Safe, fast and efficient drive systems: door and gate industry demonstrates impressive innovative capacity
Revival of the door and gate industry expected in the second half of the year / International R+T family continues to grow New highlights and innovations – that's what exhibitors and visitors can look forward to at R+T 2015 in Stuttgart. 400 exhibitors have already registered to date while waiting lists are being created in some areas. "Around 75 per cent of our total exhibition area is already booked up," said Sebastian Schmid, R+T Project Manager, describing the impressive response from exhibitors. Messe Stuttgart is currently honing the accompanying programme for the grand event "50 Years of R+T in Stuttgart". "The programme will again naturally feature, for example, the R+T Innovation Prize, the BVT Forum and the Craftsmen's Battle", revealed Sebastian Schmid. "However, we will also take the opportunity to come up with some surprises during our anniversary event."
Whereas the preparations for the anniversary in 2015 are now underway in Stuttgart, two other trade fairs will be staged in Europe this year. R+T Russia will open its doors in Moscow for the second time from 25 to 27 September 2013. Companies such as Somfy, Hörmann and Alutech have already registered for this event. R+T Turkey will be held for the first time in Istanbul from 7 to 11 November 2013. "Due to the high demand from companies, we will now occupy two halls at the trade fair centre in Istanbul," said Sebastian Schmid. A première will also be celebrated Down Under in 2014: the leading world trade fair for roller shutters, doors/gates and sun protection systems will now also have a presence in the southern hemisphere with R+T Australia in Melbourne.
Worldwide growth in the construction industry
As it expands throughout the world, R+T is currently benefiting from positive trends in the construction industry. At present, the building industry in Turkey is showing considerable growth potential which is characterised, in particular, by high demand for environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient building solutions. There is a similar situation in the Australian construction industry which is booming again after a slump that lasted several years. According to industry analysts, there is substantial pent-up demand in the industry, especially in the area of energy efficiency.
German door and gate industry expecting positive growth
The German construction industry will probably profit from an economic recovery in the second half of the year.. The German door and gate industry has published positive figures: after a 3.1 per cent rise in sales in 2012, companies are expecting a recovery and positive growth in the second half of the year after a sluggish start to 2013. "The impetus here is coming from the construction industry, which is reporting a significant increase in sales, especially in the area of commercial construction. In the door and gate industry which reacts in a late-cyclical manner, this positive trend will be seen in the second half of the year," predicted Kai-Uwe Grögor, Managing Director of the National Federation of Door and Gate Manufacturers (BVT), who bases this estimate on companies' expectations.
Increasing demand for high-speed doors and gates
Sommer is forecasting considerable demand in the area of high-speed doors and gates. According to Markus Beck, Marketing Manager of Sommer Antriebs- und Funktechnik GmbH, R+T in Stuttgart has become the company's "in-house trade fair" to a certain extent. In the past the manufacturer of door and gate drive systems promoted the development of industrial door and gate drive systems which operate permanently and efficiently, and also facilitate short opening and closing times. A new drive system, which features flexible door and gate utilisation areas, easy installation, quick programming and an integrated frequency converter with an electronic limit switch, is especially suitable for high-speed doors and gates. It can be used in the currently very popular high-speed PVC doors and gates with up to 120 revolutions per minute at 35 Nm. "There will be strong demand for the drive system for high-speed doors and gates as part of energy savings and in the area of green building in industrial buildings," said Markus Beck. "Due to cost reasons, more attempts are being made in industrial halls to prevent high heat losses. High closing speeds can be attained by using light grids." The number of drive variants and their speeds are increasing continuously. "Just a few years ago, the majority of drive systems were supplied with 90 or 120 revolutions," said Beck. "In order to be able to react more flexibly to customers' requirements, the number of drive variants has now multiplied. Thanks to our own frequency converter technology, we can offer up to 30 variants." The new drive system guarantees optimum smoothness and power delivery with 230 and 400 volt technology. In autumn Sommer will start series production of the first drive variants for industrial sectional doors and gates. "We are already looking forward to presenting new product solutions at the next R+T," said Markus Beck. "We are expecting numerous international visitors and are keen to exchange ideas and information." Sommer will probably further increase its amount of exhibition space at R+T 2015 in order to create room for new production innovations.
World market leader for drive systems and controllers to attend R+T for the 14th time
GfA Gesellschaft für Antriebstechnik GmbH & Co. KG, the world market leader for drive systems and controllers for industrial doors, has been attending R+T in Stuttgart since 1975. "The triennial trade fair cycle is the ideal period for our products and our industry to present innovations to a worldwide audience," said Oliver Kosberg, the GfA sales manager responsible for trade fairs. "R+T is the most important trade fair for our company to show our products to trade visitors. At R+T we meet nearly all our customers, either as exhibitors or visitors, and can establish and further cultivate contacts." The Düsseldorf-based company has already won the R+T Innovation Prize on three occasions. " In 2003 we won the Innovation Prize for our TS 970 door control device," said Kosberg. "This was the first inexpensive compact control device in conjunction with the digital DES limit switch (absolute encoder).." The innovation ten years ago: the possibility of making all settings directly at operator height. In 2006 and 2009 the company won other Innovation Prizes for the "dynamic duo" and the plug-in Elektromat.
GfA currently produces 155,000 units per annum and sells them under the name Elektromat. GfA made the breakthrough back in 1974 with the patented safety brake to prevent doors from falling back. "The then development of the safety brake in the gearbox was a novelty on the market for industrial door drive systems," said Oliver Kosberg. "Thanks to the integrated safety brake, the technology became safer and cheaper." Over the course of time GfA continued to improve the gear technology, adapted it to conditions and developed a new integrated safety brake during the 1990s. "Ever since then, the safety brake has been the state of the art in its current form," said Kosberg. It is self-monitoring, functions independently of speed, rotation direction and installation position, and has good damping characteristics. In the case of a catching operation, the catching elements fall into the collecting groove - this leads to cutting in the groove and the door is gently braked. GfA drive technology is used, for example, in the Allianz Arena of FC Bayern Munich, the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic Stadium in London.
Faster reaction and door travel times thanks to a bus system
Marantec, another winner of the R+T Innovation Prize, will also exhibit at R+T 2015. This Westphalian company, which has been operating all over the world for more than 20 years, is a complete supplier of drive and control systems. A separate bus system guarantees fast reaction times and ensures high safety and convenience. It ensures, for example, that all connected modules such as extension modules for two-way traffic control and I/O modules are recognised automatically and also monitor the safety systems permanently and dynamically. "One main advantage of the Marantec drive systems in this case is the same programming structure for all control systems by means of the EOS EasyOperatingSystem," said Kerstin Hochmüller, Marketing Manager at Marantec. With industrial drive systems, faster door travel times are attained by means of a frequency converter through which significant savings are achieved in regard to energy, costs and CO 2 emissions. With a door height of 4 x 4 metres, the door opening time is reduced through a suitable drive system featuring a frequency converter from 30 to 18 seconds. This efficient operation is also supplemented by additional power saving techniques. "We have been using, for example, LED technology for drive lighting in the private sector for many years," said Kerstin Hochmüller. "The new series of garage door drive systems can also be retrospectively extended to include additional LED modules." Use is also made of the patented Blue Line power saving technology for which Marantec was awarded the R+T Innovation Prize in 2009.
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