If you order a retractable bollard from us, you do not get a trade product from an importer's catalogue. Every Braun Antriebe bollard is made in our own workshop in Seevetal near Hamburg – from cutting the stainless steel tube and milling the individual parts to assembly by hand and a function test under compressed air. We are a manufacturer, not a dealer. That is why we can explain every component, why spare parts are still available after many years, and why a coat of arms or company logo in the lid plate is not a special case for us but simply a milling program. The cover photo shows part of our machine park: at the front the Hurco VMX42Di machining centre, behind it two more CNC milling machines.
From stainless steel tube to finished bollard
It all starts with a seamless tube made of stainless steel V4A (316). It goes onto our band saw, an Amada Dynasaw 530, which cuts tubes up to 530 mm in diameter to length at precise angles. The same saw cuts the blanks for lid plates, base frames and cylinder parts. From the saw, the parts move on to the milling machines: there the lid plates are face-milled, fits for the pneumatic cylinder are bored, threads are cut and base frames are machined to size. Only when all parts have been fully machined and inspected does assembly begin – and we always do that by hand.
The Amada Dynasaw 530 band saw: this is where the stainless steel tubes for bollard bodies and installation sleeves are cut to length. On the right, the forklift that brings the heavy tubes into the hall.
Why we use only stainless steel V4A (1.4571)
For all load-bearing parts of our bollards we use stainless steel V4A with the material number 1.4571. In addition to chromium and nickel, this material contains molybdenum and is stabilised with titanium. This makes it far more resistant to road salt, salty air, dog urine and de-icing agents than the cheaper V2A stainless steel often used in bollards. V4A is used wherever metal is permanently exposed to moisture and chemicals – in shipbuilding, medical technology and chemical plants. A bollard stands in the ground, in salt water in winter and in the sun in summer, and should still look like new after ten years. That is exactly what this material is made for.
For you this means: no annual painting, no rust on welds, no flaking powder coating. The brushed surface stays as it is. Our reference Sansibar on Sylt shows what our bollards look like after years on the North Sea; what salt, sand and groundwater do to technology in the ground is described in the reference from the flood zone.
Milling with coolant in the Hurco machining centre. At the bottom of the picture, finished stainless steel flanges that will later hold the pneumatic cylinder in the bollard. Stainless steel V4A is tough and difficult to machine – which is why these parts run with adapted cutting parameters and plenty of cooling.
Our machine park: CNC machining centres from Hurco
We mill on several vertical machining centres made by Hurco, including a VMX42i, a VMX42Di and several VMX10i. The large machines take the lid plates and base frames, while the smaller ones handle the many small parts that make up a bollard. All machines are equipped with the same Hurco control, so a program runs on any machine and we can distribute jobs according to capacity. For you this means short lead times – even when one machine is busy with a series.
A row of CNC milling machines in our hall, with a Hurco VMX10i at the front.
The Hurco VMX42i with its door open: the large lid plates and base frames of the bollards are clamped on the machine table and fully machined in a single set-up.
Design and programming from a single source
Our bollards are not a bought-in design. Every component was developed by us, and every milling program is written by us – directly at the control or at the CAD workstation. If a customer needs a different installation depth, a different lid plate or a logo in the surface, we change the drawing and the program, not the supplier. There is nobody in between who has to be asked first. That is also why we can respond quickly to customer requests: the change is discussed in the morning and runs on the machine in the afternoon.
At the Hurco control: on the right-hand screen the contour of a bollard component, on the left the matching milling program. We program directly at the machine, without going through an external service provider.
More than 100 individual parts, assembled by hand and tested one by one
A retractable bollard consists of more than 100 individual parts: bollard body, installation sleeve, base frame, lid plate, the pneumatic cylinder with metal scraper and grease chamber, seals, fittings and, on request, the LED ring. We assemble these parts by hand, each bollard individually and to order. Only then does the system receive its cable and hose bundle, which we cut to the length of your driveway and protect in armoured conduit, and the fully wired control unit. Before shipping, every bollard is raised and lowered several times under compressed air in our hall. Anything that does not pass this test does not leave the works.
Our standard EH60 series has a diameter of 273 mm, 600 mm stroke and 6 mm wall thickness; for higher requirements we manufacture wall thicknesses of up to 30 mm. Which version suits which driveway and what it costs is summarised in the overview of our retractable bollards and on the page Bollard costs.
Why compressed air – and why it suits our own production
In our bollards, the bollard itself contains only a stainless steel cylinder. Motor, valves and control unit stand dry inside the building. This design is the reason why our systems are so low-maintenance: there is no circuit board, no limit switch and no heater in the ground that could get damp. And because we make the cylinder and its mounting ourselves, piston, scraper and seals fit each other exactly – no supplier has brought along tolerances that we would have to compensate for. The differences from electric spindle and hydraulic bollards are explained in our drive comparison.
What our own production means for you as a customer
Spare parts are available even after many years because we can mill them again – a seal kit or a lid plate for a bollard installed ten years ago is no problem for us. Custom versions are implemented quickly: we mill your company logo or coat of arms directly into the V4A lid plate, as with the Hamburg coat of arms at City Hall or the Sansibar logo on Sylt. Standard bollards are usually ready to ship within a few working days because the parts are in stock and only need to be assembled. And you speak to the people who built the bollard – not to a call centre. Read more about us on the page Bollard manufacturer Braun Antriebe.
We also use spare capacity for you: contract manufacturing and cutting
Our band saw and milling machines do not only run for bollards. If you need cut-to-size pieces of stainless steel, aluminium or steel, or individual milled parts to drawing, you can send us an enquiry – including with free-issue material. What we offer can be found under Contract sawing and cutting.
Would you like to see how your bollard is made?
Send us a photo of your driveway via WhatsApp to +49 172 4544485 or call us on +49 40 226390411. We will tell you which version fits, and you are welcome to visit us in Seevetal near Hamburg and see the production. You will find all models and prices in the overview retractable bollards made of stainless steel V4A.
