Installers are key to the door
November 1st 2005

Ian Clay visited Hörmann (UK) just as the company is on the cusp of proclaiming itself the UK’s No 1 industrial door and loading bay equipment supplier

In the modern history of Hörmann (UK) January 1st 2004 is something of a defining date. This was when the company announced that it was to amalgamate with Dutch loading bay equipment supplier Dyna Seal and German door company Seuster. Until this point Alan Jenkins, commercial director, industrial division says that for the Hörmann Group the UK industrial division had been "a bit of a hobby... Hörmann was selling lots of industrial doors in Europe but not as many in the UK."

Until this point Alan says the company was missing out on the biggest route to market, the 'big sheds' as he terms them. The 'big sheds' Alan refers to are the logistics and distribution centres that have become a familiar site as goods are shipped with greater frequency to tighter deadlines all around the UK. In order for Hörmann to impact this market the company needed a complete loading bay solution, once the sister companies had been amalgamated the offering was complete and door sales increased accordingly.

Big sheds, big business

With the huge and continuing expansion in the logistics and distribution sector the importance of 'big sheds' in the rapid development of Hörmann (UK) cannot be overlooked. A large percentage of the company's 'big shed' work comes through Pro Logis and the majority of the work is on new build premises. At the moment the company is averaging two 'big shed' loading bay installations per month with an average order value of £300 000. The average size of installation will incorporate between 30 to 35 loading bays although the largest it has completed so far in 2005 is 120 bays!

Now that the Dyna Seal and Seuster brands have been successfully merged with Hörmann, what the company is offering is a complete loading bay package. From the preparation of design drawings to the delivery of materials and plant, the direct supervision of the installation through to the training of the staff who will use the site, Hörmann provides it all.

The company's responsibility doesn't stop there either but continues through its own service division made up of approved contractors and trade partners.

Hörmann's loading bay and door equipment is of quality manufacture, made as it is to order in the company's European factories and shipped directly to site from there. The service side of the company should therefore be simplicity itself, but not so as there are other factors to consider. As Alan says "Really, I would like to only service and maintain our own products". This seems an odd statement to make for a company that is actively looking to grow its business, but there are solid reasons for Alan's stance.

Like many manufacturers a great deal of the users' perception will be down to how that product is serviced and maintained. Alan himself draws the parallel with a car, and the service a customer gets at the dealership when they take it in for a service. It is a vital element. When a dealer deals with its own brand of car there are obviously no problems with the supply of spares etc. It is exactly the same in the loading bay market. If Hörmann is maintaining its own product it is in control of the service it is giving to the customer, however, if it is maintaining another manufacturer's products Hörmann is reliant on the other supplier's good nature, which often is in short supply. Alan comments, "As with any company, if you have to factor in spare parts from other manufacturers it can sometimes prevent you from being able to guarantee a rapid response to your customers. Hörmann would obviously prefer to be in control of its own destiny by supplying its own products rather then relying on other manufacturers for spare parts."

Safe loading bays

Health and safety in the loading bay area is a big issue with the continuing problem of drive-aways and the new Working at Height Regulations. In terms of its equipment Alan Jenkins says "All of the products we produce are in advance of health and safety legislation." But as we all know, it is very rarely equipment that causes an accident but usually the people using it. As such Hörmann is very concerned about the training and qualifications of the people who install, maintain and use their equipment and its health and safety manager inspects sites at random to make sure that all health and safety requirements are being met.

Having said this Alan does admit that managing contractors' health and safety accreditation is very difficult at the moment as the well respected and recognised CS/CS license is being withdrawn, and it is not clear what is to replace it. However, in this area again Hörmann is at the forefront of the industry as one of their staff is to be an assessor on an NVQ course that the CITB is currently putting together.

Demo area

One of the main attractions on visiting Hörmann (UK) was the chance to view its demonstration facility. Here Alan demonstrated the company's products including the SoftEdge Roll Fast door, just one of Hörmann's many products made with productivity and safety in mind. Alan said that the demo area was very popular with designers and specifiers as it allowed them to really get to grips with the products and ask questions of experts in a controlled environment.

Where to now?

The emphasis for Hörmann is to become Number 1 - but what will that mean for the end user? The company is looking to grow its service department and will launch new products. "We hope to achieve our ambition between now and 2007 of being Number 1 in the market by doing the basics well" says Alan "We will provide good service and good products, maintaining our ambition of giving good quality at a fair price". A statement that will mean a great deal to the end user.

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