Wright Style, a UKbased steel glazing system specialist, has announced that what it believes to be the world's first fireresistant automatic sliding door has tested to 30 minutes integrity.

The new product underlines Wright Style's commitment to working partnership with architects and specifiers to develop new products, says a company spokesman.

''The system was tested in Norway to ISO 834 standard, and has subsequently been assessed to BS476 Part 22 by the Loss Prevention Council Laboratories in the UK,'' he states.

The doors form part of Wright Style's ground floor range of fire and security systems. The new system has been developed to incorporate single leaf, or biparting automatic doors, using a standard propriety electromechanical overhead gear.

For the successful test undertaken at the SINTEF laboratories, a standard Besam EMD 3000 operator was used. ''The system incorporates a number of specially-designed interlocking fireresistant gaskets which, in a fire situation, seal the vulnerable areas between the meeting stiles of the door leaves, and the door to frame or structure interface,'' he explains.

The new automatic door system has been recently and successfully installed on projects in the UK, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Moscow and Hong Kong.

Wright Style provides security and safety steel glazing systems through its network of fabricators throughout the UK and worldwide. In the past three months, it has also announced the first dryglazed curtain walling system to achieve 120/120 integrity for fire resistance and radiant heat, the first multipane glazing system with snapover beads to achieve a fire rating of 120 minutes integrity, and the world's first pivot window to be firerated to 60 minutes integrity.