News from TIGER
Sliding Doors: An Introduction
Sliding doors provide an elegant and versatile solution for dividing spaces in homes, businesses, offices, and storage areas. Beyond their space-saving benefits, they offer ease of installation and, when properly selected and installed, deliver lasting performance with minimal maintenance.
Choosing the Right System
While selecting a door that complements your décor is essential, choosing the appropriate mechanism is equally crucial. Quality, durability, and manufacturer support should be primary considerations when making your selection.
The sliding door system must be compatible with both the intended use and the door’s weight. Premium mechanisms featuring soft-close functionality, durable self-cleaning tracks, and quiet casters ensure a smooth operation and long-term satisfaction.
Tiger, established in 1915, has successfully addressed countless sliding door installation challenges throughout its history. Drawing from this extensive experience, we’ll explore key considerations for selecting sliding door mechanisms and highlight how our products address these crucial factors.
Understanding the Materials
The choice of door material significantly influences its application and functionality. Common options include wood, glass, plastic, metal, or combinations thereof, each offering distinct advantages.
Indoor versus outdoor usage is a crucial consideration, as it affects light transmission, sound insulation, and energy efficiency. While sliding doors offer solutions for almost any situation, future maintenance or modifications may become necessary. Therefore, selecting a system that facilitates easy installation and repairs is vital.
Tiger addresses this need through our innovative inspection rail system, which simplifies modernization and maintenance of existing installations.
The Critical Role of Sliding Mechanisms
The sliding mechanism is paramount to functionality, especially in frequently used doors. High-quality systems ensure smooth, effortless operation while providing essential durability. For larger installations—particularly those using glass or heavy composite materials—the right mechanism is crucial for supporting the door’s weight and ensuring consistent performance. Tiger’s heavy-duty Nova 150 and Nova 250 systems, along with their predecessors, exemplify our commitment to meeting these demands.
Our new Nova systems incorporate an innovative brush design within the runners, automatically cleaning the track during each operation. This feature minimizes dirt and debris accumulation, ensuring sustained smooth operation with minimal maintenance requirements.
Interior Applications: Balancing Light, Sound, and Comfort
Interior sliding doors must often balance multiple factors: sound insulation, light transmission, and accessibility. Glass and wood are the most popular choices, and our online store is organized accordingly for convenient browsing.
Glass doors—or wooden doors with glass panels—maintain visual connection between spaces while providing necessary separation. They create bright, open atmospheres suitable for both modern interiors and historical buildings, such as mid-century Bremen townhouses with their decorative sliding glass doors and wooden wall pockets.
Whether installing new systems or restoring classic designs, the sliding mechanism remains crucial. It determines operational smoothness and sound levels while complementing existing architecture. Tiger offers numerous customization options, including rails, end caps, and bezels in various materials and finishes, ensuring both functional and aesthetic excellence.
Practical Benefits and Accessibility
Sliding doors excel as space-saving alternatives to traditional hinged doors, eliminating swing clearance requirements. This makes them ideal for compact spaces and areas with limited floor area. Premium sliding systems enhance usability and enable effortless operation—particularly beneficial in accessible housing designs. Tiger’s range of motorized mechanisms, activated by various sensors, further improves accessibility by enabling hands-free operation.
Comprehensive Support and Documentation
With over a century of experience, Tiger maintains its original factory on the Lesum River in Bremen-Nord. Choosing a German/European manufacturer ensures not only premium quality but also dedicated bilingual support in English and German. Our website features a comprehensive documentation database, including assembly and installation instructions for all products from the past decade.
At Tiger, we combine historical expertise with continuous innovation and industry support to ensure your sliding door solution delivers lasting value and performance. 
