The Challenge

A large industrial warehouse in Oakville had a high-traffic main entrance where temperature separation and energy efficiency were both critically important — and neither was being adequately managed by the existing door system. The entrance saw constant forklift and personnel transit throughout the operating day, and every cycle was exchanging conditioned interior air with the outside environment. The facility needed rapid cycling to minimize the open window during each transit event, and it needed a secondary thermal barrier to handle the periods when the door was open or between cycles.

A single product couldn’t solve both aspects of the problem simultaneously — the application needed a layered approach that addressed the thermal challenge during both door cycling and door-open periods.

The Solution

Wilcox Door Service installed two complementary systems at the Oakville warehouse entrance. A Hörmann rubber high-speed door was installed to provide rapid cycling — minimizing the time the opening is exposed during each transit event. The rubber construction adds impact recovery capability for a high-traffic industrial entrance where forklift contact events are a regular reality, ensuring the door maintains its operational profile without generating repair calls from incidental impacts.

A PoweredAire air curtain was installed above the entrance to provide continuous thermal separation during door cycling and during periods when the door is held open for extended transit operations. Together, the two systems address the facility’s energy and environmental challenges completely — the high-speed door reduces the transit window, and the air curtain maintains separation during that window and beyond.

Outcomes

Temperature separation at the warehouse entrance improved significantly following the dual-system installation. The Hörmann rubber door handles the high transit cycle volume without impact-related service calls, and the PoweredAire air curtain maintains the thermal barrier during cycling and extended-open periods. Energy costs at the entrance dropped, and the facility’s internal temperature stability improved across the operating day. The two systems work together as designed — addressing both dimensions of the problem that neither could solve alone.