Are you a fabricator currently looking to make bifolding doors? Are you also a manufacturer looking for a bifolding door system that is different to the range of folding doors from the major aluminium systems companies?
If the answer to these questions is a yes, what options are available to you? The obvious answer is to look at the many aluminium systems companies that service the UK market.
How do you find the ideal bifolding door to make?
With so many aluminium systems available, how can you find a more bespoke bifolding door to make?
All of the major aluminium systems companies offer the aluminium extrusions, accessories, technical manuals and training, installation support and ongoing fabricator support.
Some other systems companies such as AluK, Smarts, Reynaers and others have worked with established aluminium manufacturers to help them create a more personalised bifolding door. Duration Windows have done it with one of their door ranges using AluK systems. This is largely the same door but provided a difference hinge arrangement and other tweaks.
If you are an aluminium fabricator we would like to tell you about a new bifolding door system hat is a bit different, perhaps more bespoke to your business needs. We think this new aluminium bifold product is worth considering. It may even provide a competitive edge to your business.
So what is this new bifolding door product? Let us firstly look at the company and the people behind it.
Debar Limited. Bifolding door hardware providers.
For those fabricators or installers that may never have of Debar Hardware, they are what we think are one of the unsung heroes of the bifolding door sector.
Debar Limited are a company that has for a long time specialised in providing bifolding door hardware for some of the best-known aluminium systems in the UK. Debar have succeeded by offering bifolding door hardware suitable for the many aluminium systems in the UK. Nearly 200 companies in the UK use locks, rollers, hinges and handles by Debar for their bifolding doors.
Some bifolding door brands feature Debar Hardware as standard. Debar bifolding door hardware is often chosen by fabricators looking to customise an existing bifolding door. These aluminium bifolding door manufacturers turn to Debar to provide handles that can make a rather staid door with a basic handle better.
We know several established trade manufacturers that take a Smarts Visofold door and replace the standard Smarts handle with a Debar one. Immediately, the Smarts door looks so much better to them and their customers.
The people behind Debar are also very well known in the bifolding door industry. Graham Fawthrop has nearly 20 years experience in bifolding doors having worked with some well-known names such as Solarlux as well as helping systems companies develop their bifolding door system. Debar Ltd is also co-owned by Steven Bromberg of the very well known Express Bifolding doors.
So with all this expertise and industry knowledge to hand, Debar have introduced their own aluminium Bifolding door. It is called DeWall Aluminium.
The DeWall Aluminium Bifolding door by Debar Ltd.
The DeWall Aluminium bifold is a current, high specification bifolding door aimed at trade fabricators.
The DeWall aluminium bifolding door is designed around a ‘hardware first’ principle. The theory behind this is that quality hardware forms the foundation for the rest of the product. The DeWall Aluminium bifold door is designed for fabricators and the trade to acquire a latest generation folding door that could benefit them as fabricators in several ways.
It is intended to be a system that a manufacturer can take on, rebrand as their own and even customise it if necessary. According to Debar, the bifolding door can be adapted to suit individual customer requirements. It is also fully supported by cad drawings, die drawings, details on gaskets, the seals and of course, the hardware.
In short, a fabricator can choose to adopt all of part of the system to meet their requirements. We understand that a tailored supplier/installer agreement is available as well.
Features of the DeWall aluminium bifolding door by Debar.
The DeWall bifolding door is a European designed and extruded bifolding door system. It offers the usual good refinements expected of a quality bifolding door such as slim sight lines, a bottom running gear arrangement, flexible profile options and quality hardware.
DeWall is also designed to meet the needs for slimmer bifolding doors as well as addressing the growing market demand for wider bifolding door panels and increased door heights. Doors up to 3000mm tall are possible with panels up to 1200mm wide. Each door leaf can support 120kg. That is impressive.
For fabricators, the DeWall aluminium bifold promises to be simple to make with punch tools and crimpers and is already available on the widely used Logikal software from Business Micros. The system uses the same profiles for both open in and out doors that should minimise stock holdings. Another plus for fabricators.
Debar knows what bifolding door manufacturers want.
It is evident that Debar looked to provide a bifolding door to meet the needs of the changing trade customer. The bifolding door market is today established and stable. The more bifolds installers sell and manufacturers make, the more experienced they get. This enables installers to tell their systems companies what they want from their doors to make them better to sell and easier to fit.
This is what DeBar has done. They have listened to their fabricator and installer client base and used their expertise to bring out the DeWall door. One of its best features is double adjustable frame jambs. This benefits installers and does away with many of the irregularities often encountered in the sizes of large new structural openings.
