array of front and garage doors, which combine stylish exterior designs with cutting-edge technology to suit upmarket 21st century living.
WLN – What kinds of businesses in what industry sectors are your solutions aimed at? What specific needs do they target?
Hörmann has customers across almost all industries. With such a wide range of door and loading bay products, we serve the needs of multiple sectors. We’ve completed a significant number of projects with large retailers but we also supply to logistics businesses, agriculture, the emergency services and many more.
We are very active in the ‘Big Shed’ market, as it’s commonly referred to. These tend to be large distribution centres with numerous loading bays.
The clients range from property developers, architects and specifiers to building contractors and, most importantly, end users. These can include food retailers, pharmaceutical companies, 3PL’s etc. Where possible, we try to futureproof the loading bays for both developers and end users alike to ensure that their buildings are suitable for changes in vehicle fleets and sizes, as well as differing methods of logistics and distribution.
WLN – When was your business established? Who owns the company now? Which other countries do you operate in besides the UK?
Hörmann was established in 1935. We have a strong family-led heritage and the company is still owned by the Hörmann family to this day. We are Europe’s leading supplier of doors and we have 26 specialised factories across Europe, North America and Asia, as well as over 80 individual sales locations in more than 30 countries.
WLN – What sets your company apart as a supplier in your sector? Why should busy professionals from the warehouse and logistics industry take time out to visit your stand at IMHX? What is your overall message to visitors?
Hörmann is renowned in the industry for quality, so our products are well respected across the board. Our prices are competitive and our industrial service packages are designed to offer customers the best value for money. We also work closely with industry specialists to ensure our products incorporate the latest research and technology, allowing us to adapt quickly to meet the changing needs of our customers.
WLN – What will visitors be able to see on your stand at this year’s show? Which of your core products and solutions are you presenting? Are you launching anything new at IMHX?
Most of our exhibited products will be aimed at the Warehouse and Logistics market. We will not only be showcasing our standard sectional overhead door and dock shelter, but also our DOBO loading bay system, which enables a truck to dock onto the loading bay before having to open its rear doors. This has a number of applications that suit the chilled environment and is suitable for areas with security issues. We will also be showing our new DD S6 fast acting roller shutter, which has an opening speed of just 1.2mtr/sec.
WLN – Is this your first time exhibiting at IMHX? If you’ve been there before, what are you doing that’s different to last time?
This will be the fifth time for us at the IMHX, besides any European or US exhibitions. We believe that this is the best venue to meet a very large sector of the Warehouse and Logistics market.
WLN – The last IMHX was in 2013. How have your customers’ needs changed since then? What are the biggest pressures your clients face these days? How are you addressing these?
I think one of the biggest impacts on the Warehouse and Logistics market is the manner in which retailers deal with returned goods.
There have also been a number of other subtle changes relating to the size of distribution centres, the method of distribution from central hubs to satellite distribution centres, vehicle fleets, double deck trailers and methods of loading vehicles on the loading bay.
However, our current product range covers most – if not all – eventualities and we are committed to engineering solutions where necessary.
WLN – Can you tell us about your major customer contract wins in the last three years? Do these represent new development areas for your company?
We have won many contracts in this industry over the last three years, including high street names and large 3PL’s. In most instances, they have been specified by the property developer.
WLN – How do your products and solutions address today’s increased emphasis on safety and environmental impact in warehousing and logistics? Will you be highlighting this aspect of your offering at the show?
All Hörmann products are designed and built with safety in mind. Most of our power-operated door products have complete noncontact safety edges fitted as standard. Additional safety features designed to meet with individual clients’ safety requirements are often fitted as standard, such as leveller proximity sensors to activate traffic lights. The Hörmann Dock Assist system to assist trucks reversing onto the loading bay will be demonstrated, and we’ll be offering loading bay safety training to our end user clients to ensure that they are aware of the potential risks and hazards that can be present on a busy loading bay.
WLN – Thanks to technology, suppliers to this industry are getting much faster with their responses to customer enquiries. How soon after IMHX can visitors to your stand expect to receive a ‘live’ quote for using your solutions in their businesses?
This largely depends how quickly we can get to discuss all aspects of their requirements. If it is a simple quote for a door or dock leveller, we will be able to advise the cost whilst the visitor is on the stand. However, in most cases we would want to undertake a site visit or, in the case of a new build or refurbishment, clarify a number of issues first.
WLN – And finally, it’s three years to the next IMHX. Where do you see your market sector and your company going in that time?
We will continue to develop a stronger tie to the Warehouse and Logistics industry in order to maintain our No1 position within the sector. We also want to bring the full Hörmann product range to the UK and expand our customer offering.
01530 513000
HÖRMANN (UK) LTD
Hörmann UK
Hörmann UK
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