Door Articles

Why Butcombe Brewery chose speed doors to complement their roller shutter

The operations team at Butcombe Brewery’s main warehouse had a dilemma familiar to most warehousing and logistics teams.



Their daily loading operations meant that fork lift trucks needed speedy, frequent access to the storage areas throughout the day. Hence, the main roller shutter needed to be left open during operating hours. With the time it would take to open and close a 3.5 metre security shutter on each venture into the warehouse, it would cause unaffordable delays to leave the main roller shutter closed.

However, what became equally unaffordable were the soaring energy bills. Heat loss from the main entrance meant it was impossible to keep the building warm at a reasonable cost.

Of course, the main roller shutter is absolutely essential. With valuable stock to protect, there’s no way a warehouse should be left without the substantial security protection offered by steel roller shutters on the main door.

So what was the answer, in Butcombe Brewery’s case? Speed doors, provided by HAG, located behind the main roller shutter.

What is a speed door?

A fast-operating, lightweight but robust PVC roller closure that prevents draughts when closed, but opens and closes rapidly on cue.

The doors are operated by remote control units, which in this case can be sited on the forklift trucks so the drivers can time entry and exits exactly. Sensors prevent the doors from operating while something is in the entryway.

The smaller PVC speed doors open and close at 0.8 meters per second: significantly faster than the metal security shutter. Butcombe Brewery had a bigger opening: 3.5m squared. This larger size of speed door operates even faster, at 1.8 metres per second. The whole door now takes just under two seconds to open as a fork lift truck approaches.

How speed doors plus roller shutters provide the best of both worlds

By siting their speed doors behind the main roller shutter, Butcombe Brewery now has the best of both worlds: optimal security by night, optimal speed of operation by day, but with a major reduction in costly heat loss from their building. The savings on energy bills more than justify the cost of installation.

If you’d like to discuss speed doors for your own premises, particularly with a cold winter already upon us, please don’t hesitate to call our experienced team on 0800 072 3444.

Talk to the
door specialists

Contact Us


News and