The high-speed doors of the Lower Bavarian company Efaflex make warehouses and industrial-scale factory halls accessible across various industries. Whether in the beverage, pharmaceutical, or automotive industry: the family's diverse solutions, including spiral, roll, and folding doors as well as special versions, are distributed in 74 countries. The doors are appreciated in the food and logistics industries for protection and smooth operation both indoors and outdoors of storage areas. Worldwide customers include entire airports, but also smaller companies, hotels, and city transport companies, such as the one in Karlsruhe, which recently equipped a large maintenance hall for its bus fleet with Efaflex factory doors.
In the newly built workshop area of 4,970 square meters, up to 24 buses can find space. The front and rear of the hall, equipped with 12 lanes, feature 24 high-speed doors EFA-SST-L Basic of the "Next Generation" model series for entry and exit. However, according to the company report, a total of 39 doors of the brand were ordered.
Open in five seconds
VBK maintains not only buses but also cars, vans, and commercial vehicles – the maintenance hall is intended for these as well. Quick processes for fleet maintenance, which includes about 53 diesel, and 12 e-buses, are desired. Fleet manager Frank Berger explains the quality features of Efaflex products:
"The doors open and close very quickly. A holding time of five to six seconds is planned."
Berger is responsible for all rubber-tired vehicles. The distinction is important because the Karlsruhe public transport company also operates rail vehicles – with steel wheels.
The hall is divided: the central area
is designed for buses, with two additional lanes for commercial vehicles and trucks on the sides, separated by a wall, each equipped with four Efaflex high-speed doors for the front and back. As is usual in large workshops, the hall also includes paint and vehicle testing systems.
A separate annex houses a 540-square-meter washing hall – also equipped with four Efaflex doors, but in special design: Rüdiger Prestel, architect and project supervisor of the commissioned IBE engineering office F. Eberhard in Forst, explains: "These doors are fitted with hang boxes and frames made of stainless steel due to the permanent moisture in the hall."
Customer-oriented solutions
A special feature was the installation of the doors: according to the planners, it was apparently necessary to install them hovering before the final floor coating – "this is not a standard installation situation," explains Prestel. The professional attitude of the field service staff was appreciated, who "really enjoyed coming up with a customer-oriented solution."
The technical equipment of the Efaflex team also met the high demands of the assignment, for example with the provided 3D planning documents. Architect Prestel: We were able to use the BIM models (Building Information Modeling) well from the basic structure via the frame to the end sword."
30 of the ordered doors were of the type EFA-SST Basic, along with six additional SST-L ECO and three high-speed roll doors EFA-SRT-L. Two of these, in turn, are used in the entrance area to the warehouse and maintenance halls. Liza Davis works in the field of infrastructure at Albtal Transport Company Karlsruhe as a project
manager and was responsible for the construction of the maintenance hall. She explains what the arrangement is about:
"If the outer door to the warehouse is opened, it would become very cold in the maintenance areas without the intermediate doors."
Safety features
According to fleet manager Frank Berger and Liza Davis, the maintenance hall, with its location at the Karlsruhe Rhine port in the west of the city, is well prepared for the future and is also suitable for vehicles with alternative drives. To maintain e-buses, for example, technicians must have comfortable access to the roof-mounted batteries – but new mobility also includes other drive variants:
"We have roof workstations for electric buses. But we are also prepared for buses with hydrogen drive,"
says Berger. According to Liza Davis, the facility's control system is closely connected to the warning system to be able to react accordingly in an emergency. The door controls are connected to the building management system focusing on the gas warning system: "If we have gas in the hall, the doors open immediately to ventilate the building."
The EFA-Tronic door control associated with the doors, whose housing is made of plastic as standard and offered in various colors, can also be ordered in a robust steel version if desired. The basic equipment includes a main switch, a film keyboard, and a vacuum fluorescent display with function and diagnostic display. Several extensions and adaptations are available for the solution. An additional EFA-SmartConnect tool, for example, connects the systems via the associated app with the IoT (Internet of Things) and allows monitoring the status
of all doors in real-time. The provider summarizes:
"The EFA-Tronic door control impresses with its high durability, full compatibility, and sufficient power reserves."
The Karlsruhe Public Transport Company (VBK) reportedly transports around 70 million passengers annually over more than twelve million vehicle kilometers. As one of the city's largest employers, VBK employs over 1,450 staff. The bus fleet includes around 53 diesel buses, which, according to the website, are gradually to be replaced by e-buses in the coming years. Currently, 12 battery-powered buses of the MAN Lion's City 12 E type are in operation. The Albtal Transport Company (AVG) includes the trams, transporting about 46 million passengers annually. The tram network spans more than 540 kilometers, with 288 kilometers operated on its own track – making AVG one of the largest railway companies in Baden-Württemberg. Both transport companies are part of the most important mobility provider in the Upper Rhine region, the Karlsruhe Transport Association (KVV), which unites around 30 transport companies under its umbrella.
Efaflex is headquartered in Bruckberg west of Landshut and produces high-speed doors for industrial applications. In the field of fast-moving industrial doors, the company, founded in 1974, claims to be in the world market leader index. It is said that "Efaflex is one of the 461 top companies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland." Worldwide, the family business with its twelve subsidiaries on five continents employs around 1,800 staff. According to the report, Efaflex generates the largest portion of its sales abroad, at 60 percent. Apart from those on the European continent, national companies are also found in China, Russia, and
