Steel grills: durable and incredibly popular

Dejo running grids have been a household name in the market for many years. The brand name is popularly used as a generic name. So a big compliment to founder Martinus de Jonge who introduced the Dejo walking grating in 1947. In recent years the steel grating, albeit in an adapted form, has been increasingly used as a facade and/or sun protection element. Not least because of its long life span and its maintenance-free and durable character.

The production of gratings has long been the core business of Dejo Metaalindustrie. "The area of application has expanded enormously in recent decades," knows commercial director Johannes Berger. "We therefore have a huge product range at our disposal. Our strength lies in the design and efficient production of the steel gratings. Despite a stock of over 350 different types, some 85% of the requests are produced on a project basis." 

Dejo Metaalindustrie therefore prides itself on its highly efficient production equipment. "Thanks to the far-reaching automation, in many cases it is cheaper to produce a separate batch on a project basis than to take several grids from stock. Moreover, the lead time for customization with us is only two to three weeks."

Maximum shading

Dejo's office building shows the many possibilities of the originally steel walkway grating. "In our own building we have used grilles as sunshades, with which we manage to achieve such a cool climate in the summer that no air conditioning is running," Berger says proudly. 

"The operation of the louvre is twofold: the specific position of the blades keeps out the sun, but at the same time it does maintain airflow and vistas. Based on the location of the façade and the position in relation to the sun throughout the year, the meshes and the width and position of the blades are precisely dimensioned for maximum shading and preservation of air flow and views. It works perfectly, we know from experience. Office employees are not affected at all by bright sunlight on their screens."

Cradle-2-Cradle

Dejo Metaalindustrie mainly produces grids in steel, sometimes in aluminum and in stainless steel for specific markets. "We also supply plastic gratings as a service item, but partly because of the high price of oil and the fact that we cannot issue a Cradle-2-Cradle certificate for them, they are no longer very interesting," Berger acknowledges. "All our own gratings, on the other hand, have been available with Cradle-2-Cradle certification since 2010. We have done that for the gratings in and on the Venlo City Hall, among other things. In addition, we recently delivered the first projects with so-called refurbished gratings, gratings that were returned from a project we delivered thirty years ago. The gratings are de-galvanized, whereby the zinc layer is recovered, and provided with a new zinc layer. This allows them to be put back on the market 'like new' with the same guarantees." 

Dejo Metal Industry guarantees less than 5% of rust on its gratings in thirty years, without having to paint or clean them. "Our gratings are maintenance-free and easily achieve a lifespan of fifty years or more. Since 2017, we have also offered the option of taking out a buy-back guarantee at a set price. In this way, we are making our maximum contribution with a view to a sustainable and circular future," Berger concludes.