Amarr’s Italian Door wows Attendees at Expo 2013

Amarr’s Trento Collection, a “trackless, springless” garage  door from Italy, stole the show at Expo 2013, according to our  annual “Hottest New Products at Expo” survey*. (See survey  details at end of story.) This novel two-section door, expected to  be available in September, attracted constant traffic throughout  Expo, both from dealers and manufacturers who marveled at its design and distinctive operation.

Vickie Lents, Amarr’s director of marketing, described dealer
response as “phenomenal.” And it was. Visitors seemed
mesmerized as they watched the door open and close.
Lents says Amarr learned about the door at R+T 2012, the
international trade fair held once every three years in Stuttgart,
Germany. The door’s inventor, Silvio Taddei of Silvelox, the door’s
manufacturer, was at Amarr’s booth in Nashville. The “Overlap”
door, as it’s known in Italy, was first introduced in 2011.

A Novel Design

The door is not exactly “trackless” since it has a vertical track
system. However, the door requires no ceiling-mounted horizontal
track. When the door opens, the bottom section essentially separates
from the top section and slides into a track that is attached to the
top section. When the door is in the fully open position, the two
sections are stacked like two slices of bread.

Amarr is not promoting the Trento door as “pinch proof,” but
the door has finger-protection features. An air-proof tubular rubber
seal safely compresses around fingers if they are placed between the
sections from the inside. Plus, if fingers enter the section joint from
the exterior, the bottom panel can lean back to free the fingers.
The Trento Collection comes standard with its exclusive
patented Silvelox DC opener enclosed in the header frame. The
door also includes photo-eyes and two LiftMaster remotes, a
wireless keypad, and a wall control.

Ideal Uses

Lents says the door is ideal for garages with limited backroom and
headroom (7.5″) and for homeowners who want a clean interior
garage space. The Trento door may also be desired in commercial
applications like restaurants with outdoor patios that want to
eliminate the garage door track from the interior of their restaurant.

With no track, no operator rail, and no springs, the door
delivers a clean interior appearance and provides greater use of the
garage interior. The exterior comes in 21 standard designs, though
the stacking function limits the use of decorative hardware. The
sections are 2″ thick, with polystyrene insulation for an R-value of
10, and made from marine-grade Okoume hardwood, available in a
paint or stain finish.