Andrzej Polkowski is Champion Door’s Country Manager in Poland. Polkowski runs projects that initiate in Poland, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and occasionally in other countries.
In Poland and the neighboring countries, the market for doors by Champion Door is similar to other areas in the world: when standard doors are not big enough, Champion Door is the solution.
Poland has strong roots in the shipbuilding industry. Although the number of shipyards in Poland has decreased, a new area in shipbuilding is gaining ground. In 2018, the International Trade Administration ranked Poland the fifth in the world in yacht production volume and stated that the pleasure boat building industry in Poland is very well developed.
According to Polkowski, doors by Champion Door are used in the pleasure boat building industry not only in production halls but in boat storage too. Storage buildings can be equipped with the doors that have a relatively low U-value. A low U-value means that the doors are insulated well enough to keep the cold out and, if the building is heated, the heated air in.
"The boats are luxury items. They are big investments for their owners and have sometimes been built with very delicate technology. They require surroundings where they are protected against weather conditions."
Manufacturing large offshore wind mill parts requires large doors
The doors by Champion Door are often chosen during the design stage of new production halls. The doors can also be installed in old shipyard buildings that now have a new purpose in offshore wind mill manufacturing. Wind mill parts are extremely large, which poses several requirements for the building and its doors.
"We’re talking about doors that can be 35 meters wide, 30 meters high and 1 meter thick. Not everyone is willing to install doors like this but we at Champion Door have the willingness and the ability to complete even the most challenging projects."
There are several different stages in offshore wind mill part manufacturing, such as cutting, welding, cleaning, conditioning and painting. As an environment, the sea is very corrosive: this means that the work stages listed above have to be completed with special precision. The doors by Champion Door can be used as dividers to separate the different work stages from each other. As a result, the impurities that are in the air from the cleaning stage, for example, will not affect the paint finish and possibly cause the parts to rust before their time.
"Our doors can be used not only for dividing the space for different work stages, but for dividing it into completely separate facilities, too. Craneway doors allow moving large items in and out of the building."
Fabric fold-up doors have no competitors when it comes to running costs
According to Polkowski, customers in Poland have the same expectations as customers in other countries: they are looking for good value for their investments. Polkowski points out that the initial cost of the door is only a part of the total cost of ownership.
"Doors by Champion Door are big but they do not create high maintenance costs. Our doors do not, for example, have rolling parts that require periodic replacements. When it comes to running costs, our doors have no competitors ─ all other doors, such as sliding doors, require frequent regular maintenance that brings the yearly costs up. Our doors also save on energy costs due to their excellent insulation capabilities."
Polkowski feels that the best part about doors by Champion Door is that they can meet virtually any requirement a customer may have.
"Our doors can be powered from an external generator, which means that they can be operated even in case of power loss. Our doors are easy to fix by simply replacing one section of the door fabric. They can also be customized, light weight, extra insulation, special fabrics, you name it. They are lighter and more cost-effective than metal ones and do not require heavy support structures or tracks installed on the floor. I strongly encourage everyone to consider fabric doors for their facilities. They are a great solution."