Reading through Hellbergs' reference list, most North Sea operators have at some time fitted the company's fire doors on their platforms. Hellbergs International was set up 50 years ago to manufacture blastproof and gastight doors primarily for air raid shelters. Over this period, the company has produced all kinds of special doors but with the emphasis on steel fire doors. These days the company concentrates purely on design, development, and approvals testing, and manufacturing is carried out by licensees in numerous countries around the world.
The company specializes in A and B class fire doors for the offshore and marine sectors and also provides an A60 semi-watertight sliding or hinged door for use above waterline, which will withstand pressures of up to four meters of water column.
50% weight savings
Lennart Hellberg, who runs the company, explained it was relatively easy to produce a fire door that met the standards laid down by the various authorities. "Traditional design relies on having a hollow, steel-faced door filled with insulating material: mineral wool or vermiculite. But increasingly customers are calling for lighter weight doors that have the same fire resistance," he said.
As a result of this demand, Hellbergs has developed a new range of doors, which it launched this year. Weight savings over conventional A class doors are up to 50% - the savings on the ligher duty B class doors are up to 25%. The doors have a steel frame but use a glass-fiber reinforced, calcium silicate composite material for the main doorleaf. Mineral wool is retained as the insulation within the hollow core. The 34mm thick B class and 46mm thick A class doors are normally delivered primed and ready for painting. However, they also come finished with a plastic laminate or PVC coating.
The doors have been tested successfully to IMO Res. 754(18), the A class door giving 60 minutes and the B class 30 minutes fire protection. The new lightweight A60 class sliding doors, which have to close automatically in the event of a fire, will be fitted with a newly-developed Armbrecht & Partner electric drive system, a departure from the pneumatic closures normally fitted on such doors. This bestows advantages in terms of quieter operation and ease of installation. Both A and B class doors can also be supplied with concealed, mechanical self-closing mechanisms, improving the appearance of the door and protecting the closure from accidental damage.
Hellbergs has patented the design of the lightweight door and gained EU certification for it. The company claims that no other supplier is currently in a position to offer a similar product.
For more information contact Lennart Hellberg, Hellbergs International. Tel: +46 522 665 666, Fax: +46 522 665 777 or e-mail [email protected]