For installing the products, there are also benefits and aesthetic advantages. Door outer frames and sash profiles are all the same depth giving a consistent look to the product without the protruding sash or picture frame detail found in some systems.
As expected from a current bifolding door product, there are flexible threshold options, full-colour choice, dual colour availability and special colours too.
A nice feature that Debar have added is the facility to unlock the bifolds from the outside regardless of the configuration. This is something that some bifolding door systems do not possess. We think this will be a welcome feature as many dwellings have the rear door used more than the front.
Debar can naturally provide their range of quality bifold door hardware that they are well known to provide. Doors can have colour matched handles and door magnets if the customer chooses.
Finally, the door comes with thick thermal breaks for impressive U-Values, PAS 24, Secured by Design and Document Q compliance and good weather ratings to BS6375.
Who is already supplying the DeWall Aluminium Bifolding Door?
We know of trade fabricators already providing this system as their own brand of bifolding door but have been asked by them not to reveal the names. We can tell you that they are established aluminium manufacturers, PVCu and aluminium trade suppliers and others. All say they are delighted with the DeWall bifold and reporting strong sales.
There are few bifolding doors today that don’t meet the expected requirements of a modern and up-to-the-minute bifolding door. What the DeWall product has done is taken many of the best and desired features of the best-known quality bifolds and incorporated them into the product. What DeWall also has is some added features of its own.
Are you a fabricator? Should you make the DeWall aluminium bifolding door?
Having examined the product and the information surrounding it we think the DeWall bifold is certainly worth looking at. It may not be for everyone. So what are the possible benefits to you as a fabricator?
- The system can be customised to suit your requirements.
- It comes with the excellent Debar range of hardware
- It offers excellent specifications.
- It is arguably a better door than the AluK and Smarts doors that presently dominate the market (as good as these doors are).
There are other reasons why as a fabricator you may consider speaking to Debar about this new door. You can have a new bifolding door system that shifts away from the mainstream systems.
The reality is most fabricators make AluK, Smarts or SAPA. Then there is a growing band of manufacturers taking on premium systems such as Reynaers and Schuco. There are also great bifolding doors from Kawneer in their AA3720 and the Senior Architectural PURe FoldDoor. Kestrel, Metal Technology and others have also brought out good bifolds too.
DeWall may be cheaper than customising an existing aluminium system.
If you are looking to speak to an existing systems company about customising one of their systems, one of the things you will naturally be considering is the costs. There may be costs involved in new dies, tooling, hardware, training and marketing. All these should be weighed up with the product offering by Debar with the DeWall door. You may find a better deal with Debar’s DeWall door.
The other consideration will be minimum order quantities. In laying down new dies for a product, there are substantial costs involved. What we do not know as yet is whether Debar is looking to sell stillages of bar length for this product or are flexible in quantities.
Alternatively, if you are a fabricator looking to take on a new bifolding door system without modifications, the DeWall bifold appears to be a sensible proposition as well.
Debar caters for the larger aluminium fabricators with the DeWall bifold.
Large fabricators can benefit from buying direct from the extruders.
Super fabricators in aluminium are nothing like their PVCu counterparts. However, they do exist. Debar have been immensely smart in our view by offering something that the large aluminium fabricator is likely to consider a bonus.
For any large manufacturer that buys a big volume of aluminium profiles and accessories, Debar has catered for them as well. Debar are giving them the opportunity to buy the extrusions direct from the extruders. The advantages to this are obvious:
- Prices will be cheaper as you have cut out one ‘middle man’.
- Those savings can either be passed on or retained as a better profit margin.
- The independent security and weather tests are unaffected.
Have you ever wondered why some aluminium fabricators offer your system far cheaper than others? It is quite likely they have negotiated (as large accounts and high spending customers) an arrangement with the systems company where they can buy the extrusions they need directly from the mill.
We can tell you that this type of purchasing arrangement was in place over 15 years ago, and we used to do it ourselves when previously involved with one of the primary aluminium trade suppliers in the UK.
Debar needs to be congratulated on their new DeWall bifolding door.
It is not often the opportunity arises to write about products clearly directed at the fabricator. The bifolding door trade market mostly tends to focus on the installers heavily.
The DeWall bifolding door we think offers a current, high specification bifolding door that should be highly appealing to any good fabricator looking to either move away from the fine popular systems or to add another and better bifold to their production line.
If you are interested in finding out more about this great bifold from one of the best bifold hardware companies in the UK, contact us.
Images courtesy of bifold-hardware.com
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