Top security EVVA

EVVA has been a byword for security for more than 90 years. Now it is taking a major step forward with the launch of a new range of electronic access control products. CEO Stefan Ehrlich-Adam explains the new strategy to Peter Mercer.

TOP SECURITY

EVVA, the Austrian family-owned company that has been leading the way in lock technology since 1937, has this year opened a new chapter in its development story. Already recognised as one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of access solutions that use both mechanical and electronic systems, the company is not only launching a new range of electronic access control systems but is also bringing the development and production of the electronic elements of its products in-house.

“We have had an excellent relationship for many years with our provider of electronic access control technologies but we have now decided to develop our own systems,” explains Stefan Ehrlich-Adam. “This is an important step for us and will enable EVVA to develop into a truly independent producer and supplier of integrated electronic access control systems. We are launching in early 2014 the first products in our new portfolio – Xesar and Airkey – and these two new technologies will be the basis for continuing innovations. Unlike mechanical locking systems, electronic systems need updating continually – we will need to enhance their functionality at least every couple of years - so we will all have to think and move faster. But we don’t find this a problem; EVVA has been a by-word for innovation in security for more than 90 years, ever since and before the company was awarded the first patent for a cylinder padlock in 1937. Since then we have filed applications for more than 200 national and international patents – you could say that innovation is part of our DNA.”

Xesar, which will be available in early 2014, combines high security with convenient and uncomplicated operation. All the elements of the system – wall readers, escutcheons and cylinders – may be programmed via a tablet PC. Time profiles can be monitored and access events read out and programming and operation is especially easy. Suitable for internal or external doors and for both highsecurity and high-traffic zones, Xesar can be used in all buildings and sectors, from small businesses to public institutions and large corporate organisations. With Airkey, mobile phones will become keys. Authorised users will simply hold up their NFC-enabled smartphone in front of the EVVA electronic cylinder which will recognise the authorisation and open the door. All

access authorisations are managed centrally in the easy-to-use Airkey software, ensuring that only people with access authorisation to specific doors can open them with their mobile phone. Airkey has already been proven in a big field test carried out at the Vienna University of Technology.

Differentiating solutions

From its origins as an Austrian family business EVVA has grown into one of the leading manufacturers of security technology in Europe. Its headquarters and main production site are in Vienna and it serves its customers through a total of 13 subsidiaries across the continents as well as through distributors right across the world. It currently employs some 800 people, over 450 of them in Austria. It produces both mechanical master key systems and electronic access control systems for buildings of all kinds, from flats and houses, hotels and restaurants, schools and hospitals to office buildings, industrial premises and retail and wholesale premises.

“Despite the importance to the future of the company of electronic access technology we always remember that at EVVA our roots are in mechanical systems and we will continue to work on improving these, constantly looking to differentiate our solutions,” says Mr Ehrlich-Adam. “After all, whatever the sophistication of the electronic technology we can deliver, the basic securitisation of any building still rests on mechanical protection – the control and access systems still depend on a secure lock. We continue to work on developing additional tamper-proof locking elements to make our mechanical systems more secure. We put a lot of effort into lock cylinder security – thus increasing protection against illegal entry techniques – and into key copying security – to protect against illegal key duplication. Illegal key copying, for example, is a very different business from 20 years ago – people these days use the newest technologies available – so we have to keep at least one step ahead.”

Whether they are mechanical locking systems or electronic access systems, EVVA’s solutions are always optimised to meet the needs of specific user groups. The first step, as Stefan Ehrlich-Adam explains, is to decide which level of technology is appropriate for each customer application. “Basically we offer simpler systems for applications such as residential buildings, intermediate systems for schools, sports and leisure centres and so on and the highest level systems for airports, energy facilities and other sensitive infrastructure developments.We explain to customers the different security levels we can supply and establish which is the most appropriate for their requirements.

“Our core business is the design, manufacture and supply of security systems that are suitable for master key control, that is, a system which has one key which opens everything and lots of other keys that open only some doors. The challenge here is to design a system that offers high numbers of combinations in a complex hierarchy; it is a challenging mathematical and technological problem. For example, if you want a reversible key – one that fits the lock either way up – that severely limits the number of combinations.”

Steady growth

Although EVVA exports its products worldwide it remains very much a European business, selling over 90 per cent of output

in western and eastern Europe. “Our family has been making locks since the 1860s and we have grown mostly organically, taking fairly small steps along the road,” says Mr Ehrlich-Adam. “We have advanced by constantly bringing new products to the market and expanding our presence country by country, often by taking over our distributors and turning them into subsidiaries that can deliver products and services locally. But despite our conservative approach we have been able to grow substantially the size of the business in the last years and we are beginning to grow in more distant markets overseas.”

EVVA has been sensitive to the issue of environmental protection for many years. In fact, the company recently won an award for its expertise in climate protection and energy efficiency from klima:aktiv, the Austrian Ministry for the Environment’s climate protection initiative. A programme to upgrade all lighting fittings with energy-efficient lights begun in 2009 resulted in a reduction of 40 per cent in energy consumption at the Vienna production plant. “We have now taken a big step forward from this and installed a large photovoltaic generating system that provides our basic energy requirements all year long,” says Stefan Ehrlich-Adam. “We continue to take a leading role in environmental protection projects with the city of Vienna and we are currently working on a CSR report. We are learning to look at environmental issues in a new way so that we can move forward with more profound initiatives. One of our goals, for example, is to develop an oil-free production facility.

“Overall EVVA will continue along the path that we have set out on this year, developing electronic access solutions that are sophisticated yet easy-to-use and supporting our customers with more effective remote services. We will do what EVVA has always done – introduce new, even disruptive, ideas into what has always been a very traditional industry.” n