Stertil's WIS Inflatable dock shelter is hard to beat

With increasing economic pressure on many businesses, particularly those involved in transport and logistics, the use of double-deck trailers to transport goods is on the increase.

Double-deck trailers make environmental as well as economic sense, but taller trailers can mean problems at the loading bay, where a large range of vehicle heights may be difficult to handle. Stertil's WIS inflatable dock shelter aims to solve many of the problems caused when unusually large trailers meet traditional loading bays.

Although inflatable dock shelters are not new, they have historically been very expensive and therefore difficult to justify, except on temperature-controlled stores or where the dock is in use all day. Stertil has designed a cost-effective inflatable head dock shelter with curtain sides, which operates quickly and provides an ideal solution to the question of whether to install an inflatable or curtain shelter. The WIS inflatable dock shelter is both practical and aesthetically pleasing, with good looks an important part of the design.

The shelter is attractive and built to stay that way, with inflatable seals made from high-grade Cordura, which gives excellent tear resistance, reliable damp and mould resistance and good colour-fastness too. The inflatable seal is virtually air-tight, meaning substantial potential energy savings, as well as an improved working environment.

Inflatable shelters and seals offer a greater degree of weather-resistance over a wider range of vehicles than traditional curtain shelters, which are not designed for thermal efficiency. The top cushion of Stertil's WIS inflatable shelter sits on the roof of the vehicle rather than against the back, giving access to the whole of the vehicle opening. For a curtain shelter to offer similar sealing range to the same range of vehicles, the head curtain would need to be more than two metres long. This would be too long to offer weather protection to smaller vehicles, as it would be difficult to create a seal against the roofline of the vehicle. Taller vehicles would be likely to catch the curtain and drag it backwards into the bay when reversing, causing considerable wear to the curtain and, significantly, blocking access to the vehicle's load.

The WIS shelter's top cushion is a very large 2300mm deep enabling it to cope with a wide range of vehicle heights and types. The shelter is also user-friendly: because the top cushion is inflated by a fan, the shelter can be set into a sequence of operation with the door and traffic light system, freeing up operator time and increasing productivity. Significantly, a major benefit of the Stertil WIS dock shelter is that it can be easily retro-fitted into clients' loading bays to replace existing curtain shelters.

The WIS inflatable dock shelter is in daily use in hundreds of busy loading bays and has proved a successful and cost-effective quick fix, helping companies to cope with the increasing range of vehicle shapes and sizes they have to handle.

Stertil leads the market in the development, production and marketing of dock equipment. As well as dock shelters, its comprehensive range includes wheel guides; mobile yard ramps; scissor lifts; dock bumpers and vehicle restraint systems and mechanically- and hydraulically-operated dock levellers.