Assa Abloy

ASSA ABLOY AB

Type	Publicly traded Aktiebolag
Traded as	OMX: ASSA B
Industry	Manufacturing and services
Founded	1994 (1994)
Headquarters	Stockholm, Sweden
Key people	Lars Renström (Chairman), Johan Molin (President and CEO)
Products	Locks, automatic and security doors
Revenue	SEK 56.843 billion (2014) [1]
Operating income	SEK 9.257 billion (2014) [1]
Profit	SEK 6.436 billion (2014) [1]
Total assets	SEK 79.998 billion (2014) [1]
Total equity	SEK 36.096 billion (2014) [1]
Number of employees	44,269 (2014) [1]
Website	assaabloy.com

The ASSA ABLOY Group is a Swedish lock manufacturer, and is the world's largest lock manufacturer by sales volume.^[2]

ASSA ABLOY was formed in 1994 when Assa AB was separated from Swedish security firm Securitas AB. Shortly thereafter, the Finnish high-security lock manufacturer Abloy Oy (a subsidiary of the Finnish company Wärtsilä) was acquired. The company was introduced to the Stockholm Stock Exchange later the same year. ASSA ABLOY has since made over 150 acquisitions.^[3] A few of these are Yale lock, Sargent and the high-security lock firms of Medeco in the U.S., Mul-T-Lock in Israel, Fichet-Bauche in France, and VingCard Elsafe International in Norway. Its two largest shareholders^[4] are Latour and Melker Schörling AB.

Name

ASSA ABLOY was founded as the merger of the two companies Assa and Abloy in 1994. Assa stands for August Stenman Stenman August.^[5][6] The name Abloy comes from a contraction of the Swedish-Finnish bilingual name Ab Låsfabriken Lukkotehdas Oy, meaning literally Ltd. Lock Factory Lock Factory Ltd. (first Ltd. and Låsfabriken from Swedish, last Ltd. and Lukkotehdas from Finnish).

History

Founding, growth and development

Emil Henriksson, the founder of Abloy, invented the disc tumbler lock mechanism, and ASSA ABLOY continues to produce an extensive line of these high-security locks with the brand Abloy.

In 1972 the acquisition of Essex Industries positioned Assa in the US electronic security market.

ASSA ABLOY was formed in 1994 when Assa AB was detached from Swedish security firm Securitas AB. Shortly thereafter, the Finnish high-security lock manufacturer Abloy Oy (a subsidiary of the Finnish company Wärtsilä) was acquired. The company was introduced to the Stockholm stock exchange later the same year.^[3]

Since 1995 ASSA ABLOY has made over 150 acquisitions.^[3] A few of these are Yale lock, Sargent and the high-security lock firms of Medeco in the U.S., Mul-T-Lock in Israel, Fichet-Bauche in France, and VingCard Elsafe International in Norway. Its two largest shareholders^[4] are Latour and Melker Schörling AB.

ASSA ABLOY fired 1800 employees and closed 15 units in 2009.^[7] Revenue in 2014 was SEK 56,843 million.^[8]

Overview

Divisions

ASSA ABLOY has five divisions: EMEA (operates in Europe, the Middle East and Africa), Americas (operates in North and South America), APAC (operates in Asia and Oceania), Global Technologies and Entrance Systems.

CEOs

ASSA ABLOY has had the following presidents and CEOs: 1994-2003: Carl-Henric Svanberg, 2003-2005: Bo Dankis, 2005-: Johan Molin.

