“More buildings are requiring greater levels of security”: Q&A with Automatic Systems

IFSEC Global sits down with Ben Fryer, Sales Manager at Automatic Systems, to understand some of the trends he’s witnessing in entrance control and what visitors can expect to see on the company’s stand at IFSEC 2020 in May.

Hi Ben, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to work for Automatic Systems?

Hi, so I predominantly look after the London area for Automatic Systems. I’ve been in the industry for 16 years and have worked for Automatic Systems for 10 of those.

And what’s kept you engaged in the sector?

It’s a really progressive industry – every project is different, so it keeps things interesting. The security sector is booming, with new buildings going up all the time and refurbishments frequently needed – especially at the moment with higher threat levels, so it’s enjoyable being in such a fast-moving industry.

And can you tell us a little more about Automatic Systems? What are the key areas you operate in?

Automatic Systems is a global business, with our head office in Belgium and this past year we’ve just celebrated our 50^th anniversary – so we’re well established in the security sector. We were one of the first companies to produce pedestrianised entrance control lanes and vehicle control barriers.

We specialise in the entrance control market (speedlanes, turnstiles), as well as vehicle control (barriers, roadblockers, bollards) and high security (secure portals, secure revolving doors).

The business is now owned by the Bolloré Group, a French global top 500 company, but we operate in our own sphere.

As a global business, do you notice that different countries require different solutions?

While our UK office would predominantly deal with UK-based companies, the specific project could be abroad. We have subsidiaries in various countries throughout the world, as well as partners in those we don’t have a direct presence in, so we would likely work closely with them if there were any specific differences.

Because of this, I don’t deal too much with many projects abroad, but the products we have are sold globally, so there’s not really any major differences – from my experiences in Europe, at least. They may just be arranged or programmed in a slightly different manner to suit the needs of the country they’re going in to.

There are always some instances which involve different challenges due to legislation, but we don’t have different products for different markets, so our solutions maintain a global appeal.

Have you noticed a major change in what customer’s are looking for in recent years?

The use of biometrics is one trend that has certainly increased in the last few years, but it’s not yet at the levels that it was expected to be at by now.

One trend that particularly comes to mind is customisable security solutions. Customers are ultimately looking for two main features – higher levels of security and the flexibility to customise or design the end product to suit a building’s needs or aesthetic. This trend has generally been led by the architect or building designer.

Interesting, and how flexible is Automatic Systems to such requests?

In short, we’re very flexible, as long as it doesn’t affect the product’s ability to operate efficiently. We can organise the customisation ourselves by working with our R&D department in Belgium – this could be anything from a different colour, to changing the look of the product to fit in with the design of the building. Internal components like sensors need to be in same places, but other than that we can be fairly flexible.

Ultimately, entrance control solutions need to be as seamless as possible, and we will do our best to match the architect’s requirements by customising the security solutions to their design needs.

And any other trends that you’ve noticed?

There has definitely been an increase in the percentage of buildings requiring security solutions. More buildings are looking for more levels of security – it’s not just high-level buildings, or buildings that were perceived to need secure access, anymore. We’re seeing new verticals that weren’t necessarily interested in security solutions before. Businesses are recognising the possibilities of quality security products integrating with other requirements, such as fire evacuation and knowing who is in the building, so there’s been a massive growth in areas we may not have expected to see in the past thanks to smart technology and integrated solutions.

In particular, the leisure industry appears to be coming around to more sophisticated and secure entrance control lanes, rather than more simplistic tripod-based turnstiles. They have more features for building managers, provide a seamless passage, and are more user friendly for a better customer experience.

And what level of support does Automatic Systems offer its customers?

It’s a real mixture and can depend on the project. We work on projects ranging from one entrance lane to much larger, more prestigious buildings.

Our key route to market is via security integrators and partners, so we offer them all the support that they need. We do have an engineering and installation team in the UK, but work hard to offer our integrator partners the highest levels of support we can – from training on installation, to on-site support. We also work on an open protocol basis, so providing integrators have completed our full training programme, they are then fully licensed to install and maintain our products.

Working closely with integrator partners is our preferred route to market and this is a major reason for us returning to IFSEC in 2020. For any end users or integrator companies who are visiting, we’d certainly encourage them to come to the Automatic Systems stand, where we can talk you through our products and how we could help with projects in the future.

We also offer end users training with our equipment, so they have a better idea of how it all works and identify any features that may be useful for them.

What’s your Partnerweb all about?

The Partnerweb demonstrates another commitment to our partners. It’s essentially a download platform available to registered partners, where they can then access our full range of technical documents, user manuals, part catalogues and more.

You’re returning to IFSEC for 2020 – what are you bringing along in May?

As well as providing a platform to meet with our customers and integrator partners, we’ll be focusing on two products this year. The first is an update to our entry level entrance control lane, FirstLane. It’s got all the same quality features and levels of security the range has become renowned for, but we’ve given it a bit of a refreshed design, so it’s a great chance for visitors to have a look at the new features.

We’ll also be highlighting how our SR3 rated secure portal, ClearLock, has received LPCB certification. It’s an achievement we’re really proud of, and demonstrates the quality that goes into everything Automatic Systems does.

You can find out more about ClearLock and its LPCB certification here.

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