Project 09 of 36
Lat34 Softbrake
- Company
- C.R. Laurence
- Role
- Product manager, stage-gate lead
- Year
- 2025
- Discipline
- Sliding systems
- Status
- Gate 1 complete, December 2025
- Images
- 10
Latitude is CRL's premium barn-door-style sliding system for glass panels up to 300 lb, launched in August 2024 and growing quickly. Stopping a heavy glass panel safely and quietly is what separates a premium slider from a basic one, so the next step was soft-close.
We worked with KrownLab, the system's U.S. manufacturer, on its second-generation track with an integrated Soft-Brake. The mechanism sits entirely inside the track, can be positioned anywhere along it, and can be added after installation. The work was a negotiation between price and performance: the new track cost less than the one it replaced, which absorbed most of the cost of the brake, and testing set how many brake units we needed to cover every door weight without compromising safety or feel.
- Quarterly sales growth in the first year after launch
- 8.6×
- Max panel weight with Soft-Brake
- 300 lb
- ADA disengage force, met at every weight
- ≤15 lbf
- Cycle rating on the Latitude systems
- 1M
Overview
- Problem
Operating heavy glass panels on the existing sliders raised concerns about safety, noise and component wear.
- Solution
Second-generation tracks that accept a fully integrated, adjustable Soft-Brake, in brushed stainless and black.
- Customers
Architects, temperers and glazing contractors working on luxury offices and residences.
- Value
Quiet, controlled closing and less wear on heavy glass doors, at a modest premium, which keeps Latitude at the top of its category on both feel and value.
- Supplier
KrownLab, the system's U.S. manufacturer. Existing first-generation track was exchanged for the new soft-close-ready track at a negotiated price.
- Competition
Pemko W100, KN Crowder, Häfele Flatec II.
My role
I co-led Soft-Brake with the senior product manager through Gates 0 and 1. I built the business case and pricing, negotiated the track exchange with KrownLab, and worked through their test results with them to decide how many Soft-Brake units to offer and which door weights each should cover.
Stakeholders I coordinated
- Supplier
- KrownLab (design, testing and manufacturing)
- Standards
- ANSI and DIN sliding door tests · ADA disengage-force requirement
- Internal teams
- Sourcing · Product engineering · Sales · Marketing and trade shows · Master data
- Gate committee
- VP Engineering · VP Product Design & Development · VP Sales · VP Marketing · Head of Product & Innovation
Stage-gate progress
- G0 Concept Dec 2025
- G1 Define Dec 2025
- G2 Develop Planned
- G3 Validate Planned
- G4 Launch Planned
- G5 Post-launch Planned
Research
Latitude quarterly sales since launch
Indexed to the launch quarter (Q3 2024 = 1×). Momentum came from trade shows and a growing installed base.
Indexed from internal sales data; actual figures withheld.
Soft-Brake units
Three units cover the full range of panel weights. Disengage force stays within ADA limits.
| Unit | Panel weight | Disengage force |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60–120 lb | 4.5–6 lbf |
| 2 | 121–200 lb | 9.5–11 lbf |
| 3 | 201–300 lb | 13–14.5 lbf |
Durability and impact testing
Soft-Brake results against the DIN and ANSI reference standards.
| Test | Soft-Brake | DIN reference | ANSI reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycles at 300 lb | 100,000 | 5,000 to 100,000 | 10,000 to 35,000 |
| Impact at 100 lb | 10 × 1.0 m/s | 10 × 0.67 m/s | No equivalent |
| Impact at 200 lb | 10 × 0.87 m/s | 10 × 0.55 m/s | No equivalent |
| Impact at 300 lb | 10 × 0.75 m/s | 10 × 0.44 m/s | No equivalent |
Where Latitude sits in the barn-door range
Compared with CRL's existing barn-door slider, the system customers would otherwise choose.
| System | Weight capacity | Material | Adjustability | Cycle testing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laguna (existing) | 220 lb | 304 stainless | Height only | Legacy |
| Latitude Hemisphere | 200 lb | 6005A-T61 / 6061-T6 aluminum | Vertical, height, stop, leveling | 1,000,000 |
| Latitude Meridian | 400 lb | 6005A-T61 / 6061-T6 aluminum | Vertical, height, stop, leveling | 1,000,000 |
| Latitude Solstice | 550 lb | 6005A-T61 / 6061-T6 aluminum | Vertical, height, stop, leveling | 1,000,000 |
Challenges and resolutions
-
01
Challenge
We wanted one Soft-Brake for every door weight to keep ordering simple. KrownLab re-ran its tests on a glass-panel setup to check: a light brake couldn't pull heavy doors closed, a heavy brake exceeded the ADA disengage limit on light doors, and a middle brake passed but would wear early above 200 lb.
ResolutionWe kept weight-rated brakes rather than accept a field-failure risk on a premium product, and matched them to the Latitude models so most customers choose by system, not by weighing the door.
-
02
Challenge
Moving to the new track meant replacing inventory we already held.
ResolutionI negotiated a track exchange with KrownLab, keeping our existing end caps and connector kits, at a set price per track. The tracks are backward compatible, so existing customers can add Soft-Brake later without new hardware.
-
03
Challenge
Soft-close adds cost to a system already priced at the top of its category.
ResolutionThe second-generation track came in lower than the first, which offset most of the brake's cost, so the soft-close upgrade adds a modest premium to a full system.
Gallery
