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You could be forgiven for thinking that the hardware catalogue is something of a static offer. A handle is a handle and lock manufacturers must have exhausted all the new concepts for bolting a door. However, leading manufacturers supplying the UK market regularly explore new technologies and expand the range of options, allowing for increasingly sophisticated systems.

At Carl Fuhr, the German lock manufacturer, there is heavy investment in research and development showing commitment to investigating future market needs. As a result, the company has justifiably earned a reputation for design innovation and consistently pushes forward locking technology.

Performance guaranteed

One design that reveals Fuhr’s extra effort is the stainless steel Platinum range of door bolts, which was designed to prevent corrosion and solve the durability problems found in coastal regions or areas with heavy industrial pollution. The design of the Fuhr Platinum series was a direct response to identifying that plated products suffer from corrosion in such areas. It also carries the company’s ten-year performance guarantee.

Design aesthetics have not been compromised in the name of high performance. This longer life product aims to provide trouble free operation and reduced call-outs as well as looking good.

Another Fuhr product at the forefront of lock design is the Multisafe 870 that has effectively combined both safety and security features. The lock is designed to be used in single and double door applications. Its security comes from the substantial round, hardened steel dead bolts that engage into custom designed keeps.

Safety in standards

The Multisafe 870 lock meets high safety standards as it can be unlocked and opened from the inside in one simple action. The door lever can be depressed or, in commercial or multi-residential situations, a panic release bar can be pushed down. This mechanism still works when the door has been key locked from the outside, so people cannot be trapped inside.

Another pioneering manufacturer in hardware is Hoppe. It combines functionality with aesthetics to give consumers’ more choice in fitting styles and finishes. The company’s Designer range, for example, offers five lever designs in polished brass and chrome. They are designed to complement timber, PVC-U and composite doors. The collection aims to meet the needs of the most sophisticated customer.

Registered resistance

Hoppe has also introduced a security door handle, which resists attack to such an extent that it is now registered as an approved product by ‘Secured by Design’.

Far from being a static industry, there are a number of pioneering hardware manufacturers that are pushing forward the spheres of design and technology. This is leading to some revolutionary high performance hardware products that help the distributor increase product diversity and benefit consumers with increasingly sophisticated and application specific products.

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