Sliding, swing or vertical gate: which one?

October 19, 2026  ·  Indumor

Choosing a gate is like choosing doors for your house, at industrial scale: the front door is not the bathroom door, and the gate that passes 40 trucks a day is not the one on a depot that opens twice a week. The right type depends on three things: available space, duty cycle and wind.

At Indumor we fabricate all three types. Here is how the choice goes:

• Sliding: the heavy-duty king. Takes no space when opening, handles huge openings and automates easily. Needs clear lateral run for the leaf and a good bottom guide — its Achilles heel when gravel piles in.
• Swing: the simplest and cheapest, no floor tracks. Perfect for small and medium openings at moderate duty. Downsides: it sweeps area when opening and wind punishes it — a 13 ft leaf in a crosswind is a sail on hinges.
• Vertical-lift: when there is no side or front room, the leaf goes up. Ideal on tight urban frontages and loading docks. Demands overhead structure for counterweights or drive, and finer maintenance.

Do not do this: install a giant swing gate "because it is cheaper" on a high-traffic opening. We see it often: six months in, the hinges are done, the gate drags, and the initial saving is gone in service calls. Gates are chosen by duty, not list price.

All of ours ship with our own tube structure and formed sheet, hardware sized for plant duty (not residential), galvanized or epoxy finish, and prepared for automation now or later. We measure the opening, ask how many times a day it cycles, and quote the right type, installed.

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