REMO slams the door on intruders, fire and more

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.—With such advanced security technologies and products available on the market, it's easy to dismiss the basics. Take the humble door, for example. It stands tall and proud, marking the entrance and exit of homes and buildings � almost taken for granted as just a simple thing needed when building a house or structure � just another fixture. Yet, the door can be much more!

Back in December 2017, the investigative team of NBC affiliate KGW in Portland, Oregon embarked on a mission to discover how and when burglars broke into homes and what they were looking for. The team sent letters to 86 inmates serving time for this crime in the Oregon Department of Corrections. After receiving responses, Senior Investigative Reporter, Kyle Iboshi, KGW published the responses in March 2019. Surprisingly, in most cases, doors did not serve as an effective deterrent.

When asked the following question: “How did you typically break into a home or apartment?,” most inmates broke in through an unlocked door (or window). “I would kick in the door rather than break glass,” one inmate said. “Loud bangs are better than loud glass breaking, plus you run the risk of getting cut.” Another burglar said that he or she particularly looked for homes with “cheap wooden doors.”

To prevent homes from being burglarized, an inmate suggested putting “bars on your windows and doors,” which would help keep homes and possessions safer, but may not be esthetically pleasing to the eye nor welcoming to homeowners or visitors. Enter high-functioning doors that are setting new standards in home security as well as fire-rated, bullet- and forced-entry-resistant doors doing the same in commercial security applications.

Security Systems News spoke with Omer Barnes, founder of REMO Security Doors, an Israeli security company focused on high-security, custom-designed metal doors, that serves customers in the United States, to gain a better understanding of the company and these types of doors.

Barnes was born and raised in Israel, where he served three years in the military. “It's all about safety and security,” he said, referencing life in his country. Because of this, and with his passion for creating quality products that keep people and their loved ones safe, it was a natural progression for Barnes to establish a company within the security industry.

Notably, REMO is Omer, Barnes' first name, backwards, which is a testament to his passion for security and leadership of the company's team, who works together to produce REMO's standard 31 styles of doors in a variety of colors, in addition to custom doors made of an 18-gauge, galvanized steel slab, reinforced by horizontal steel bars.

“There's extensive testing in each [door] category — fire, bullet and blast — and each test is preformed separately,” Barnes explained, adding that they also create and manufacture all the door's components. REMO's fire-resistant doors are rated at 90 minutes, and their bullet-resistant doors are made with ballistic resistant glass, level 1-3, of two-ply polycarbonate with hardened surface and UV protection. The company's blast, ballistic and forced-entry-doors (BR/FE) are constructed with two galvanized steel sheets, reinforced by horizontal and vertical steel bars welded to the sheets, in addition to an inner metal reinforcement plate helping to create the door's structure. A four-way central mortise lock with five reinforcement locking mechanisms, four fixed rear security bolts and four concealed hinges secure against forced entry. BR/FE doors are finished in an electrostatic powder coating.

When choosing the best type of high functioning door, application is important. For example, “the most important part of a school door is that no weapon can unlock the door,” Barnes said. “The combination of multi-point lock and retrofit frame makes it the perfect solution.”

For schools, REMO went farther than just creating a signature security door; they created a whole new concept — turning classrooms into saferooms similar to Israeli “MAMADs,” an acronym for “merkhav mugan dirati,” or apartment-protected space (required after the 1993 Gulf War), or “MAMAKs,” a “merkhav mugan komati,” meaning a protected space belonging to a floor in a building. Each protected space is a reinforced security room meant to offer protection against high-impact projectiles and chemical weapons, with a heavy iron door that always opens outward.

At the heart of this “safe zone” concept for schools is the door. The REMO team took components from two of their specialty metal doors — their high-security, forced-entry, bullet-resistant door and their 90-minute UL-listed fire door — combing them to create their signature classroom door that creates a safe zone. The door comes with REMO's high security 12-point locking system with an additional reinforced locking mechanism, patented tamper-proof cylinder and a security cover plate on both sides of the locking case; a bullet resistant level of 3-7; and certified sound proofing of 35 STC rating. The door can be customized in any color, which helps instill school pride by using established school colors.

For residential applications, Barnes noted that some clients more security focused while others are more design focused. Nonetheless, “the typical American door is not secure,” he said, adding that it can be opened within seconds.

The solution, according to Barnes, for any door application is a door with both “design and security” that security integrators and consultants can offer to their customers. “We work with multiple consultants and security integrators, offering a dedicated person at the office that is in charge of training and education on new products.”

The overall message from REMO is safety and security starting at the door at an affordable price. “We are here to make a change; we believe that everyone should feel secure in his house, school, everywhere,” Barnes concluded. “You shouldn't compromise on security just because you what a high-design product.”