Union Industries firing on all cylinders at Jaguar Land Rover

Union Industries is proving its efficiency at Jaguar Land Rover’s £500m Engine Manufacturing Centre (EMC) with a significant installation requiring more than 40 of its high speed doors.

The Leeds-based company, which designs, manufactures, installs and maintains its own range of fast acting doors was chosen as Jaguar Land Rover’s preferred supplier due to its doors’ unrivalled durability and proven track record of low through-life-costs

A combination of various sized Ramdoors, Bulldoors, Matadoors and Picadoors from Union’s range have been installed at the EMC in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. All the doors are activated by radar motion sensors for fully automatic operation for efficiency, complete with Active Infra-red (AIR) sensors for additional safety protection to ensure the doors stay open if a presence is detected in the immediate vicinity.

One of the specific applications for a door solution was that Jaguar Land Rover required a specific temperature and level of humidity to be maintained in its production measurement room to ensure that products are 100 percent accurate. This was achieved by Union using a number of its small internal doors, the Picadoor, to create an airlock situation where only one door can be open at any one time, minimising heat and moisture ingress.

Although Union is continually upgrading its existing range of robust internal and external doors by incorporating the latest technological advances, the Picadoor – which was launched in January 2014 – is the first brand new door launched by Union since its Eiger freezer door over a decade ago.

Part of the approach Union industries has is for its senior management and sales engineers to occasionally assist with door installations. This keeps the relevant staff well aware of any new product developments and any installation implications that come along with it – as well as the other unseen benefits that this ‘back to the floor’ ethos brings with it. Alan Hirst, Sales Director, was fortunate enough to be able to help with the latest Picadoor installations on the Jaguar Land Rover site.

For openings where air movements vary significantly, Union installed a range of Bulldoors and Ramdoors, which are two of the most durable doors in its range. The majority of the Ramdoors have been fitted with heavy duty travelling windbar systems on both sides in order to offer additional support to the door blade during their operation. These were specified early on in the design stages of the project.

The Matadoor, Bulldoor and Ramdoor feature Union’s highly-regarded ‘Crash-Out’ damage protection facility, which ensures the doors remains operable even if the heavy duty steel composite bottom beam is hit by a vehicle. The Matadoor was in-fact the first ever High Speed Door on the market in the UK to have this system. It was this proven ‘Crash-Out’ facility, amongst many other things, that convinced Jaguar Land Rover to specify Union Industries’ doors for the EMC project.

All of Union’s doors come with free-entry into its Lifetime Warranty Scheme, which also played a part in the decision to choose Union. This cover is provided as standard and includes at least one service visit from Union’s highly trained technicians each year.

Alan Hirst at Union Industries, said: “This has been one of our largest contracts in recent times, and for it to come from such a prestigious British company speaks volumes for the quality of our products and services.

“As a proud British business to receive an order from one of the country’s most iconic manufacturers, which is renowned for its quality of manufacture and style, is extremely satisfying. It’s also pleasing to see companies such as Jaguar Land Rover supporting other, smaller UK manufacturers.