Union Industries acts fast on supply of rapid roll freezer door

Union Industries, the UK’s leading manufacturer of high-speed industrial doors, has supplied and installed one of its innovative Eiger fast acting rapid roll freezer doors within three weeks of receiving the order.

The Leeds-based company was called into action by Oakland International, a UK and Ireland multi temperature supply chain specialist, after experiencing problems with an existing door from another supplier, installed as part of a freezer extension at its Corby depot in 2018.

The door was facing increasing high temperatures in the recent hot weather, causing snow and ice to build-up in the cold store, which led to the poor performance and subsequent failure.

Having previously installed an Eiger door at one of its other facilities, Oakland International made the decision to invest in the same technology for its Corby depot, and the door was installed less than three weeks later.

Union Industries, which has remained operational throughout the lockdown period, manufactures a range of industrial products, including its market-leading range of high speed industrial rapid roller doors for temperature controlled storage units. It has seen a spike in activity from the food sector with an increase in orders during the pandemic requiring additional engineers on the road.

The Eiger door is the first automatic, rapid roll freezer door to operate at high speed, allowing areas to remain working effectively at temperatures of up to -25°c. The cable-operated door features a unique dehumidified air circulatory system to prevent ice forming around the door frame, and boasts the ‘Crash-Out & Auto-Reset’ feature, which allows the door to remain operable even after an impact to the bottom beam.

Oakland International works with major UK and Irish food retail, convenience, discount, wholesale and food service markets, packing and tempering chilled, ambient and frozen foods. As the country was in the midst of a global pandemic, and high street supermarkets were experiencing unprecedented demand for frozen food products, it was essential that the freezer door was fully functional to prevent any disruption to supply.

Lee Whiting, Regional Director for Oakland International said: “We were very impressed with the speed at which the Eiger door was supplied and installed by the team at Union Industries. At a particularly challenging time for the industry, we needed a quality of service that we could rely on. Having previously installed an Eiger door at our Redditch depot, we were confident that the Eiger was the best solution for our Corby site.”

Rob Howe, Technical Sales Engineer for Union Industries, said: “The key to this installation was the timing. Our team were able to provide a swift and effective solution to Oakland International at a time when there was a significant increase in demand for its services.

“The Eiger door is engineered to client-specific requirements, incorporating some market-leading features, including the ability to stop the build-up of ice around the frame and on the door blade. Oakland International is now the proud owner of two Eiger doors, and we were delighted that they chose Union Industries for a second time.”