Opening more doors Gilgen Door Systems

OPENING MORE DOORS

With its innovative drive systems, Gilgen Door Systems is in a position to offer optimal, customised solutions for a wide range of doors and other systems. Abigail Saltmarsh reports.

From its headquarters in Switzerland, Gilgen Door Systems is focused on a range of ever more innovative solutions for door, gate and wall systems. From energy-saving to all glass solutions, new products are being developed on a daily basis, according to a company spokesman.

“With its innovative drive systems and turnkey installations, Gilgen Door Systems is in a position to offer optimal, customised solutions for pedestrian and industrial doors, doors for vehicles and railways as well as in the field of flexible wall elements and safety installations,” he said.

And he added: “Other than offering finished products and the assorted high-quality profiles, we facilitate the tasks of the architects and distribution partners by providing convenient CAD-planning tools.”

An efficient operation

It has been since 1961 that Gilgen Door Systems, an affiliate of the Nabtesco Group, has specialised in innovative drive technology and turnkey solutions for automatic door, gate and wall systems. The company was initially founded as a one-man business and in 1969 opened its first branch office in Switzerland. By 2003, it had won a contract with rail link NRLA for 200 tunnel door drive systems and by 2007 had been awarded a contract for half-height PSD retrofit for the Métro in Paris.

“As early as 1993, Gilgen Door Systems had defined its quality system according to ISO standard 9001, which has been successfully implemented. Today, the development, production and administrative departments are located at the Swiss headquarters at Schwarzenburg,” said the company spokesman.

“Day after day, more than 600 staff members are contributing to the company’s success, some of them providing an around-theclock service. The tight network of after-sales organisations with their own branch offices throughout Switzerland and a worldwide network of sales and service partners ensure the closeness to the customers.”

Developing products

The company serves customers in public transport (railway stations, airports, tourist facilities), health and care (hospitals, clinics, care homes), hotels and restaurants and administration and offices. It also sells to banks and insurance companies, shops and other retail outlets, general industry and the food, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors.

New products are continually being developed for all sectors, according to the spokesman. Recently these have included new environmentally friendly and all-glass products.

“The Gilgen PSW profile system, for example, allows you to heat-insulate and draughtproof doors in a particularly efficient way, especially when doors are closed at night, letting you save precious energy and natural resources,” he said. “The entire system has been tested and certified for U-value rating, air permeability, resistance to driving rain, wind-load stress and secure automatic door systems. Automatic opening and closing were not enough for us − we had to have automatic insulation too.”

Energy saving

The system is based on the well-tried Wicstyle 65 designed by Wicona. As this combination excels through low U-values, its main advantage is an improved overall energy balance of the building. The resulting energy savings not only lower the operating costs, but also reduce the carbon dioxide emissions.

The automatic sliding door with thermal insulation is in compliance with the presently applicable EnEV specifications. Therefore, it represents a significant contribution towards

With plastic injection molding and metal powder sintering to small and complex steel parts.

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compliance with the ever-tightening directives of the energy saving regulations.

The automatic single-winged or bi-parting door installations can be combined with a fanlight, a fix-point guide shoe or with a continuous bottom guide rail. They can also be easily integrated into self-supporting façade frame constructions.

The tried-and-tested overall system answers the safety requirements of DIN standard 18650 and offers a maximum degree of user protection. The sensors have been integrated into the profiles; as an option, the door can be equipped with a multi-point locking system for an enhanced burglar-protection effect.

All-glass

Another new solution from Gilgen is the SLX-M with PSF (profile system Full Glass). This all-glass version of the automatic sliding door is ideal for creating sophisticated design entrances where no thermal insulation is required.

Thanks to the clamping system that has been integrated in the drive case, it is no longer necessary to drill holes into the glass panels. In its redundant execution, the system has been homologated for use in escape and rescue ways. An SLX-M combined with the PSF profile system guarantees an extremely fast and uncomplicated installation.

Looking for growth

“Currently, the headquarters and main production facility of Gilgen Door Systems is in Schwarzenburg, Switzerland,” said the spokesman. “But we have subsidiaries in Germany, Austria, UK, France, Italy, Spain and China. Gilgen Door Systems is a member of the Nabtesco Group and is manufacturing its own product range in the Accessibility Innovations Group.”

The company’s principal market is central Europe, but it is present worldwide in over 65 countries. New growth is expected to come from South America, as well as from acquisitions elsewhere and organic expansion.

“Our aim for the future is to develop the company from a manufacturer to more of a service company,” he explained. “We want to be close to the customer and have a direct approach, as well as through distributors.” n