Product categories^[9]

• Mechanical locks
• Electromechanical and electronic locks
• Padlocks
• Access control systems
• Mobile keys
• Automatic doors
• Doors closers
• Exit devices and panic exit devices
• Hotel locks
• Hotel Energy management systems
• Safes
• Security doors
• Intelligent lockers
• Key management systems

Competitors

ASSA ABLOY has five main competitors in its segment: Ingersoll-Rand (USA), Stanley Black & Decker (USA), Dorma (Germany), Kaba Group (Switzerland) and Hörmann (Germany). All are strong locally on their home markets and also have international presence. The Asian market holds many smaller competitors, none of which holds a dominant market share.^[10]

Brands & marketing

Currently owned

A selection of brands owned by ASSA ABLOY:

• Abloy
• ASSA
• Ameristar
• Arrow Lock and Door Hardware
• Emtek
• Fargo Electronics
• HID
• Medeco
• Yale
• Chubb
• Besam
• VingCard
• Elsafe
• Crawford
• FAB
• Pemco
• Adams Rite
• Traka
• Mul-T-Lock
• ENOX
• Rixson
• Sargent
• Lockwood
• IKON
• Union

Timeline of acquisitions

In 1999 the acquisition of Effeff Fritz Fuss^[11] in Germany enabled ASSA ABLOY to sell electromechanical locks to the German market. ASSA ABLOY also acquires Fichet^[12] in France, manufacturer of high security locks. The company doubles in size in 2000 when the global lock group Yale Intruder Security^[13] is acquired. The same year, ASSA ABLOY also acquires HID,^[14] a proximity identification access controls company. The acquisition added electronic identification to the ASSA ABLOY’s product portfolio. In 2001 the company completed its purchase of Lockwood in Australia.^[15]

In 2002, Besam,^[16] a Swedish automatic door solutions company is acquired. Fargo Electronics^[17] is acquired in 2006, a company developing systems for safe issuing of ID cards, including card printers, peripheral equipment and software. In 2007, including the acquisitions of Baodean^[18] manufacturer of high-security locks in China and iRevo,^[19] supplier of digital door locks in Korea. In 2008 18 companies are acquired, for example ShenFei in China.

In 2009 the Italian door automation manufacturer Ditec^[20] is acquired. Then in 2011 another major acquisition is made: Crawford (Cardo Group).^[21] Flexiforce is acquired the same year. A number of acquisitions follow in 2012. In the US: 4Front,^[22] supplier of docking system solutions; Frameworks Manufacturing Inc., manufacturer of interior aluminum frames and doors; and Albany Door Systems,^[23] high-speed industrial door solutions. In China: Sanhe Metal, fire and security door manufacturer; and Shandong Guoqiang Hardware, window hardware products. In the UK: Securistyle Group Holdings Limited and Traka. Canada: Helton. Seos, an ecosystem with NFC to replace keys with mobile phones launched.[11]

In 2013 Polish Mercor SA,^[24] a fire and security door manufacturer is acquired. In the US, Ameristar,^[25] manufacturer of industrial and high security fencing and gates; and Amarr,^[26] sectional doors supplier are acquired. In 2014 US companies IdenTrust,^[27] active in digital authentication solutions and Lumidigm^[28] biometric identification solutions provider are acquired.

In 2015 MSL in Switzerland, manufacturer of innovative locks^[29] is acquired. US Quantum Secure is acquired, a provider of solutions to manage identities and meet compliance requirements in highly regulated industries.^[30] Lock and hardware company Teamware in Malaysia is acquired^[31] and in Europe, Belgian L-Door in Belgium, manufacturer of sectional doors^[32] and Flexim in Finland, a security systems provider and locksmith^[33] are acquired. In the Middle-East, Prometal Group in UAE, a manufacturer of steel and wooden security doors^[34] is acquired.

Co-operation with colleges and universities

The company is a Corporate Partner in the Stockholm School of Economics partner program for companies that contribute financially to the college and works closely with regard to research and education.^[35] In 2015 ASSA ABLOY joined as partner to KTH Royal Institute of Technology’s Things, a start-up hub for companies in the area The Internet of Things.^[36]

Awards

In 2013, ASSA ABLOY was ranked #78 on Forbes’ “The World’s Most Innovative Companies” list, and in 2014 as #93.^[37]

See also

• List of Swedish companies

References

External links

• Official website
• Yahoo.com, Assa Abloy AB Company Profile
• Emtek Door Hardware
• Yale Locks
• Abloy Canada
• Rixson
• Adams Rite

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