Three quotations for the same opening sit side by side, and each material line holds one word: steel, aluminum, stainless. No thickness, no alloy grade, no coating system. The price gap is real, and the reasons live in the slat itself.
This page compares roller shutter slat materials the way our factory specifies them: thickness band first, alloy second, corrosion environment third, money last. We roll slats from galvanized steel, 6063-T5 aluminum and SS304 or SS316 stainless. Material choice also has an ignition dimension: in zoned areas, slats and guides must not strike sparks. The zoning logic is covered in ATEX zones and explosion-proof industrial doors.
What a Slat Actually Does for the Door
A roller shutter is nothing but slats. Each slat carries wind pressure, resists impact, blocks weather and rolls around a drum thousands of times.
Slat material decides how the curtain carries load; the finish decides how it looks after five rainy seasons. The process, RAL matching and recoating logic behind powder coating colours on a shutter curtain are set out in our dedicated guide.
Three variables do the work. Thickness sets stiffness and dent resistance; our slats run from 0.