Bitcon Industries, a leading South African producer of fire and security doors, has been contracted to supply doors to an extensive array of new shopping centres throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Bob Vollmer, director of Bitcon based in Jet Park, says the company is supplying its Rubidor fire doors for the upgrading and construction of new commercial developments such as:

• 77 on Independence, a new multi-million Namibian dollar retail, residential and office development in Windhoek, for which hinged fire doors have been ordered by sub-contractor, Wispeco Namibia;
• The Game store in the Mlimani City Mall in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where hinged Rubidor fire doors will be installed following an order from Winson International Trading;
• The R1,5 billion new Ballito Junction 65 000m² shopping mall in Ballito on the KZN North Coast which will also be protected by Bitcon hinged fire doors supplied to the main contractor, WBHO Construction;
• McCormick Property Development’s new 30 000m² Alex Mall, being built on the junction of the N3 Highway and Vincent Tshabalala (London) Road at the gateway to Alexandra, Sandton, by Mike Buyskes Construction. For this project, Bitcon supplied fire doors and security doors, as well as electrical transformer room doors;
• Expansion of the Vaal Mall at Vanderbijlpark where main contractors, Giuricich Brothers, have ordered Bitcon fire doors for the R420m provision of 15000m² additional retail space to boost the 10-year-old shopping centre’s footprint to 65 000m²; and
• A new Nu-Metro cinema complex of approximately 2 520m² at the Parkview Shopping Centre in Garsfontein Road, Pretoria.

In addition, Bitcon has also supplied fire doors to various building contractors for extensions and renovations of several Pick n Pay stores in areas such as Knysna, Ilanga, Southdowns, Randpark Ridge and also at the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg CBD.

StorAge, South Africa’s largest self-storage property fund, also ordered Bitcon fire doors for one of its new facilities in Essexwold, Johannesburg.

Bitcon’s Rubidor Class A, B & D hinged fire doors comply with the requirements of SANS 1253:2003. The door cores are constructed from a magnesium-oxychloride, monolithic-reinforced insulating material with exceptional fire resistance and mechanical strength. Compliance with the national standard is based on successful tests for stability, integrity, insulation and impact resistance. The doors are clad with a variety of finishes including Masonite, timber veneer, galvanised sheeting, Formica laminate, and edged with hardwood lipping. Double doors are fitted with rebated stainless steel meeting stiles.

The company also produces sliding fire doors in the Class A, B and D categories which fulfill the national test standard. The doors are available in single, bi-parting, or double directional format.

Now part of the Vitrex Group, Bitcon was established in 1967, initially specialising in the manufacture of door and window frames. It then entered the fire door manufacturing market in 1975, subsequently expanding its product range to include security doors, lead lined doors for areas exposed to radiation, as well as electrical transformer room doors.