Corporate automatic doors carry a building’s first impression and its climate control at the same time. This entrance for MSD in Midrand needed to manage steady staff and visitor traffic while keeping the reception comfortable.
Client: MSD | Location: Midrand, Gauteng | Sector: Pharmaceutical / corporate office | Scope: Automatic sliding entrance
The solution
We supplied and installed an automatic sliding door with a slim-sightline aluminium shopfront, glazed with laminated safety glass for a clean corporate entrance that opens on approach and closes gently behind.
What corporate automatic doors are specified for
A head-office entrance is judged in the first three seconds of a visit, so the glazing and sightlines do a lot of work. But the specification that actually determines whether the entrance is still working in five years is the operator duty rating.
In a corporate reception the door is in near-constant use through the working day. That means a high-cycle operator, sensors set for the actual approach path, and a maintenance plan – not simply the cheapest unit that fits the opening.
Glazing and safety certification
Glass in and beside a doorway is a human-impact position, which is why the pane specification is not a free choice. Certified safety glazing is the baseline, and the correct grade depends on the size, position and exposure of each pane in the entrance.
Safety, sensors and compliance
Any automatic entrance runs unattended, so the safety devices matter as much as the operator itself. Presence and motion sensors hold the door open while somebody is still in the opening, safety beams guard the closing edge, and hold-open time and closing speed are set on commissioning to suit the traffic. Glazing in and around a door is a recognised human-impact position, so the glass specification should be confirmed against the applicable South African standards – see the South African Bureau of Standards, or our glazing compliance centre for a plain-English summary.
Keeping corporate automatic doors running
An entrance that opens hundreds of times a day is a mechanical system and needs to be treated like one. Sensors drift out of alignment, floor tracks collect grit, and operators need periodic adjustment. We install these systems and can keep them serviced afterwards, which is what keeps a busy entrance reliable rather than becoming the thing everyone complains about.
Why it works
- Hands-free access for a busy corporate reception
- Air-conditioning kept in, energy costs down
- High-cycle operator built for all-day commercial use
- Safety sensors preventing the door closing on anyone in the opening
Fitting out offices in Gauteng?
If you are specifying corporate automatic doors for a head office or campus, we can survey the opening and advise on operator, shopfront and glazing. See our automatic sliding doors page or browse other completed projects.
What we check before quoting mSD, Midrand — Automatic entrance doors
The structural opening decides most of the specification, so we measure that rather than any existing frame. We then check whether the head is level and can carry an operator, what sits above the opening — a bulkhead, sprinkler line or services void all dictate where the header can physically go — and whether there is power at the head. Getting those three right before anything is ordered is what keeps mSD, Midrand — Automatic entrance doors on programme.
Keeping mSD, Midrand — Automatic entrance doors working through a power cut
South African entrances have to answer a question most overseas specifications ignore. An optional battery backup keeps the operator running through a slot; without one, the door should be set to fail open or fail secure to suit the building, with a manual release your staff know how to use. If card readers, intercoms or a time clock are wanted, specify them now rather than cutting into a finished ceiling later.
Which door type suits the opening
Traffic and wall space decide the layout for mSD, Midrand — Automatic entrance doors. Single sliding is the everyday shopfront answer; bi-parting halves the travel and handles the busiest public entrances; telescopic stacks the leaves where there is not enough wall to park them; and a swing operator automates a hinged door you already have.
- MC-125 sliding: single leaf to 150 kg, or bi-parting 2 × 120 kg, openings 1450–5000 mm.
- MCW-100 swing: existing hinged doors to 1,200 mm / 150 kg (interdependent).
- Tested to one million operating cycles, 2-year manufacturer warranty on the operator.
What warranty applies to the operator?
The MC-125 and MCW-100 carry a 2-year manufacturer warranty. Wear items such as belts, rollers and guides are replaced as part of servicing rather than under warranty.
Do you work outside Gauteng?
Yes. Automatic doors are supplied, installed and serviced nationwide, with call-outs within 24 hours in Gauteng.
What to send us for a quote
A useful quotation needs very little: the structural opening width and height, a photograph of the doorway taken square-on, a note of what is above the opening, and a rough idea of daily traffic. Tell us whether access control or a battery backup is wanted and the quote comes back complete rather than caveated.
- Structural opening width and height in millimetres.
- A square-on photograph of the doorway and what sits above it.
- Rough daily traffic, including deliveries.
- Whether access control, intercom or battery backup is wanted.
- Any deadline the entrance has to meet.
Comfort, access and energy
A door that opens only when it is needed keeps conditioned air inside and dust and noise out, which is the practical argument for automation beyond convenience. Set the hold-open time for the slowest user rather than the fastest, add presence detection so nobody is caught in the opening, and the entrance works for everybody who uses the building.
How much work will the door really do?
Traffic is the number that sizes mSD, Midrand — Automatic entrance doors. Count people in and out, then add deliveries, staff movements and trolleys. A quiet reception and a supermarket entrance can look identical on a drawing and behave completely differently in service, which is why the cycle estimate belongs in the specification rather than in the assumptions.
What glass comes as standard?
6.38 mm clear laminated safety glass, with tinted and performance options, quoted separately, where solar gain or privacy matters.
What happens when we report a fault?
We take the symptom over the phone so the right part is loaded, then attend — within 24 hours in Gauteng and within 48 hours elsewhere.
Corporate automatic doors in short
If you are pricing corporate automatic doors, send the structural opening sizes and a photograph and we will specify the system, the sensors and the glass against the traffic the doorway really carries. Corporate automatic doors are supplied, installed and serviced by one team, with spares held locally.
Ask us about corporate automatic doors and we will confirm the opening, the power supply and the traffic flow before quoting a fixed price.
Corporate automatic doors at a glance
- Pricing for corporate automatic doors follows the opening width, the glass and the sensor layout.
- Ask us to confirm the opening before ordering corporate automatic doors.
- Every enquiry about corporate automatic doors gets a written specification, not a verbal estimate.
How a corporate automatic doors installation actually runs
Every entrance starts with a site survey rather than a catalogue number. We measure the structural opening, check what the floor and lintel will carry, look at how people actually approach the doorway, and confirm the power supply position. Only then does the operator get specified, because the same opening can need a different unit depending on traffic, exposure and how wide the clear opening has to be.
The frame and glazing are then manufactured to the confirmed sizes, delivered, and installed. Commissioning is the step that gets skipped most often elsewhere and matters most: opening speed, closing speed, hold-open time and sensor coverage are all set on site, with the door running, against the real approach path rather than a default profile. It is the step that separates corporate automatic doors that feel effortless from ones everybody in the building complains about.
What we need to know to quote
Most of the quoting delay on corporate automatic doors comes from missing information rather than complexity. If you can give us these up front, we can usually come back quickly:
- The structural opening width and height, measured rather than estimated
- Roughly how many people pass through on a busy day
- Whether the opening is internal, or exposed to weather and wind
- Any landlord, centre-management or fit-out specification that applies
- Whether an existing frame is being replaced or it is a new opening
If you are not sure on any of it, a site visit sorts it out faster than a drawing exchange – and it avoids the most expensive mistake in this trade, which is an operator specified for the wrong duty and replaced a year later. Specified properly at the start, corporate automatic doors should run for years with nothing more than servicing.
