Securing a workshop on the Les Madrigueres estate

Les Madrigueres is Dénia’s industrial estate, home to around 250 businesses: aluminium and metal workshops, builders’ yards, industrial services, trade counters, a few cafés. In June 2026 the town council approved a management and modernisation body for the estate, with security among the things it is meant to improve.

Whatever happens at estate level, each unit still has its own doors. Most follow the same pattern, and most are weak in the same places.

The typical unit

• A roller shutter across the main opening.
• A pedestrian door beside it, often metal, for day-to-day use.
• An office, sometimes with its own outside door, often with the safe or the cash.
• A yard or gate, if the unit has outdoor space.

And, for most of them, nobody there between closing time and the morning, or from Friday evening to Monday.

Where it usually fails

The side door, not the shutter. Shutters are big and look strong, and most people look at them first. The pedestrian door next to them is frequently the easier way in, with an ordinary cylinder and a frame that has taken years of knocks.

The shutter lock itself. A shutter is only as good as what holds it down. Worn or seized shutter locks are common, and a seized one can also keep you out on a Monday morning.

The office inside. Once somebody is in the unit, an internal office door with a basic lock does little. If the valuable things are there, that door deserves the same attention as the outside ones.

An order that makes sense

1. Side door cylinder and frame, because it is usually the weakest point. If it has already been forced, start with making it secure after a break-in.
2. Shutter locks, checked and replaced if worn.
3. Office door, especially if the safe is there.
4. Gate, last, unless the yard itself holds stock or vehicles.

Keys and people

Units change tenants and staff change too. If you have taken over a unit, change the cylinders on the outside doors on your first week, because there is no way of knowing how many keys the last occupant handed out.