Architectural Openings – News from DORMA

Automatic swinging door operator offers modern look

LAKE BLUFF, Ill. – The new CD 80 Swing Door Operator from DORMA Entrance Systems provides an aesthetically pleasing automatic swing door option, perfect for both new and existing office and institutional applications.

The swinging door operator’s low profile makes the exit device ideal for mounting on standard door systems. In addition, the unit’s low weight allows it to fit directly onto the door leaf or top jamb without causing excessive strain on the hinges. The hardware is very easy to install – simply latch the operator onto the mounting plate after the plate has been attached.

The CD 80 door operator is a quiet solution for noise-sensitive locations such as offices, schools and health care facilities. Its tight engineering tolerances dramatically reduce vibrations during door operation, resulting in extraordinarily silent function when automatically opening and closing a door.

The automatic swinging door operator also has several functions, such as power assist and an extended hold-open function that allows the door to remain open at an adjustable angle for up to 10 minutes, perfect for loading or unloading as well as ventilation.

The superior, innovative design has also been recognized internationally with the 2004 Red Dot Design Award. For more information or a product brochure, call DORMA Entrance Systems toll free at 1-877-367-6211 or visit www.dorma-usa.com

The Spring Assist Arm System from DORMA Reduces Operation and Maintenance Costs

REAMSTOWN, Pa. – The S-DS and S-IS Spring Assist Arm Systems from DORMA Architectural Hardware are designed to control doors in high traffic applications such as educational facilities, sports arenas, retail stores, hotels and theaters.

The reduction of operation and maintenance costs is kept in mind with DORMA’s spring-assisted system design.  Minimizing the collateral effects of high volume or abusive pedestrian traffic with the addition of spring assistance, the arm system prevents the door from slamming into an adjacent wall, which could damage the wall, door closer or other hardware on or around the opening. The quiet operation also avoids metal-to-metal contact to lessen or completely eliminate operation noise.

DORMA is the only manufacturer to offer spring assist products for standard-mount hardware.  The Spring Assist Arm Systems are available in three mount types – regular, top jamb and parallel arm to meet the needs of your application.  The system also features DORMA’s Tight Lock® arm system, which ensures a secure mechanical connection between the closer pinion and main arm, and can be adjusted for various stop points at 85, 90, 100 and 110 degrees.   

For more information or a Spring Assist Arm System brochure, call DORMA at (800) 523-8483 or visit www.dorma-usa.com.

PA company to supply exit devices for world’s tallest building in Dubai

1-22-07 – PA company to supply exit devices for world’s tallest building in Dubai

REAMSTOWN, Pa. — Commercial door hardware products manufactured by DORMA Group North America (www.dorma-usa.com) will soon be headed to Dubai for use in the world’s tallest building: the Burj Dubai, which will tower more than 2,300 feet and 160 floors when completed in 2008.

The products include hydraulic door closers that will be manufactured locally in DORMA’s Reamstown facility. (Often mounted at the top of the door frame, door closers help control door speed when people open and close them.) DORMA will also supply locks and exit devices—the horizontal push bars that latch and unlatch doors—from its Steeleville, Ill., facility.

The $6.5 million order represents one of the largest in the history of the Ennepetal, Germany-based company and one of the largest fulfilled by DORMA Group North America operations, which traces its local roots back to 1851 in Reading.

Further, DORMA is optimistic the large order will be the first of several for this project, as the building has reached only about 1,100 feet—not even half—of the planned height.

“The inclusion of DORMA hardware on this record-breaking structure is a testament to the quality and style our employees put into every product,” says Scott Duncan, President of DORMA Architectural Hardware, part of DORMA Group North America.

Designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the Burj Dubai will house a hotel, a large number of luxury apartments, and several office complexes. The building combines historical and cultural influences with cutting edge technology to achieve a high-performance structure that will set the new standard for development in the Middle East and become the model for the future of the city.

DORMA Architectural Hardware’s local manufacturing operation had its beginnings in 1851, when William Harbster opened a blacksmith shop in Reading, eventually producing locks, latches, hinges and a variety of other hardware items. This developed into what was known as the Reading Hardware Co., operating continuously for 99 years until manufacturing ceased in 1950 and the company was sold off in parcels.

The door check division, which began in 1875, was sold to Hardware Products Inc., a Reading company which acquired the name, patterns, and machinery and eventually changed its name to Reading Door Closer. Eventually the privately held company relocated to Reamstown, where it has been operating since. Germany-based DORMA bought the company in 1980. The company has expanded significantly since then through organic growth and the acquisition of other companies who make and service products in the architectural openings industry.

DORMA centralized the management of its North American operations in Reamstown in 2002 with the formation of DORMA Group North America

About DORMA Group North America
DORMA Group North America manufactures and markets a wide range of products for the architectural openings industry, with a particular focus on commercial and institutional openings. Part of The DORMA Group worldwide, DORMA Group North America comprises DORMA Architectural Hardware, DORMA Glas, Modernfold, DORMA Canada, DORMA Mexico, and DORMA Entrance Systems — which markets products and services under the DORMA Automatics, Crane Revolving Door and Carolina Door Controls brands.

DORMA Group North America offerings include safety and security products, locks, door closers, exit devices, glass hardware and patch fittings, sliding and swinging automatic doors, revolving doors and operable partitions