Access Technologies - Experts & Thought Leaders
Latest Access Technologies news & announcements
Allegion plc, a security products and solutions provider has, through its subsidiaries, completed the previously announced acquisition of Stanley Access Technologies LLC (“Access Technologies”) and assets related to the automatic entrance solutions business from Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. for $900 million in cash. Access Technologies is a manufacturer, installer and service provider of automatic doors in North America, primarily in the United States and Canada. Its diversified customer base centres on non-residential settings, including retail, healthcare, education, commercial offices, hospitality and government. Access Technologies generated approximately $340 million in net sales in 2021. Authority comment “This acquisition bolsters Allegion’s seamless access strategy with a category market leader while growing the Allegion Americas core business through adjacent automatic entrance products and installation and maintenance services,” said David D. Petratis, Allegion chairman, president and CEO. “In addition, the Allegion team is proud to welcome Access Technologies’ dedicated employees, who bring immense talent and expertise in safety, security and service.” Allegion announced its intent to purchase the Access Technologies business on April 22, 2022.
Insights & Opinions from thought leaders at Access Technologies
Consolidation is a dominant trend in the security marketplace. Large companies typically swallow up smaller companies as a means of expanding both their technology portfolios and their geographic reach. Sometimes a big fish is swallowed up by an even bigger fish. Despite the pandemic and resulting economic challenges, the security market has continued to be a desirable environment for both big players and startups, which then provide abundant acquisition targets for the larger companies. Acquisitions of Motorola Motorola Solutions has been among the most acquisitive of the larger players, recently adding several smaller companies to their growing portfolio. Just this year, Motorola has acquired Ava Security, a video security and analytics company; Calipsa, another analytics company; and Videotec, an Italian provider of ruggedized video solutions for critical infrastructure applications. Video solutions that help to enhance safety and streamline operations while supporting customers In one announcement, Motorola chairman and CEO Greg Brown stated the goal of acquisitions is “to support our customers’ evolving security needs by expanding our portfolio of intelligent video solutions that help to enhance safety and streamline operations.” Previously, Motorola Solutions acquired Envysion, a video analytics company for the retail market. On the access control side, Motorola acquired Openpath Security, a cloud-based, mobile access control provider, in 2021. Motorola entered the video surveillance business back in 2018 with the acquisition of Avigilon for around $1 billion. Also now a part of Motorola are IndigoVision and Pelco, among others. ACRE's mergers and acquisition Another company active in the mergers and acquisition market has been ACRE (Access Control Related Enterprises). The company began with a spinoff from Ingersoll Rand in 2012 to become Vanderbilt Industries. As ACRE, the parent company has been active both in acquisitions and divestitures over the next decade. Vanderbilt grew with the acquisition of Siemens’ Security Products in 2015. ACRE owned Mercury Security, a manufacturer of OEM hardware used by access control companies, from 2013 until it was sold to HID Global in 2017. The acquisition of Razberi enhances the ComNet portfolio while providing complementary technologies ACRE’s more recent access control acquisitions are RS2 Technologies (in 2019), Open Options (2018), Feenics (2021), and Matrix Systems (2021). They acquired ComNet, a manufacturer of video and data transmission equipment, in 2016. The acquisition of Razberi (in 2020) enhances the ComNet portfolio and provides complementary technologies to the access control brands. Acquisition of ACRE ACRE itself was acquired by European investment firm Triton in 2021, and Joseph Grillo, the company’s founder and CEO, announced his retirement in 2022. His knowledge of the security and access control markets helped to drive the company’s growth, including 11 successful acquisitions in all. Securitas acquiring Stanley Security The acquisition of Stanley Security is transformational for both Securitas and the security industry Stanley Security has also made headlines. In December 2021, Securitas signed an agreement to acquire the Electronic Security Business from Stanley Black & Decker for $3.2 billion in cash. Securitas President and CEO Magnus Ahlqvist says, “the acquisition of Stanley Security is transformational for both Securitas and the security industry.” Allegion plc, global security products and solutions provider, later signed an agreement to acquire Stanley Access Technologies and assets related to the automatic entrance solutions business from Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. for $900 million. Acquisition by HID Global, ADT Inc. & Allied Universal HID Global has acquired Vizinex RFID, thus increasing its presence and relevance in key vertical markets, including healthcare/medical, manufacturing, oil and gas, data centres, etc. and adding a key technology to HID Global’s RFID tag portfolio. ADT Inc. recently expanded its geographic reach with the acquisition of Key-Rite Security, a locally owned and operated security provider specializing in access control, surveillance, intrusion, and intercom systems in Colorado and for customers across the United States. Allied Universal continues its strategic growth with the acquisition of Attenti Group, an electronic monitoring company Allied Universal has acquired Star Protection Agency, the largest Hawaiian-owned and veteran-owned security company in the state. Although Star is primarily a guard patrol service, with workers at 125 sites throughout the state, it provides a range of security technology and consulting services. Internationally, Allied Universal continues its strategic growth with the acquisition of Attenti Group, an electronic monitoring company. Allied Universal will integrate Attenti Group with G4S Monitoring Technologies, to create Allied Universal Electronic Monitoring Services. SALTO