50 years HUBER stainless steel manhole covers

At that time, stainless steel was very expensive and difficult to obtain, and delivery times were extremely long. The first covers were always produced according to the customer's wishes and specifications, using the experience gained over many years in the production of steel covers. Water suppliers from the Nuremberg area and large Bavarian long-distance water associations were the first customers for HUBER stainless steel manhole covers. Most of these covers are still in use today and, after 50 years, impressively demonstrate the long service life of the HUBER manhole cover - a role model in terms of sustainability!

Since then, the use of stainless steel for manhole covers has become more and more widespread and, thanks to HUBER's pioneering work, has established itself in the market. In 1990, HUBER completely stopped the production of steel manhole covers and steel products and dedicated itself 100% to stainless steel.

HUBER stainless steel manhole covers have become the norm

Nowadays, tenders requiring a material other than stainless steel for manhole covers are the great exception, i.e. in the last 50 years the ratio has been exactly reversed.

From these early beginnings, a wide range of different HUBER manhole cover designs have developed over the last five decades, always in close contact and cooperation with our customers. Especially the feedback from our customers we receive in discussions at trade fairs, through telephone calls or during field service visits, was then and still is extremely valuable. The practical application and regular use of the covers by our customers provide important approaches to continuously improve our products and thus maintain the HUBER quality they have come to expect. Feedback from the market, e.g. requesting a back-friendly opening of the heavy covers, prompted us to equip the HUBER Manhole Covers with gas springs, which we have now been doing for more than 30 years as a matter of principle.

The complete range of HUBER Manhole Covers is "Made in Germany" or even more correctly "Made in Berching". Many of our customers have already taken the opportunity to visit our production facility. Thanks to modern and optimised production processes as well as motivated employees, we are able to withstand the price pressure of cheap foreign products.

HUBER stainless steel covers have now been on the market for 50 years and for us this is a welcome occasion to take a look at all the customer requests from home and abroad that we have collected over the years.

We set ourselves the goal of fulfilling (almost) all customer wishes in an "anniversary cover", and the result is the innovative HUBER Manhole Cover SD50 SAP (Safe Access Pro).

This HUBER cover made of stainless steel chequer plate has an integrated fall protection which can be loaded up to 200 kg, concealed ventilation openings, seal on the underside of the cover and a recessed lock to name the most important features.

50 arguments for the HUBER Manhole Cover SD50 SAP (Safe Access Pro)

Below are the 50 most important customer requests from A-Z:

1. Lift-off protection through inner lugs
2. Operating key included
3. Load-bearing up to 500 kg 
4. Ventilation possible
5. Digital locking systems
6. Stainless steel
7. Burglar-resistant according to DIN 1627
8. Easy to handle
9. Compliance with ISO 9001
10. Spare parts available for many years
11. Colour design possible
12. Odour-tight
13. Consistently high quality
14. Replaceable rubber seal
15. Hygienic
16. Customisable
17. Insect-proof
18. Integrated fall protection
19. Security of investment
20. Durable
21. Material options (V2A, V4A)
22. The most economical solution in the medium term
23. Sustainability
24. Standard-compliant according to DIN 1239
25. Visually appealing
26. Pollen filter or odour filter
27. Inexpensive due to series production
28. Quality control
29. Stainless
30. Back-friendly due to gas pressure spring
31. Back pressure proof
32. Fast delivery from stock
33. Self-retracting arrestor
34. Safety mortise lock can be retrofitted
35. Special sizes and designs
36. Stable
37. Surface-watertight
38. Flood-proof
39. Monitoring by magnetic contact
40. Different frame variants
41. Concealed hinges
42. Different locking systems
43. Low-wear seal
44. Brass closure cover
45. Full bath pickling
46. Completely made in Germany
47. Compliant with regulations and rules (DGUV)
48. Thermal insulation possible
49. Maintenance-free
50. Material completely recyclable