Industrial Folding and Sliding Steel Doors
Folding and straight sliding industrial doors are an excellent solution where internal space is limited for headroom or side room, or where large openings need secure, insulated closure without intrusive tracks or bulky housings.
The Samson Adone and Apollo bi folding doors, together with the Samson Atlante straight sliding door, are UK designed systems using double skinned insulated steel panels to deliver robust performance for industrial and commercial buildings across the UK.
These doors are ideal for larger openings but also work extremely well on frequently used access points where you do not need to open the full width every time.
With simple manual or powered operation, low wear components and easy access to hardware, they are also straightforward to maintain over time.
Industrial Folding Doors – Samson Adone and Apollo
Using aluminium framing where required, these folding doors can incorporate extensive glazing to create bright, open elevations.
This works particularly well for vehicle, plant and machinery showrooms or commercial units where products and activities need to be visible from outside.
Manual operation is smooth and light, making the doors easy for staff to open and close without specialist training.
Full automation is available for higher traffic openings or where improved access control and security are required.
Internal floor space is kept clear, with no overhead tracks or hood boxes projecting into the building.
For warehouses, production facilities, depots and workshops, a folding door system effectively acts as a moveable insulated wall.
When closed it offers security and thermal performance; when open it provides a wide, unobstructed clear opening with no door leaves projecting into loading zones.
Samson Adone and Apollo folding doors can be powered using quiet, reliable drive units and a full range of access control options, including simple push button controls, radio remote control, key pads, key switches, timers and biometric access such as finger scanners.
Industrial Sliding Doors – Samson Atlante
Automation
Most Samson folding and straight sliding doors can be supplied as manual or electrically operated systems, with the configuration tailored to the specific building and operational requirements.
Manual operation is typically smooth and light, even on large doors, but automation is often chosen for frequently used loading bays, busy logistics centres or where controlled, secure access is essential.
Access control can be configured to suit your site, including partial opening for pedestrian or forklift access only, timed functions, key controlled operation, integration with traffic lights or safety systems, and other site specific control strategies.
Where Would You Use a Folding Steel Door?
Industrial folding doors such as the Samson Adone and Apollo are particularly suited to:
- Warehouses and distribution centres where internal floor space must remain clear of door tracks and housings.
- Vehicle, plant and machinery showrooms that need large glazed areas and frequent partial opening for customer access.
- Workshops and service bays where doors are opened and closed many times a day but do not always need to be fully open.
- Industrial units with limited headroom for overhead doors or restricted side room for roller shutters.
- Applications where low ongoing maintenance and long service life are key priorities.
The bi folding action allows wide openings to be closed with relatively narrow leaf stacks.
Integrated wicket doors or traffic leaves can provide convenient pedestrian access without moving the whole door.
Where Would You Use a Straight Sliding Door?
Straight sliding steel doors such as the Samson Atlante are ideal for:
- Large industrial openings where a full height, full width clear opening is required only occasionally.
- Plant rooms, storage buildings and agricultural or utility structures where door leaves can slide clear along an external wall.
- Fire and smoke protection applications where sliding fire doors provide a robust, reliable barrier when closed.
- Sites where collision risk needs to be reduced by parking the door leaves fully out of the opening line.
- Projects needing wide, insulated door panels with simple, durable hardware and few moving parts.
Straight sliding doors are particularly effective where there is good wall space alongside the opening for the door leaves to park when open, keeping the drive through clear and uncluttered.
Folding vs Sliding Doors – Key Considerations
Both folding and straight sliding steel doors use robust, double skinned insulated panels and share many advantages, but each has its own strengths.
- Folding doors are ideal where you want compact leaf stacks, flexible partial opening and minimal intrusion into internal space, with the option for extensive glazing and integrated pedestrian access.
- Straight sliding doors are ideal where there is generous wall space beside the opening, very large clear widths are required, or where a sliding fire door or simple mechanism is preferred.
In many industrial and commercial sites, a mixture of Samson Adone and Apollo folding doors and Samson Atlante straight sliding doors can be used to match different facades and operational zones on the same building.
Folding and Sliding Door Solutions for Industrial Applications
Every door can be equipped with tailored glazing and infill options.
The extensive folding door programme is complemented by wicket doors with and without thresholds and divided traffic leaves for controlled pedestrian access and escape routes.
Industrial folding door with glazed sections
Whether the door is sliding or folding, Samson industrial folding and sliding doors can incorporate single or double glazed units in sizes ranging from simple round portholes to fully glazed sections within extruded aluminium framing.
Optional glazing provides natural light, external visibility for sales and marketing, or improved safety in busy working environments.
Low risk of collision damage
Door leaves that park fully open along the sides of the opening substantially reduce the risk of impact in a busy yard or loading area.
The leaves remain clearly visible to drivers and site users, and with door leaves capable of opening up to 180 degrees and adequate side space, the maximum possible drive through width and height is maintained.
Low maintenance construction
Samson industrial folding and sliding doors are designed for long service life and smooth operation.
The robust construction, using a limited number of quality, hard wearing components, keeps maintenance requirements low and helps to reduce whole life costs for industrial and commercial operators.
Fire protection options
Samson Doors also offers a range of sliding steel doors designed for fire and smoke protection.
Sliding fire doors can offer many advantages over conventional roller shutter fire doors, including simpler mechanisms and fewer wear parts.
The Hormann fire protection sliding door range is extensive, with a wide choice of sizes, colours and vision panels to meet project specific fire strategy requirements.
Standards and protection
Safety is a key priority for Hormann industrial folding doors.
Finger trap protection devices made from high quality EPDM multi chamber profiles are fitted to all vertical closing edges, making the door safe from both inside and outside and helping to protect users during everyday operation.
Choose a door type below to view full technical details, options and specifications.
