“Security means peace of mind”

Throughout the world, demands for new levels of security and safety are emerging. In residential areas, population densities go on rising. Cities continue to grow as new housing estates are built. As people acquire more valuable possessions, they install more and better locks for peace of mind concerning both the security of their belongings and their own safety.

In commerce and industry too, companies find that they have more to protect: both valuable equipment and, increasingly, critical commercial and technical information. The security of these assets is becoming increasingly vital. At the same time, staff and legitimate visitors must be able to gain access to commercial and industrial premises with ease and be able to leave fast and safely in case of emergency.

These trends are seen alike in developed countries, in eastern Europe and in the emerging markets of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The time can be foreseen when all the world’s six billion inhabitants will be daily users of several locks – at home, at work and elsewhere. The growing need for increased security gives ASSA ABLOY many opportunities to discuss security and different kinds of locking solutions or upgrades with all kinds of customers.

“Security means peace of mind – making my home safe and secure for my young family,” says Joanne Knight of Auckland, New Zealand. Exceed Window Maintenance – a subsidiary of Interlock – specializes in fitting window and door security products. “Exceed gave me expert recommendations, a professional installation service and quality products,” Joanne says. “And this without compromising the esthetics or ventilation needs of my home. The front door and lowlevel windows were particularly vulnerable. Everything was installed in one morning and there was still time to explain its operation and make sure I felt comfortable with the security level my family now has.”

 
Fastest growth in emerging markets
The Group is currently seeing the fastest growth in Asia, South Africa, South America and eastern Europe. Historically these areas have been small markets for locks, served mainly by local manufacturers supplying traditional designs. For the occasional higher-security applications, imports have often been preferred.

Now high-rise buildings are growing in number, often designed by foreign architects from Europe and the USA who specify locks according to western Standards. This presents an opportunity to ASSA ABLOY, whose portfolio contains all such lock options. An alternative approach lies in transferring the necessary know-how to local companies who in turn supply the local needs. Both lines are currently followed by ASSA ABLOY.

Equalizing technology levels
The relative use of security and safety equipment still varies greatly between countries. For example, the USA spends at least twice as much as Europe on safety, while for security equipment the opposite is true. On the hypothesis that the use of both could be equally high in Europe and the USA, even a rough estimate shows that the value of the total market would at least double.

The ASSA ABLOY Group thus has a major business opportunity in equalizing these imbalances in the use of security and safety equipment. Being active on all major markets, the Group has the required technologies available and can always find suitable solutions to develop the markets and meet customers’ needs.

The Group already devotes great efforts to developing cross-selling between its companies. The value of such sales is increasing year by year. Companies round the world are also collaborating on Research & Development, which reduces their individual costs and enables the next generation of products to be based on global technologies, with local adaptations as necessary.

Gothenburg’s Liseberg amusement park is the largest in Scandinavia. When Security Manager Åke Larsson first saw Assa’s Twin IQ lock cylinders he was struck by the functions that the CLIQ technology offered: its flexibility in allowing cylinders to be moved between doors without wiring connections, its ability to block lost keys, and its logging of everyone who passes. In a first phase, the locks have been installed in areas concerned with cash-handling, perimeter security and IT. “It’s far easier now that we need just one key for all doors instead of carrying a great bunch around,” says Shadia Akef of the cashier’s department.

Stimulating residential interest
A recent market study in the UK, Germany, France and Sweden showed that 18 percent of householders want to buy a new lock. But, each year, only 3 percent actually do. More than 50 percent of house purchasers would choose an electric front-door lock if given the option.

Despite the wide availability of greatly improved locks with better functions, people’s perception is that there are few new types of residential locks available. Especially when they compare them with the locking solutions they meet in modern cars and hotels. ASSA ABLOY therefore has great potential on the residential market. And while most needs will continue to be routed through traditional lock companies and distribution channels, some enterprising Group companies have been highly successful with new ventures.

In New Zealand, for example, Exceed Window Maintenance, a subsidiary of Interlock, focuses specifically on locking solutions for windows and doors through a franchising network. In France and five neighboring countries, Fichet has set up a chain of nearly 400 franchised ‘Point Fort Fichet’ stores selling customized security doors, with locks, for apartments. In the USA, Emtek has grown its business in just a few years from nextto- nothing to sales of usd 50 m a year by offering an extensive range of individual, stylish, high-quality door handles, escutcheons and locks in a country known for its low-cost door furniture.

Even the padlock, traditionally sold purely on price, size and appearance, has been transformed by Lockwood in Australia. The company devised a rating system covering strength, corrosion resistance and intended application which has dramatically boosted sales. This is also being adopted in the UK, Poland and Hungary.

Electromechanics and electronics
Where new technologies are offered they make impressive progress. In Germany, for example, most doors, even for private homes, are either equipped with or prepared for an electric strike. This gives buyers the option of adding remote opening, a door phone or video monitoring.

The use of electromechanical locks continues to increase. ASSA ABLOY has leading positions in magnetic locks (through Securitron), motor and solenoid locks (Abloy, Assa, Lockwood) and electric strikes (effeff, HES, Trimec). Electronic cylinders too are here to stay. They are simpler to install and much cheaper to buy and own than full access-control systems; thus more doors can be given an enhanced performance.

They are easy to combine with mechanical cylinders, and by providing additional functionality such as fast programming of new or replacement keys and an audit trail, can create sophisticated security systems. ASSA ABLOY’S CLIQ concept has been wellreceived and will be progressively launched in several markets.

The growth of access control
In 2002 ASSA ABLOY alone produced around 700,000 access-control readers for use with electric locks. Modern access-control systems provide a cost-effective method of controlling the flow of people through perimeter doors and important interior doors. The objectives are to allow authorized entry, to prevent unauthorized entry and to safeguard the company’s property. Staff normally identify and admit themselves with id cards read by automatic readers at the doors.

At the same time, many doors normally kept securely locked must open readily in case of emergency so that people can escape fast. Electrically controlled panic exit devices can be set to operate in different modes at different times of day.

Future technologies
Means of identification for access control are rapidly becoming more sophisticated. Conventional ‘contact’ cards suitable for cash machines or retail purchases are not reliable when used many times daily for access. Contactless cards using radio-frequency proximity technology are therefore now widely used. They are also being further developed into smart cards, which can carry vastly more data and can receive, record and transmit information. One example is HID’s new iCLASS cards and readers, which are proving popular and could become a future standard.

Biometry can add a further level of security to a smart card by ensuring the authenticity of the cardholder. The card carries digitized details of the holder’s fingerprint, say, and both card and finger must be checked by readers, recognized and matched before access is granted. Such technologies will soon break through since cost is falling and reliability is rising.