Assa Abloy

Name

ASSA ABLOY was founded as the merger of the two companies Assa and Abloy in 1994. Assa stands for August Stenman Stenman August. 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).

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.

The 1999 acquisition of Essex Industries positioned Assa in the US security market, with the brands Sargent, McKinney, and the Curries/Graham Door Group.

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.

Since 1995 ASSA ABLOY has made over 150 acquisitions. 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 are Latour and Melker Schörling AB.

ASSA ABLOY fired 1800 employees and closed 15 units in 2009. International pressure forced Assa Abloy to relocate from an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank to within pre-1976 Israeli territory. Revenue in 2014 was SEK 56,843 million.

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

Source:

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.

Currently owned

A selection of notable brands owned by ASSA ABLOY:

Ongoing acquisitions

In 1999 the acquisition of Effeff Fritz Fuss in Germany enabled ASSA ABLOY to sell electro-mechanical locks in the German market. ASSA ABLOY also acquired Fichet in France, a manufacturer of high security locks. ASSA ABLOY doubled in size in 2000 when it bought the global lock group Yale Intruder Security. In the same year, ASSA ABLOY acquired HID, 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.

In 2002, Besam, a Swedish automatic door solutions company was acquired. Fargo Electronics, a company developing systems for safe issuing of ID cards, including card printers, peripheral equipment and software, was bought in 2006. In 2007 came the acquisitions of Baodean, manufacturer of high-security locks in China, and iRevo, supplier of digital door locks in Korea. In 2008, 18 companies were acquired, for example ShenFei in China. In 2009 the Italian door automation manufacturer, Ditec, was bought. Another major acquisition was made in 2011, with the purchase of the Crawford (Cardo Group). Flexiforce was acquired the same year.

A number of purchases followed in 2012. In the US, 4Front, a supplier of docking system solutions, Frameworks Manufacturing Inc., a manufacturer of interior aluminum frames and doors, and Albany Door Systems, a maker of high-speed industrial door solutions. In China, Sanhe Metal, a fire and security door manufacturer, and Shandong Guoqiang Hardware, a maker of window hardware products, were also acquired. In the UK, ASSA ABLOY bought Securistyle Group Holdings Limited and Traka, and in Canada, Helton. In the same year, the company launched Seos, a platform that allows near field communication (NFC) mobile phones to be used to replace mechanical keys and access cards in homes, hotels, offices, hospitals, universities and commercial buildings.

In 2013 Polish Mercor SA, a fire and security door manufacturer was bought, and in the US, Ameristar, a manufacturer of industrial and high-security fencing and gates, and Amarr, a sectional doors supplier, were taken over. In 2014, US companies IdenTrust, active in digital authentication solutions, and Lumidigm, a biometric identification solutions provider, were acquired.

In 2015, ASSA ABLOY made a number of further takeovers. MSL in Switzerland, a manufacturer of innovative locks, was purchased, as well as US Quantum Secure, a provider of solutions to manage identities and meet compliance requirements in highly-regulated industries. Malaysian lock and hardware company, Teamware, was taken over, and in Europe, L-Door, a manufacturer of sectional doors in Belgium, was acquired. Finnish firm, Flexim, a security systems provider and locksmith was also bought, and in the Middle East, the Prometal Group, a manufacturer of steel and wooden security doors in the UAE, was 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. 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.

Awards

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