Sara Sprint high-speed roller door logs over 1million cycles

For distribution centres and production sites, specifying the fastest and most efficient industrial doors can be the first step to improving work flow and maintaining regulated room temperatures. However even the best doors require maintenance; a regular service schedule can make sure that doors operate hassle free for many years. For Reynolds the after sales support from Sara LBS is helping to keep its products fresh.

Reynolds is a national distributor of fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy and cheese products. It offers over 2,500 different products and supplies some of the UK's largest catering suppliers. Much of the warehouse site is refrigerated to protect its perishable goods; to help maintain the required air temperature Reynolds uses high speed 'Sprint' doors from Sara LBS. The fast acting doors also offer a high degree of thermal insulation which keeps energy costs down.

Graham Shore, Facilities Manager for Reynolds, comments: "We moved into our current facilities in 2005. At that point we decided to use the Sprint door from Sara LBS as they offer the fastest opening and closing speeds available, as well as a number of impressive safety features. The majority of the doors operate on a loop to allow seamless passage by our vehicles, though they also open for personnel on foot as well."

The site has extremely high vehicle and pedestrian traffic flow which means that the doors experience request use; in fact some doors have logged more than 1,000,000 cycles in the past seven years. With such frequent use a malfunctioning door could seriously affect the smooth flow of operations around the warehouse. More worryingly, a broken door that exposes a refrigerated room to ambient temperatures for prolonged periods could spoil the products that are stored inside; some doors that open to exterior areas could also potentially allow vermin and rodents to enter the storehouse.

To make sure that each door can withstand the pressures of frequent operation Reynolds has retained Sara LBS on a contract to carry out site inspections and servicing every six months. Sara LBS has been at the forefront of Loading Bay and Industrial Door technology for the past 20 years; its engineers are experienced in the specification, installation and maintenance of nearly all products available on the market today.

Graham continues: "All the way through the sales and installation process the Sara engineers offered fantastic service and expert advice. We were aware that the doors' continued operations were vital to our business and couldn't imagine anyone else offering superior maintenance services. Every six month an engineer inspects each of the many doors we have on site and carries out a thorough service when required. They will also advise on any preventative maintenance that they feel is necessary and provide an instant quote."

In the event of a mechanical failure, or accidental damage to one of the doors, Sara operates a 24hour call out service. It has service facilities located across the UK meaning that most calls are answered extremely quickly. Engineers carry a number of spare parts with them meaning that in many instances on-site repair is possible.

Graham adds: "Most of our call outs have been due to accidental damage; mechanical failures have been very rare. The times that we have called them out we have had a quick response and the doors have been repaired with urgency. I've always had the impression that they respect the importance that our business holds to the doors' smooth operations."

Sara LBS offers one, three and five year service contracts to help make sure that loading bay equipment and industrial doors are well maintained to ensure a prolonged service life. All its service engineers are CSCS trained and have many years experience in the industry. Contracts include regular servicing of equipment, preventative maintenance - to stop a problem before it leads to downtime - and regular site inspections. Many of the UK's leading manufacturers and distributers use Sara LBS to maintain their facilities, even if the original equipment isn't Sara LBS branded.