Gerda Security Products

Gerda Security Products: fire doorsets and emergency access systems from a UK manufacturer

Gerda Security Products presents itself as a British manufacturer of high-specification fire doorsets and emergency access systems, a field in which it says it has operated for more than 25 years. The company states that it designs and develops its own products and owns its library of fire test evidence, which it uses to offer solutions for the built environment. Its activity covers manufacture, installation and maintenance, and it also develops secure information boxes and emergency response planning tools.

Fire doorsets and the Safer Homes ranges

The catalogue is organised around doorsets for different parts of a building. The Safer Homes Range™ is offered in internal and external versions, and the Contemporary Range™ also appears in both variants. Service Rooms are likewise split into external and internal models. Flat entrance doorsets are described as incorporating thermal insulation and acoustics, and the company says some of its ranges have been in situ for 18 years.

Emergency access and information products

Alongside doorsets, the company lists a set of products aimed at firefighters and building managers:

• DPB (Drop Key Protection Box)
• GFS (Firefighter Access Switch)
• ACB (Access Control Box)
• PIB® (Premises Information Boxes)
• AlertAssure™
• Gerda® EACIE Enclosure
• Gerda® Locking Systems
• G-Smart®

It also offers Fire and Rescue Service Access and Communal Areas solutions. The company describes itself as a leading developer of PIBs and secure information boxes, and states that it worked with the FIA/NFCC on the ERP guidelines, which it says are acknowledged in the Code of Practice listed on Gov.uk regulation 6. From this it offers a complete ERP Plan Service with an annual audit and maintenance option.

Installation, maintenance and inspection

Gerda provides installation of both fire doorsets and emergency access systems, plus fire door maintenance and inspection services and maintenance of emergency access systems. It states that its installation, maintenance and inspection services carry third-party certification. The company also mentions on-site resident liaison, surveying teams, contract management and customer liaison managers as part of its service structure.

Manufacturing, traceability and testing

All doorsets are made at wholly owned and managed factories, according to the company, which says this allows it to control each stage of production and to offer lead times across project sizes. Manufacturing follows third-party certification, and the company describes investment in automated equipment and bespoke software that cross-checks dimensions and data through the ordering system.

Traceability is presented as a core feature: since the 1990s each doorset has carried its own code, now integrated into the G-Smart App, a digital life-cycle management system that tracks a doorset from survey through manufacture, installation, maintenance and repair. The company also emphasises that its fire test evidence is primary-owned rather than cascaded, obtained at UKAS-accredited test houses across a range of styles and configurations.

Certification and environmental commitments

Gerda describes itself as an ISO 9001:2015 organisation and lists Dual Certification for fire resistance and enhanced security on flat entrance doorsets, Q Mark certification for communal area doorsets and UKCA certification for external fire doorsets. On the environmental side, it says it recycles replacement doors into heat bricks for its manufacturing facilities, uses automated paint CNC equipment to reduce waste, uses biodegradable packaging and operates an award-winning vehicle fleet with EV charging at all sites. It is a member of the SME Climate Hub and states a commitment to ISO 14001 certification and to carbon neutral status in 2030.

Sectors served and client base

The company names residential, healthcare, education, student accommodation and commercial as the sectors it addresses, and describes itself as a specialist in fire doorsets for the housing sector. Among the clients it lists are City of London, Clarion Housing, a2dominion, Warner Brothers, Siemens, Network Rail, National Trust, NHS, Merseyrail, Transport for London, Peabody, L&Q, Southwark Council, Camden, Royal Borough of Greenwich and a long list of housing associations and local authorities. It also cites resident satisfaction results from two replacement programmes: 99.6% for a City of London project in 2023 and 99.8% for a Lambeth project in 2022-2023 based on 1,400 responses.

Procurement frameworks and training

Gerda works through procurement routes including Procurement for Housing, The Hyde Group, Community and Housing Investment Consortium and Procurement Plus. It also runs third-party certified CPD presentations on fire safety legislation and offers product presentations and training courses at its centre of training and innovation.