Market leader in doors and fittings

Doco-International is a market leader in the manufacture and distribution of high quality door fittings and accessories. Industry Europe looks at the company’s activities.

Doco International was founded by George de Schwartz in the Netherlands in 1982 in order to supply high quality components and solutions exclusively to the industrial and residential door industry. Today the company has its headquarters in Sittard in the Netherlands and has multiple distribution centres and sales offices across Europe. The company’s major sales and distribution centres are located in the UK, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Spain. Offering a comprehensive and diverse range of products and accessories, Doco International also provides a range of customer support services, as well as research and development facilities for its clients. The company has a reputation for quality and reliability and is represented in more than 40 countries, spread across four continents.

Products and solutions

The company has an impressive catalogue of products that ranges from bearings, brackets, safety devices and fasteners, to cable drums, hinges, locks and door handles. Doco International supplies both the industrial and consumer markets and is in competition with some big Pan-European players. In order to grow its market share, the company has had to look at niche market opportunities and provide innovative solutions.

A company spokesperson said, “We have been looking at ways to lead the market and increase our turnover and value-added offerings to our customers. One area that we have targeted is the ‘renovation market’. This has already proved to be a growth market for us particularly in the manufacture

of sectional doors. In response to our market research and customer requirements, a few years ago we developed a sectional, Renovation Door System for garages. These doors are better insulated and are much easier to hang than conventional garage doors, thus saving the installer and the end user a great deal of time and money.”

The biggest markets for the company’s products and many of its other more innovative products today are Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and eastern European countries such as Romania and the Czech Republic. Doco International covers all of eastern Europe with its dedicated sales teams and well established sales offices. The company has also been developing its sales offices in South America, especially in Chile and Brazil where its sectional garage doors are probably the brand leader in the consumer sector. Over the past few years it has also been establishing a sales force in the USA and Canada. Closer to home, the company’s offices in England deliver a wide range of products to India and the Middle East, which are the traditional markets for UK manufacturers.

Innovation is key

Looking through its myriad of products in the professional range, the company’s Docomatic 1200 automatic garage door equipment sets a good example of how flexible and cost-effective the Doco range really is. This particular product offers a one-man, fast-mounting system, extra assured sensor technology, integrated lighting and emergency release. The high-tech control unit includes a range of features that provides a force monitoring system with automatic travel path setting, as well as a load-stable soft-start and soft-stop feature.

In addition, there is a wide range of accessories on offer, such as a 4-channel transmitter and radio-code lock, as well as security elements such as FE Photo Cells and warning lights. There is also an optional high-grade chain version available with rail

extension kits of up to 6.0 metres and additional mechanical locking devices.

At the end of last year (2014) Doco introduced its new adjustable coupling for 1-inch shafts. This product is comparable to its earlier adjustable coupling but weighs much less at 0.7kg instead of 1.33kg (in line with the need for lightweighting across all industry sectors).

Just-in-time delivery

Doco International believes that it has one of the most efficient and reliable delivery systems on the market. Delivery anywhere in Europe is guaranteed to be within 48 hours. This can be achieved because of the company’s strategically placed distribution centres in Spain, the Czech Republic, the UK and the Netherlands. Three dedicated transport companies provide the just-in-time deliveries and electronic systems guarantee that orders can be tracked from the moment they are placed.

For example, an e-mail is automatically sent to the customer once the order has been loaded and is on its way. Using a special bar code system, the company claims that its ‘Track&Trace’ system is the best available today. The spokesperson added, “Our customers don’t want to have stock that takes up valuable space and time to sort out; what they want is reliable, just-in-time deliveries and products that are of a high standard at competitive prices. We are not the cheapest on the market but we won’t spare ourselves on either our quality or our customer service. For instance, our aluminium casting products are manufactured in China and we employ very strict quality controls there. Every manufacturing step is monitored so that the customer is guaranteed the best possible quality.” n