Under the 6th Educational Trip organized by Sauerland for door manufacturers from the Asean region, an 18-member team led by Nitin Vaze, CEO, and Amit Vaze of Sleek Boards Marketing Services LLP, visited the Sauerland factory in Gotha, Germany. The group witnessed the manufacturing processes of the company’s 100% engineered doors, and fire testing of its fire-rated doors. The economical method of construction makes the doors lightweight and they do not have any additives or inorganic fillers. The group also visited two other leading door factories where they saw that the manufacturers did not use any flat pressed board as infill or filler board due to their tendency to swell and become thick, which has an adverse impact on door life, durability and finishing.
Sauerland has been supplying infill / tubular filler boards to the Asean door industry since 2007. Use of timber in internal doors and in main doors has grown as a result. Although the tubular filler boards have been in use for over 65 years globally, and are being exported to over 90 countries, with approx 100,000 doors being made daily somewhere in the world, the Asean region is decades behind in adopting the technical know-how of timber infills and the manufacturing specifications and techniques that make the doors most stylish, modern and eco-friendly.
Tour members Chandrashekhar Arupula of Gayatri Doors, Inder Kochhar, Greenlam Industries, Varun Dayaram, VK Enterprises, Sri Lanka, Jitin Nambiar of Millenium Engineers and Contractors, and others, expressed satisfaction at the great learning experience, which gave them an in-depth understanding of the modern door production techniques and operations. They agreed that a better understanding of Sauerland doors would now help them in promoting the brand more convincingly. “The technical information provided and seeing first-hand how the tubular core is produced and understanding its properties, especially fire and acoustics, and its application, will help us in putting this knowledge into good use. The visit to two other door factories has further reinforced our understanding of good door design and construction,” they stated.
Improved properties of doors with tubular infill
- Sound Insulation: Extruded tubular and solid boards offer a range of sound insulation results for light weight construction as well as high end solutions.
- Fire Resistance: In boards produced by extrusion, the particle direction is mainly vertical to the surface, which, if exposed to fire, provides a low rate of burning.
- Construction: The density in solid areas i.e. walls of board is a high 500 kg/m3 minimum. The arch principle give high impact resistance.
- Thickness Tolerance: Critical thickness tolerance of +/-0.1mm in the board gets rid of telegraphing as the calibrated board gives a beautiful surface finish and a good bond between the skin and the board.
- Weight Reduction: Tubular boards being engineered, meet the door requirements for light weight, ease of handling, and high technical performance.
- Low Emission: All Sauerland products follow the E1 norm for formaldehyde emission. Lower levels are also possible against special production runs.
- Straightness: The tubular structure also helps the door to maintain its straightness under climatic variations.
- PEFC/FSC Certified: All Sauerland products are certified with PEFC, and the company can also cater to FSC requirements.
- Swelling and thickness: Almost zero thickness due to swelling in Sauerland boards compared to flat pressed board/timber infills, which ensures long life of the doors.
