Door Industry Journal - Winter 2018

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 98 THE door industry journal winter 2018 Automated Gates & Barriers Belfox European expansion will aid UK market GATE technology has been in the bloodstream of Edgar Fierle for more than 30 years. His electro engineering background had been a more than adequate foundation on which to enter the access control industry. Yet, even he could not have forecast the success that Belfox has had in becoming a major power in European markets. Today, Belfox enjoys a 70 per cent share in the Austrian market; 60 per cent in Germany and 40 per cent in both Belgium and the Netherlands; has a substantial presence in France, Poland, Denmark and Sweden. The company manufactures over 4,000 sliding gate openers a year for the Austrian market alone and therefore it is no surprise that it is investing more than 5 million Euros in a new production plant on the outskirts of Frankfurt. With 8,000 sq. metres of space it is double the size of the company’s original facility and came on stream, on schedule at the beginning of 2017.