SSC has developed the world’s quietest sliding door. Until now, sliding doors have not even been an option for office and conference rooms where a little more confidentiality is required. Now, however, SSC can guarantee a noise reduction of 35 decibels, opening up an entirely new market for the sliding door.  
“The sound requirements stipulated by standards and users have often meant that sliding doors could not be used, but this is providing us with entirely new opportunities,” says Jonas Hällgren, construction engineer at Aros Arkitekter in Stockholm.

A sliding door is a classic way of opening or closing off a room and saving space. In small rooms, sliding doors provide more free wall and floor space, thereby making the room larger. Glazed sliding doors also allow you to bring a lot of light into the room.
 SSC’s product range includes both integrated and external sliding doors. SSC has previously been able to guarantee a noise reduction of 30 decibels. Thanks to extensive development work at SSC Öhns joinery works in Umeå, however, it has been possible to radically improve the noise reduction achieved by sliding doors.
“This principally involves a further development of the technology,” explains Peter Forsséll, Managing Director at SSC Skellefteå AB.

A powerful alternative
The fact that SSC’s sliding doors can now cope with an impressive 35 decibels (35db R’w or Rw 38-39) means that they can be used in many more construction projects that before.
“A powerful alternative for office and conference rooms, where you don’t want the things being said to be heard out in the corridor, has now seen the light of day,” says Peter Forsséll.
 Jonas Hällgren, Aros Arkitekter, welcomes the new sliding door to the market.
“We design a great many offices, and view this as an opportunity for alternative interior design solutions. Improved sound characteristics are a decisive advance for the use of sliding doors,” he considers.
 Jonas Hällgren highlights the fact that, as more and more open-plan and condensed office landscapes are being built, it is becoming increasingly important to also have access to “quiet” rooms and conference rooms with a good sound classification.
“If the sliding door can achieve 35 decibels, that would be sufficient in most cases,” he states.

A significant advance
Markus Hammarström, Regional Manager at Midroc Bygg Syd, which has several office-building projects in progress, is very positive towards the new sliding door.
“There is considerable demand for glazed sliding doors in office environments. Until now, there have not been any that meet the recommendations of the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning. So this is a major advance when it comes to creating better workplaces,” he says.
 Noise reduction is just one of a series of innovations that SSC has implemented to improve its sliding doors. Another ingenious solution is that the sliding doors have been fitted with adjustable wheels that run on a floor rail instead of hanging from wheels at the top, which is the normal solution.
“This makes no real difference for the user from a functional perspective, but it does provide the door with a more robust feel, as well as playing an important role during installation,” concludes Peter Forsséll.