The shutter is one of Europe’s oldest forms of architectural climate control. Long before automated façades and intelligent building systems, it offered a direct response to sunlight, heat, privacy and severe weather. EHRET has spent more than five decades demonstrating that this familiar element can continue to evolve without losing its architectural character.

Founded in 1968, the German company developed from a craft-based enterprise into Europe’s leading manufacturer of aluminium shutters. Today, EHRET produces hinged, sliding and folding systems for residential, commercial and public buildings, combining industrial scale with the level of customisation required by individual façades.

Around 400 people work across its production sites in Mahlberg and Ettenheim, where output can reach approximately 1,500 shutters per day. With an export share of 75 per cent, EHRET’s systems are used across a broad range of European and international markets.

The company’s significance, however, lies not simply in its production capacity. EHRET has played a part in moving the shutter beyond its conventional association with traditional architecture. Its portfolio shows how aluminium systems can respond equally well to historic renovation, contemporary housing, large glazed elevations and complex commercial projects.

More than 400 models are available across hinged, sliding, folding-sliding and modular configurations. Frame profiles, fixed or adjustable louvres, closed panels, perforated sheets, expanded metal, textiles and timber elements allow each system to be adapted to the architectural intent of the project.

This degree of flexibility has become increasingly relevant as façades are expected to manage competing requirements. Buildings require natural light while limiting overheating. Occupants seek privacy without sacrificing openness. Architects want expressive elevations without adding systems that appear visually intrusive.

EHRET’s GLIT sliding shutter, designed without visible guides, illustrates this approach. By reducing the visual presence of the operating system, the product allows the shutter to sit more naturally within the composition of the façade. It received an innovation award at Equip’Baie in Paris, while further developments were recognised at R+T in Stuttgart.

The electrically operated MoveOn folding-sliding shutter offered another response to contemporary expectations of convenience and automation. EHRET has also developed RC2-tested burglary-resistant systems, extending the role of the shutter beyond solar and weather protection into building security.

More recently, the SolarSlide photovoltaic sliding shutter has introduced energy generation into the same architectural element. It reflects a broader shift within façade design, where external components are increasingly expected not only to regulate environmental conditions but also to contribute to the building’s energy strategy.

EHRET’s development has been supported since 2011 by its integration into Schenker Storen Group. Together with the Swiss sun and weather protection specialist, the company forms part of a wider international organisation offering a comprehensive range of shading and façade solutions.

This structure provides broader market coverage while allowing EHRET to retain its specialist identity. The value lies in combining concentrated product expertise with a larger network of technical support, distribution and professional services.

Support for architects and specialist partners is an important part of this model. Through its commercial-project division, EHRET works with specifiers during planning and implementation, recognising that customised façade systems require careful coordination well before installation begins.

Aluminium remains central to the company’s product philosophy. It is lightweight, structurally stable, resistant to corrosion and suitable for slender profiles. It does not warp under changing weather conditions and generally requires less maintenance than many traditional shutter materials.

EHRET also uses aluminium to reproduce finishes associated with timber, stone and other natural surfaces. These decorative treatments allow a traditional visual character to be combined with the dimensional stability and reduced maintenance demands of metal. Certain systems can also incorporate real timber infills where a more tactile material expression is required.

Environmental performance increasingly influences both product development and manufacturing. Depending on the project, EHRET can use aluminium containing up to 80 per cent recycled material. As aluminium can be repeatedly recycled without a substantial loss of quality, the shutter can remain part of a circular material system after a long service life.

The company’s production facilities reflect the same direction. Photovoltaic installations covering approximately 3,600 square metres generate more than 700 kWp and supply around one fifth of EHRET’s energy requirements. Powder recovery, chromate-free pretreatment and wastewater processing further reduce the environmental impact of coating and aluminium preparation.

These measures support a broader emphasis on durability and repairability. A sustainable shutter is not defined solely by the recycled content used during production. It must also remain functional, maintainable and visually relevant over an extended period.

EHRET’s story is therefore one of evolution rather than reinvention for its own sake. The company has not attempted to replace the traditional shutter with an entirely different façade product. Instead, it has expanded its capabilities through aluminium engineering, automation, security, design flexibility and renewable-energy integration.

That is why the shutter remains relevant to contemporary architecture. External shading can reduce solar heat before it reaches the glazing, improve indoor comfort and preserve a direct relationship between the occupant and the façade. At the same time, it can provide privacy, weather protection and a strong visual identity.

After more than 50 years, EHRET demonstrates that established architectural elements need not become obsolete. When material knowledge, industrial precision and design ambition are developed together, they can remain among the most adaptable components of the modern building envelope.