Door Industry Journal - Summer 2014

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk industrial doors feature 22 THE door industry journal summer 2014 Online shopping drives Hörmann designs With internet retailers predicting that online sales will exceed £100bn in the UK this year, the increased demand for parcel deliveries is set to continue. The Royal Mail is estimating that by 2023 parcel deliveries will reach 2.3 billion items per year. Home delivery is not the only growth area as click & collect options are now offered by many retailers, alongside alternative delivery and collection methods. These include secure drop boxes and the use of convenience stores as parcel points. This trend has led to increased use of vans by the logistics operators. Consequently, the frequency with which goods in and out operations have to handle small commercial vehicles is on the rise. This is also leading to investment in loading technology which presents an opportunity for industrial door suppliers. Hörmann has responded to this need to load commercial vehicles of all sizes from the same bays, with a number of new options. New Parcel Walk Door The latest innovation was introduced at this year’s CeMAT, intra-logistics show in Hannover. Developed specifically for parcel delivery companies, the Parcel Walk door has been designed to readily accommodate loading and unloading of both vans and trucks from the same level access bay. The door includes a detachable lower section which has a pedestrian walkway attached. When working with vans, the door opens as normal, lifting the “catwalk” up out of the way. It is when working with trucks and demountable bodies that the door comes into its own. The lower section is unlocked from the upper, leaving the pedestrian walkway between two access piers. This allows easy access to the inside of the truck for loading and unloading purposes. This new door is particularly suitable for use with conveyor systems, often employed in parcel handling operations. The Parcel Walk door can be supplied with the compact WA 300 SA operator, with soft start, soft stop as standard. This adds to the longevity of the doors as well as ensuring it is smooth and quiet operation. This device includes force limitation which means that a closing edge safety device is not needed as the door will stop automatically if it encounters an obstruction. From a cost point of view, this operator uses approximately 75% less power than a comparable three phase device and is around 30 per cent cheaper too. Split Lip For traditional loading docks, the use of longer dock levellers has proved an effective option that allows bays to safely work with a wider range of vehicle heights but with vans, in particular, width can be an issue. To address this, Hörmann has developed the HTLV 3 dock leveller with three part telescopic lip. In normal use the entire width of the lip can be continuously extended and to all intents and purposes is a conventional dock leveller. However, a simple switch on the control panel lets you extend only the centre section of the lip, making it ideal for smaller vehicles. An intelligent hydraulic system ensures that the lip remains correctly positioned during loading. The system provides the necessary weight compensation and follows any movement, as the suspension lowers during loading. Automatic emergency stop valves are standard and, as with all Hörmann dock levellers, two hydraulic cylinders ensure balanced, reliable and, most importantly, safe operation. As consumer expectations change, and retailers respond, the logistics sector continues to evolve to meet the expectations of both. Understanding the changes, and developing products and equipment that meet these needs is all part of the complete package that Hörmann delivers.