From the freezer door to Easy Clean: EFAFLEX equips the entire food operation

"The Sweet Factory," the cake factory, is what they call it. But as romantic as the native name sounds, things are not so idyllic at Dolceria Alba in the Italian Piedmont. On the contrary: production rooms, test laboratories, and deep-freeze storage meet the highest modern standards. They appear bright and, in keeping with food production, almost sterile. Between the individual areas, quick-acting doors from EFAFLEX ensure that the departments where food is openly processed are securely and hygienically separated from logistics routes and storage areas. Storage with minus 25 degrees Celsius is secured by EFA SST-TK 100 cold storage doors from EFAFLEX.

The German specialist for high-speed industrial doors has supplied nearly 70 doors to Dolceria Alba. Two old production sites were completely gutted and converted into a new factory with a footprint of 15,000 square meters. The company took over and managed the complete planning itself. Equipment that had proven successful in other Dolceria Alba operations was also selected for the new plant. The planners already had excellent experience with the efficiency and reliability of EFAFLEX doors at two other locations. This was reason enough to choose a full range of premium products for this project as well.

Before the construction of the plant, various requirements had to be met: cooling rooms, deep-freeze zones, warehouses, and workshops were set up. Each of these departments was equipped with doors that perfectly meet their respective demands. Different parameters had to be considered, such as thermal insulation, opening and closing speeds, and the number of opening cycles. Some doors need to open and close up to 800 times a day.

For other applications, fully transparent doors were used to enable visual contact between different production units. In hygienic areas, easy-to-clean stainless steel doors, EFA SRT-EC (Easy Clean), were installed.

Particularly for the doors in front of the deep-freeze areas, the focus was on optimal insulation of the door panels, as a constant temperature of minus 25 degrees Celsius must be maintained there. These storage areas are securely sealed off by EFAFLEX cold storage doors EFA SST-TK 100.

Hermetic sealing of the cold storage rooms

The design of the EFA-SST-TK-100 cold storage door follows the trend towards products and equipment that have a positive impact on companies' energy balances. The high-speed door is highly durable and thus particularly efficient in cold storage facilities with frequent loading and unloading processes. A dynamic door leaf and spiral guide system AFM (Active Framework Mechanism) ensure that the door leaf, when closed, shifts towards the door frame in the direction of an around-the-door profile seal, thus nearly hermetically sealing the cold storage areas. Compared to other door designs, the door leaf is mounted in a spiral device. EFAFLEX cold storage doors are equipped with heating in the closing profile, the around-the-profile seal, and the door leaf itself to keep contact surfaces of the seals free of ice—between the seal and the door leaf, the floor, and the individual panels of the door leaf. With a U-value of 0.62 W/m²K at dimensions of 4000 x 4500 mm, Efaflex offers a particularly tight and well-insulated low-energy cold storage door.

The excellent insulation of the EFA-SST-TK-100 with EFA-AFM is achieved, among other things, through the use of 100 mm thick, thermally separated, and insulated EFA-THERM panels. The panels are individually attached to the hinge brackets. This ensures high operational smoothness, unmatched durability, and maximum functionality. Additionally, quick and easy panel replacement can be carried out at any time if needed. This is very important for Dolceria Alba to ensure the quality of their products at all times.

Customer service ensures trouble-free operation

In addition to the technical requirements for the doors, Dolceria Alba has chosen different colors for the door coverings depending on the application and employee access permissions. The company cannot afford any door malfunctions, as this would either block access to a cold storage or allow warm air to enter.

In other cases, malfunctions could affect the temperature and pressure balance within the building. If the seal between service corridors and production rooms does not work properly, it could lead to product quality or hygiene issues. The company expressed great satisfaction with the quick and conscientious maintenance provided by EFAFLEX’s Italian partner – Becpor Chiusure.

Becpor is the provider of EFAFLEX high-speed doors in northwestern Italy and is responsible for sales, service, and installation. The company has been offering tailored solutions around doors and gates for 35 years, serving industrial, plant engineering, and residential sectors. Since 2002, Becpor has been a highly reliable partner for EFAFLEX in the provinces of Piedmont, Liguria, and the Aosta Valley, also providing a 24-hour emergency call service.