The food and beverage processing and packaging industries require doors that are not only rapidly opened and closed, but that also adhere to strict hygiene standards. The Ditec Alimax rapid roll up doors, which are distributed in southern Africa by Apex Strip Curtains & Doors, are designed to meet the requisite cleanliness regulations of the industry.

Prerequisites for doors cited by companies in the food and beverage sector include ease of cleaning and disinfecting. “In addition, feedback indicates that these doors should not be affected by either humidity or detergents, and they should prevent the collection of dust,” Wim Dessing, managing director of Apex Strip Curtains & Doors, says.

Maximised uptime and ease of pedestrian and vehicular traffic flow remain important requirements for any access point. With an opening speed of 1.5 m/s and closing speed of 0.8 m/s, the Alimax doors reduce the ingress of external air, noise, dust and other contaminants, while simultaneously increasing productivity of employees due to their seamless opening and closing response.

“In spite of their ability to rapidly open and close, the design of the doors is centred on employee safety and the protection of products. By utilising IP67 safety photocells in the vertical frames, the Alimax doors ensure that no person or vehicle will be accidentally trapped under a closing door,” Dessing points out.

The design of the Alimax doors is based on research into the food industry’s specific requirements. “Primarily, the market drivers are a compact footprint, ease of installation and flexibility of materials. The Alimax door’s motor is built into the roll up shaft of the curtain and the load bearing structure is extremely small, to allow the door to effortlessly fit into even the most congested areas,” Dessing explains.

“A number of factors contribute to the ease with which the system can be installed. These include the use of a pre-assembled tubular motor, a programmable control panel with absolute encoder position control for setting of the open-close position, a wireless safety edge that allows signal transmission without cabling, and high level pre-assembly of the integrated safety photocells,” he continues.

Dessing points out that the flexible self-repairing curtain is manufactured from highly wind resistant, yet flexible, polyester material that is impervious to tearing. In addition, the supporting structure is made from a reinforced composite material that is waterproof and corrosion resistant. The sleek profile of the Alimax door, with the absence of recesses, eliminates the collection of dust and debris for a higher level of cleanliness.

“In addition to finding increasing popularity in the food and beverage sector, the Ditec Alimax rapid roll up doors are also ideally suited to use in warehouses, supermarkets and car wash facilities. The speed of operation, combined with dirt- and corrosion-resistant materials of construction, make these doors the perfect solution where cleanliness and minimised downtime are required,” Dessing concludes.