The Riodel industrial park sits beside the road from Mutxamel to Xixona: some 350,000 m², created in 2009, with more than 25 firms working there. Saturdays are quieter, which is exactly when a stuck door costs most: fewer people around, nobody from the office to ring, and an order that has to go out.
Check these first
The right key, the right way up. Units collect keys: side door, shutter padlock, office, alarm box. Under pressure it is easy to try the office key in the side door three times.
The alarm. Some units will not release a door, or will trigger the alarm, until the system is disarmed. If the keypad is inside, call whoever holds the code before anything else.
A padlock gone stiff. Padlocks on shutters live outdoors. A dry lubricant (graphite or PTFE, never oil, which collects dust) and a few gentle turns sometimes bring one back.
The door, not the lock. If the key turns but the door does not move, push it hard towards the frame while turning: a door that has dropped or swollen can trap the bolt in its keep.
If something looks wrong
Scratches round the cylinder, a padlock that is not yours, a door that opens too easily: stop, do not go in, and ring the police. Since its 2022 modernisation the park has had a closed-circuit camera system linked to the Policía Local, so tell them which unit and roughly when. Then read how doors get forced and what a repair after a forced entry involves.
What to have ready when you call
- The unit number and the company name on the door.
- Who can speak for the business, and something that shows it: company papers, a lease, or the owner on the phone.
- A photo of the lock or padlock on WhatsApp.
- Whether the shutter is manual or motorised. Motors and electrics are not part of the job; locks are.
Once the door is open, decide whether the cylinder should be changed today. If keys have gone missing with a former employee, the answer is yes. If you are at home and the keys are at the unit, the opposite problem, this guide is the one to read.