EFAFLEX installs the biggest door in the history of the company at the Österreichische Bundesbahn [Austrian Federal Railway] (ÖBB)

 When it comes to freight transportation in Austria, the Österreichische Bundesbahn (ÖBB) is one of the most important hubs in the country. The centre in Wolfurt, opened over 30 years ago as a freight yard with an integrated terminal, and has experienced more than just dynamic growth since its construction. Today, this centre handles the same number of goods in one month as it once did for the whole of 1992. In order to guarantee that the new service hall for container stackers and containers can work smoothly, the operators needed a robust and reliable door that would fit the huge dimensions of the hall’s entrance – an opening which is larger than most detached houses.

EFAFLEX installed the mammoth: EFA-SST XL measuring a colossal 11 metres tall and 8.5 meters wide. 

“The scale of the door is massive. When it came to this building project, we designed, delivered and installed the largest door to have been made in more than 40 years of EFAFLEX company history”, explains Magdalena Hagl, Area Sales Manager for Austria.

She describes the installation as a unique process; one which was specifically tailored to this construction: “The installation conditions were very confined. Based on the conditions on site, we decided to install the door before the roof was added. This was the only way in which we could lift the hood into the hall without complications and install it in place with millimetre precision.”

Suitable hoisting equipment to lift the weight also first had to be found.

 “When installing such a vast door in such a narrow space, it is incredibly important to coordinate every single detail – the installation team, hoisting equipment, lorries, and forklifts.”

 At a weight of around 4.3 tonne and a high opening and closing speed, the huge door not only prevents cold air from entering the service hall. Its 49 EFA-Therm laths are 100 mm thick, ensuring that the door surface – almost three times as large as a boxing ring – provides optimal thermal insulation too. Four transparent laths with portholes ensure greater security on both sides of the door.

 The latest thermally insulating generation of spiral doors from EFAFLEX achieves top levels of energy efficiency thanks to the use of thermally separated door laths with an extremely high degree of thermal insulation in accordance with DIN EN 13241-1. The lath thicknesses can be varied depending on the thermal insulation required. In doing so, the lath height is kept the same. At the same time, the swift door blade speeds play a role in ensuring that all highly efficient logistics processes are able to be carried out perfectly. Even while the heating is switched on, the hall temperature remains almost constant. From an architectural point of view, the new generation of EFA-SST doors allows designers to achieve a uniform-looking façade, even when various different dimensions and models need to be planned. Added to this are almost unlimited possibilities when it comes to varying materials and surface finishes or colouring. 

Hard facts – technical data for the ÖBB’s EFA-SST XL:

Height: 11 m

Width: 8.50 m

Weight: 4.3 t

Opening speed: 0.5 m/sec

Closing speed: 0.3 m/sec

Thermal insulation: DIN EN 13241-1 (under 1.0 W/mÇK)

Laths: 49 EFA-Therm laths (of which four transparent laths with portholes)

Lath height: 225 mm

Lath diameter: 100 mm (generally, profile thicknesses of 40, 60, 80 or

100 mm are possible)