If you have never given any thought as to how security barrier suppliers can make claims about how strong their products are, then read on. It could change your mind about what you decide to buy to protect your home or commercial premises from a home invasion.
The first point is that there are no authorised, reliable testing bodies for security gates in South Africa. This means that there is no local standard against which all security gates, including Trellidor gates, can be measured to see how they stack up against each other and against an attack by criminals.
Trellidor products have a reputation for being dependable under attack because our design engineers have always prioritised product strength. So much so that over the years we have submitted our high end Trellidor products for attack testing and certification by an international testing body recognised all over the world.
That company is BRE Global Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB). BRE Global is based in London and is an independent, third-party certification body. It sets standards that ensure security products, amongst others, work effectively and deliver on promise. They test a wide range of designs against these standards.
The Trellidor products strength tested by LPCB and certified by them are:
- Trellidor Plus – T900
- Trellidor Trojan II – T1000
- Trellidor Trojan III- EMESC T3000
The people that attack these sliding gates are experts in how to break a Trellidor gate and gates submitted by other companies. They use a variety of tools and their many years of expertise to test the strength of the gates. The gate is certified according to the length of time it takes to actually get through it, not just damage it.
These certified Trellidor sliding security gates are destined for extremely high crime risk locations such as underground railway hubs, international sports stadiums, and embassies in countries all over the world.
Most homes and businesses do not need this level of security and the gates are beyond most people’s budgets. But the same built-in strength principles apply to all Trellidor products.
These are:
- All Trellidor products are designed with strengthening features, even those in the Estate Range, where security is not the highest priority for customers.
- All Trellidor products are subjected to in-house attack testing using a variety of household tools, much like a robber or group of home invaders would use.
- Because of our years of experience with international testing, our engineers know how to create new designs that reflect the standards expected of a Trellidor product.
If robbers or home invaders decide to try to break into a home or business, they:
- Need plenty of time if they have break through security barriers plus doors and/or windows.
- Need the right tools and a variety of these if the security gate or burglar bars are strong.
- Don’t want to risk being caught in the act, so they have to be able to work quickly.
- Have to first break the door or window if the security gate or burglar bars are on the inside of the home or office.
- Then have to break through the security barriers.
- Or the other way around, but either way, it takes time, effort, and the risk of discovery.
- Have to make a big enough gap in the security barrier to get through it, not just damage the gate or burglar bars.
So the most valuable advice a security expert can give you is to buy the strongest security gates and burglar bars that you can afford or that the crime risk profile of your location dictates.
The inside scoop on Trellidor product strength tests
Take a look behind the scenes on how Trellidor tests products for strength.
Trellidor aluminium sliding security gates : damaged but still no gap big enough to get through!
Trellidor Cottage Guard burglar guards : still standing after being beaten with spade and hammer.
Trellidor Clear Guard, Rollerstyle and Retractable gates : our strong young guys ended up battered and bruised, but the security barriers did their job!
Trellidor Premium Louvre Shutters louvres : louvre shutters with in-built strength stand up to a hammering from various weapons.
Now that you’ve had a front row seat on how Trellidor tests products for strength, it is important to remember that no matter how strong a barrier is, with enough time, the right tools, and no fear of being caught, nothing is 100 percent impenetrable.
Successful break-ins are often down to human error. People switch off their burglar alarms when they get home and robbers take advantage of this. Or they forget to lock their security gates after opening the front door, allowing burglars to simply walk inside.
It takes a combination of factors to ensure safety at home, from installing various layers of security to being observant about what is happening in your neighbourhood.
Fitting the best Trellidor products that you can afford to all your doors and windows is a good start. These are the products that will be what finally stop criminals from getting to you. They will stand up to the attack long enough for you to make an escape or call for help so that the criminals are scared off.
Find your nearest Trellidor outlet and ask about what makes each product strong.
