A medium-sized company on an industrial estate: the office building at the front, the hall next to it, and in front a wide paved area where employees, customers and suppliers arrive every day. This very area was the problem. It lay open to the street, and anyone who could not find a parking space on the estate simply parked on it. The result: customers found no space, delivery vans could not reach the loading ramp, and at peak times there was manoeuvring, honking and arguing. More than once things got tight – between vehicles reversing and people crossing the area on foot.
The management wanted to organise the access without sealing off the premises. Customers should feel welcome, suppliers should get through quickly – and everyone else should stay out.
Why not a barrier arm?
The first idea was a barrier arm. But it would have created exactly the wrong impression: in front of a customer entrance, a barrier boom looks like a multi-storey car park, and in practice it gets pushed up, driven around or is left open out of convenience. A gate was out of the question because of the width of the access and the constant delivery traffic – every opening and closing would have held up operations.
Three bollards organise the access
Three retractable bollards made of V4A stainless steel (1.4571) were installed, spread across the width of the access. The spacing is chosen so that, when raised, no car fits between them, while pedestrians and cyclists pass unhindered. When lowered, only the stainless steel lids lie flush in the paving, and the access is as wide as before – for lorries and articulated lorries too.
Three bollards across the full width: when raised, no vehicle can get onto the area; when lowered, the access is completely clear.
Automatically controlled – depending on time of day and visitor
The bollards are operated via an automatic control system. Employees and regular suppliers open with a radio transmitter, and reception can release the access for customers and announced deliveries from inside the building. After the vehicle has passed, the bollards rise again without anyone having to think about it. Anyone wanting to automate the process further can add a time program – for example open during business hours, closed after work – or number plate recognition for company vehicles.
LED ring for the dark season
An LED ring sits in the bollard head, here in green. In winter, when the working day begins and ends in the dark, it makes the bollards visible to every driver: anyone driving into the yard sees the barrier in good time, and nobody accidentally drives into a raised bollard. The colour can be chosen freely and adapted to the building lighting or corporate design.
Built for continuous operation
A company access is not opened twice a day but dozens of times. That is why our bollards work pneumatically: the bollard itself contains only a stainless steel cylinder, and the compressor and valves stand dry in the building. There are no electronics and no motor in the ground that rain, road salt or frost could harm. The bollards are sealed to IP69, the seals are designed for down to −35 °C, and the system needs neither a heater nor a drain. It is designed for several hundred thousand cycles and is very low-maintenance. If a valve ever needs replacing after years, this is done indoors on a quick-release coupling – the paving stays closed and operations continue.
When raised, each bollard locks mechanically and cannot be pushed down, not even if someone cuts the air hose. After work, the premises are thus not only organised but also secured. The bollards are manufactured in-house at our site in Seevetal near Hamburg.
The result
Installation was quick and without any lengthy interruption to operations. Since then, only those who belong there park on the area. Customers find a space, deliveries arrive without detours, and the manoeuvring among pedestrians has come to an end. For data protection reasons, we do not name the company or the location.
Is your company access also blocked by parked cars?
Similar projects from the commercial sector:
- Company yard secured against unauthorised parking and smash-and-grab raids
- 19 bollards at the Mercedes-Benz Center Hamburg
- University car park secured with two bollards
What else needs to be considered for commercial accesses is covered in the guide Access management for businesses.
Send us a photo of your access via WhatsApp to +49 172 4544485 or call us on +49 40 226390411. We will tell you how many bollards you need, where they should stand and which control system suits your business. You will find all models and prices in the overview retractable bollards made of stainless steel V4A; answers to common questions can be found in our FAQ on retractable bollards.