Systems making acquisition news Also internationally, SALTO Systems has made acquisition news by investing in Bluefield Smart Access, thus strengthening their portfolio of access control solutions. SALTO Systems is a manufacturer of electronic access control and operating system solutions, designed to provide a seamless, keyless and mobile experience for modern buildings. Also joining the SALTO Group is Cognitec Systems, a face recognition company. The goal is to strengthen their research, development and market reach while working with SALTO on new technologies for expanding biometric markets. SALTO strategically selected Cognitec Systems to meet market requests for adding face recognition and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to the company’s electronic access control and ticketing solutions. Acquisitions by MOBOTIX and Resideo Technologies Resideo Technologies, Inc. entered into an agreement to acquire First Alert, Inc., a provider of home safety products Further, on the international scene, MOBOTIX has reached an agreement to acquire Vaxtor Group, Tres Cantos, Spain, an artificial intelligence (AI) based video analytics provider, specializing in Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Deep Learning technologies. On the residential system's front, Resideo Technologies, Inc. entered into an agreement to acquire First Alert, Inc., a provider of home safety products, from Newell Brands Inc. for $593 million in an all-cash transaction. Established in 1969 and based in Aurora, Illinois, First Alert offers a strong omnichannel presence serving end-users directly through retail and e-commerce channels and professional contractors through relationships with distributors and home builders.
Working with accurate and detailed product specifications saves time andreduces the possibility of errors throughout a project They’re coming from every angle. Things that zap your company’s profitability: lower hardware margins, escalating labour costs, simply the cost of doing business. So systems integrators have been looking — and finding — new ways to increase revenues. New sources of revenue are emerging from services and even the administration side of the business. When you are more efficient in the office and in the field and can spec, quote and deliver projects faster and with more accuracy, everyone wins, especially the bottom line. Accurate design and documentation is a critical element of a successful and profitable project, says Tim Bigoness, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, D-Tools Inc., Concord, California. Need for easy to use, interoperable software systems “Today’s integrated systems often contain a myriad of products, and accessories, and maintaining consistency and accuracy of this product information can be a critical success factor and often mean the difference between profit or loss,” Bigoness says. He adds that working with accurate and detailed product specifications saves time and reduces the possibility of errors throughout a project, from the proposal and design to installation. “Spreadsheets and Word documents can help, but manual processes always increase the potential for errors and omissions. A system that helps integrators accurately estimate the amount of labour involved for the installation as well as prompting for recommended accessories can help ensure that the project is accurate, priced right, and delivered on time and to budget,” Bigoness adds. When looking at ways to increase efficiencies in project management, planning and design, Bigoness says it’s important to consider factors such as ease of use, accessibility, and integration with other systems, such as accounting and contact management. “Ideally, a solution should fit the way the contractor likes to work, and not force a single process – the ideal solution will be flexible, work well with other applications, and not require multiple efforts or duplicate data entry.” How D-Tools improved Access Technologies’ process efficiency “A system that helps integrators accurately estimate the amount of labour involved for the installation helps ensure that the project is accurate, priced right, and delivered on time and to budget” Access Technologies, Albuquerque, New Mexico, has simplified and accelerated its proposal process efficiency by 30 percent and as a result, increased its ROI, says RJ Spurr, Sales Engineer and Project Manager. Access Technologies is an integration company focusing on physical security, IT networking, wireless, WiFi, video conferencing, digital signage and voice control. It serves a variety of vertical markets, including corporate, government, education, healthcare and utilities. Access Technologies first began using the D-Tools System Integrator (SI) software platform in 2012 as a means to better streamline their security and IT networking project proposal and estimate process. Previously, the company relied on another CRM and quoting tool, but needed a better way to create as-built documents since each project proposal was separately created after the previous project phases using Microsoft Word. “We needed a solution that would integrate and simplify the process of adding products to proposals. We can now quickly and easily build needed documents as we create proposals,” says Spurr. Reducing time and error for higher ROI Spurr adds that software platforms need to provide complete project scheduling, resource management and reporting capabilities to ensure the job is delivered on time and within scope. “Because we are able to define users and assign roles to personnel, processes have improved, and we’ve become more efficient because everyone can access the information they require during any stage of the project. We can enter vast amounts of information in data fields that build continuity and accessibility throughout the team, further streamlining processes for our company.” Bigoness says creating a repeatable process delivers a tangible return on investment. “Integrators can respond to a request for bid quickly with accurate, professional documentation, delivering detailed engineering drawings with an organised resource plan and schedule to save time and reduce errors on the back-end – saving money and increasing profitability on every project. Without a system to easily track and extract this information, many companies are flying blind and find it hard to improve efficiency. And efficiency equals greater profitability.”