BIG doors that are specially built “Schweiss Tough”
One of the Fagen World War II Museum hangar doors was 70 ft. wide x 18 ft. tall. This bifold door used 20 liftstraps and is powered by three 5 h.p. electric motors. It was also windrated at 190 mph. The door protects many valued rare war planes.
Schweiss Doors of Fairfax, Minnesota has been setting records for years with its super-large series of quality manufactured Red Power Hydraulic door orders. A majority of these doors are being installed in both liftstrap bifold and hydraulic door uses at airports, military base locations agricultural, commercial and industrial buildings worldwide.
We not only can build them BIG, up to 130 feet wide x 36 ft. tall and 8 tons big like we did for a New Jersey aviation company, but we build them any size and all are Schweiss Tough!
Here are a few other examples of specially ordered Schweiss Tough hydraulic and bifold custom made big doors we’ve done:
• Fagen WWII Warbird Museum Liftstrap Bifold Doors
When Ron Fagen of Granite Falls, MN decided to build huge hangars for his 18,000 sq. ft. World War II museum to house his rare warbirds, the likes of a P-51, P-38, P-40s, BT-13s, a glider and others, not to mention other valuable and unique war vehicles and artifacts, Schweiss Doors was his first and only choice to custom make bifold doors for it. His 70’ x 18’ Schweiss bifold liftstrap hangar door is a museum showpiece built to protect everything inside and to give easy access to the hangar. Weighing in at 26,000 pounds the big Schweiss Door is powered by three 5 h.p. electric motors and has 20 patented lift straps to easily lift it. It is also windrated at 190 mph.
• Radiation Shielded Bifold Lead Door
The creativity of customers continues to be a driving force for many manufacturers, Schweiss Doors specializes in meeting every unique door application. North Star Imaging of Rogers, MN manufactures industrial X-ray inspection systems which are enclosed by a radiation shielding cabinet and access door used by aerospace, military, automotive, medical and even genetic seed industries. North Star had clients in Texas and Connecticut both needing an extra large access door for their new NSI X-ray system. Schweiss Doors designed and built a 40 ft. wide by 9 ft tall lead-filled radiation-shielded bifold doors for them. The protective liner alone weighed 5,000 lbs. for a total weight of 9,300 lbs. Schweiss Doors provided heftier framework plus equipped each door with seven patented liftstraps. North Star Imaging recognized this as a great engineering feat.
• Revier Feed Storage Bunker Hydraulic Doors
Tom Revier, owner of Revier Cattle Company in Olivia, MN needed a feed storage building for his 16,000 head beef operation. Filling a 220 ft. x 120 ft. steel and concrete bunker building called for tough Schweiss hydraulic doors to contain the weight of the grain pushing against it. Schweiss Doors built two 15’ 6” x 15’ custom made hydraulic doors for it positioned at each end. These 2,500 lb. doors were constructed with 3/4” steel welded into the framework of 8” beams and used oversized pistons to lift them. To make certain there would be zero leakage of grain, four 6” long steel pegs drop into the concrete footing and two steel pegs were place on each edge to lock into the steel I-beam framework of each door. Each Schweiss hydraulic door has a 54”x44” tall steel slider which lets the grain pour out for augering into feed trucks.
• Ft. Carson U.S. Army Maintenance Shop Blast-Load Doors
Getting 146 doors installed at one location speaks rather strongly about the quality and reliability of Schweiss Doors. This tall order was filled for a U.S. Army Fort Carson, Colorado project. Their specially heated maintenance shops called for big, strong doors, big enough for Army tanks and other special tactical vehicles. The Schweiss built bifold doors overcame lighting and blast resistance issues and each door had special translucent paneling and special windows installed.
• Retractable Bifold Industrial Sandblast Chamber Roof Door
What looked like a near impossible situation for SMS Millcraft in Oil City, PA turned out to be another Schweiss Door engineering bifold door masterpiece. The challenge: How to fit a “roof door” over a 20’x30’ sandblasting chamber. SMS uses a heavy-duty gantry hoist to position component parts into its huge sandblasting chamber, but unless all sides and roof of this chamber were closed, employees were submitted to unhealthy dust particles. A specially designed horizontal lifting Schweiss liftstrap bifold door sealed system filled the bill perfectly. The customer was 100 percent pleased!
• Farm/Trucking operation high speed hydraulic doors
Most customers don’t spend money on a door just because it opens and closes fast. But that was a deciding factor for a Renville County, MN farm/truck operation that runs a fleet of over-the-road semi rigs. Terry Albright appreciated the 37-second opening speed on his big 3,800 lb. insulated Schweiss 42’x17’ hydraulic door because when he’s running rigs out of a heated shop in sub-zero windy Minnesota winter conditions he wants to keep his heating bills down and rigs on the road. Instead of fitting the door with a standard 2 h.p. motor, Schweiss placed a wall-mounted pump with a 5 h.p. electric motor to easily lift the door. The door is also fitted with three high-intensity lighting fixtures fastened midway up the door for evening work convenience.
• Classic Florida hangar home has lifting wall/porch
It’s a Schweiss “show piece” which has literally received television coverage on numerous occasions. What may be the coolest ever hangar home has a 45’x15’ Schweiss hydraulic door sporting a wrap-around porch with decorator railing, table and chairs, a walk-through door with a stylish window and veranda roof. It’s nearly impossible to tell it is a jazzed-up California hangar home. “If you have a dream about a special building, run it by the Schweiss team. They do great stuff with doors and they’re easy to work with,” commented owner Dan Shaw.
• “New” Schweiss Moving Gate
Schweiss Doors is renowned for its innovative Hydraulic One-Piece and Bifold Designer Doors, many of which are used as room and corporate office dividers. These style of doors lift outward or fold upward. “The Paw” an exclusive Mankato, MN pet resort needed a 44’ 10’’ room divider, but they wanted it to lift straight up to the ceiling and they required it to stand about head high with the top half using a see-through clear unbreakable polycarbonate panel. The Schweiss design team went to work and came up with a first of its kind liftstrap moving gate. The gate gives The Paw an extra room when it’s down and a 90 ft. room when it’s up and out of the way.
These are just some examples of skilled Schweiss Door engineering. These stories and more can be viewed full length on the Schweiss Doors “Must See Photos” website at www.bifold.com
Big farm semi’s, tractors, combines and other farm machinery can easily be driven in and out of farm and ranch buildings with big one piece hydraulic Schweiss doors on them. These doors are equipped with strong cylinders, spherical bearings, beefed up hinges, power outage backup systems and a compact hydraulic pump unit that can be mounted anywhere within a building.
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