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High-speed doors for procurement

When buying a high-speed door, the lowest price is not what counts – a complete, comparable scope and the cost over the service life are. Here you can see which items a quotation must contain, where the typical gaps are and how to compare supply-only and turnkey offers.

What must a complete quotation for a high-speed door contain?

A complete quotation describes the door precisely enough for you to compare it item by item with others, and the overall package covers everything up to a door that is ready for operation and inspected. With a supply-only quotation such as ours, installation, commissioning and inspection come from your installer, so include the installer's quotation in the comparison. If one of the items below is missing, the offer is not comparable or shifts costs into later variations.

• Technology: door type, clear opening, curtain, frame material, wind resistance class, drive with opening and closing speed, design cycles per day
• Controls: activation devices, traffic lights, interfaces with building management, fire alarm system or conveyors
• Safety: light curtain, safety edge and emergency opening
• Delivery: delivery terms, delivery address and unloading arrangements
• Work on site: survey, installation with fixings, lifting equipment and travel – usually by your installer
• Commissioning: adjustment, functional test, inspection before first use with entry in the logbook
• Handover: operator training, operating instructions, CE marking, declaration of performance, wiring diagrams
• Exclusions: list of work by others and of excluded services

Comparing quotations: checkpoints

Place the quotations side by side in a bid comparison and check every line for content, not just for price. These are the points where high-speed door quotations typically differ.

Checkpoint	What to look for	Typical gap
Clear opening	Dimensions as clear passage, not as structural opening	Mounting within the reveal reduces the passage
Wind resistance class	Class to EN 12424 stated explicitly	only “wind-resistant” without a class
Drive	Frequency inverter, speed, design cycles per day	Speed stated without reference to the number of cycles
Impact behaviour	Curtain re-inserts automatically after impact	listed only as an option without a price
Safety	Light curtain and safety edge to EN 12453	Light curtain offered as a separate accessory
Emergency opening	Type of emergency opening stated	missing or only “on request”
Installation	Fixings, supporting frame and access platform included	Supporting frame for panel walls missing
Electrical	Boundary between client and contractor clearly defined	Supply cable and conduits not covered
Existing door	Removal and disposal as a separate item	left open, later a variation
Inspection and documents	Initial inspection, logbook, declaration of performance	Inspection before first use missing

Scope: from delivery to operator training

A high-speed door has only really been bought when it is installed, commissioned, inspected and handed over. We supply the door from the factory; your own installer – in-house maintenance staff or a local door company – takes care of installation, commissioning, inspection and documentation on site. Clarify in writing who provides which service. What matters is installation according to the instructions, because incorrect installation can impair the declared characteristics of the door.

The handover includes CE marking and the declaration of performance to EN 13241, operating instructions, wiring diagrams and the logbook with the inspection before first use. The operator needs these documents for the risk assessment and periodic inspections. How delivery from the factory and installation by your installer work together is described on the page delivery and installation.

Total cost of ownership instead of purchase price

The total cost of ownership (TCO) of a high-speed door covers purchase, installation, energy, maintenance, wear parts and downtime costs over the service life. The purchase price is the visible one-off block; energy and maintenance recur year after year. A cheaper door that closes more slowly, seals less well or stops after every impact often turns out to be the more expensive one over the years.

For the investment decision, a payback calculation with operating data helps: openings per day, temperature difference, door area and energy price. The figures usually come from operations, see high-speed doors for operations managers.

• Energy: speed, sealing and curtain determine the heat or cooling loss per opening.
• Maintenance: periodic inspection according to the manufacturer's instructions and national regulations, with shorter intervals for high cycle counts.
• Wear parts: curtain, seals and zip elements – ask about price and availability in advance.
• Downtime: a stoppage at a main passage slows staff and materials; a self-repairing zip curtain shortens outages after an impact.

What determines the price of a high-speed door

The price is determined mainly by size, location, curtain, drive, sensors, frame material and installation conditions. A single-skin indoor door in a compact size is the leanest version; a large, wind-resistant or insulated outdoor door with extensive sensors is the most elaborate. A reliable fixed price without configuration therefore does not exist.

The factors are explained in detail on the page high-speed door cost. You create a uniform basis for comparison by defining the specification once – for example in the configurator – and relating all quotations to it.

• Size and wind resistance class: more material, stronger guides, more drive power
• Curtain: single-skin, insulated, transparent or for freezer applications
• Frame: galvanised steel, powder-coated or stainless steel
• Drive and controls: frequency inverter, backup battery, interfaces
• Installation by your installer: supporting frame, work during operation, removal of the existing door

Typical gaps in quotations

Gaps are usually found at the interfaces with the building and with operations, not at the door itself. They surface later as variations or as work by others that nobody planned for. Ask about these points actively:

• Electrical connection: who runs the supply cable to the control unit and the conduits to loops, traffic lights and push buttons?
• Removal and disposal of the existing door, including old fixings
• Supporting frame for sandwich panels or aerated concrete
• Floor work: cutting in induction loops, levelling uneven areas
• Access platform and work outside normal working hours
• Inspection before first use and connection to building management or conveyor systems

Questions to ask before awarding the contract

The right questions separate a robust quotation from an attractive entry price. Put the same questions to all suppliers and installers in writing and transfer the answers to the bid comparison.

• How many cycles per day is the door designed for, and which maintenance intervals follow from this?
• Which parts are wear parts, and how are spare parts supplied?
• Does the curtain re-insert itself after an impact?
• Who will carry out periodic inspection and maintenance locally, and how quickly can a technician be on site in the event of a fault?
• Can the controls, sensors and curtain also be serviced and replaced by other specialist companies?
• Which services are explicitly by others or excluded?

Incentives, leasing or purchase

In some countries, a high-speed door can qualify for energy-efficiency incentives, depending on the programme and the individual case. Many programmes require the application to be made before the order is placed, so clarify this with the funding body and your tax adviser before awarding the contract. The depreciation of the door over its service life is also a matter for your tax adviser.

Leasing or rental conserves liquidity; for permanent use at a fixed location, purchasing is usually cheaper over the service life. What counts is the term, the capital tied up and the actual content of the contract.

Maintenance agreements and repeat orders

We supply doors and spare parts, but do not offer maintenance contracts. Periodic inspection and maintenance according to the manufacturer's instructions and the national workplace regulations are arranged with your installer or a local maintenance provider. A maintenance agreement should define the inspection scope, intervals based on the cycle count, response time, handling of wear parts and documentation in the logbook.

For several doors or sites, a uniform specification pays off: the same door types, the same wear parts and bundled inspection dates reduce the workload in maintenance and procurement. Terms for repeat orders and projects with several doors are available on request. How the specification looks as a tender text is shown on the page high-speed doors for planners and architects.

Checklist

• Stakeholders involved: production or logistics, maintenance, health and safety
• Neutral specification based on performance characteristics, all suppliers quoting on the same basis
• Clear opening, location, cycle count and wind resistance class clearly stated
• Work by others for electrical, floor and supporting frame defined in writing
• Removal and disposal of the existing door as a separate item
• Installation, commissioning, initial inspection, training and documentation covered – by the supplier or by your installer
• TCO assessed: energy, maintenance, wear parts, risk of downtime
• Eligibility for incentives clarified before ordering
• Maintenance agreement with inspection scope and response time requested from a local provider