dormakaba Americas Opens Customer Discovery Center
dormakaba has expanded its Americas headquarters in Indianapolis with a state-of-the-art Customer Discovery Center. This showroom is an interactive designed space that engages guests in hands-on, technology-driven collaborative activities. Although limited to virtual visits and extremely small gatherings at this time because of the pandemic, dormakaba expects to host visitors annually through a wide range of tours, training and interactive experiences. The Customer Discovery Center will host visitors by scheduled appointment only.
Customers can:
- Discover and interact with the company’s industry-leading innovations.
- Meet with company product and technical experts.
- Provide ideas and insights to the leadership team.
- Enjoy an enhanced experience via a mixed-reality tour.
- Hear real-life experiences from customers.
- See where and how dormakaba products are used.
dormakaba’s Customer Discovery Center incorporates an open floor plan divided into multiple zones that highlight marquee products and access control technologies and 12 specific markets, including K-12 education, healthcare and retail and commercial facilities. Interactive displays and multimedia content transport visitors into the spaces where access control technology solves problems. This design helps architects, designers, building owners, property or facility mangers, locksmiths and security experts experience the difference that dormakaba’s high-performance access control solutions can make for the safety and security of their buildings and spaces.
For more information, visit discoverdormakaba.com
Nationwide Industries Acquires LockeyUSA
Nationwide Industries, a Harbour Group company and leading supplier of specialty hardware in the fence and gate, railing and patio market, has acquired LockeyUSA. The acquisition brings a vital presence in the perimeter security market in multiple important customer channels for Nationwide Industries.
The acquisition isn’t expected to cause any immediate change. Lockey says its brand name will continue "for the foreseeable future."
Based in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, Lockey is a specialty supplier of high-quality perimeter security and gate hardware products, providing security and convenience for a wide range of commercial and residential applications. Lockey’s product portfolio includes keyless locks, hydraulic gate closing hardware and panic hardware.
“Nationwide has a profoundly strong reputation in the market, and we are thrilled to partner with both the Nationwide team and Harbour Group,” says Doug Hill, founder of Lockey. “We believe our high-quality product offering and attention to customer security and convenience will be a great complement to Nationwide’s expansion into perimeter security. It also offers Lockey’s traditional customer base Nationwide’s complementary fence and gate hardware products. I am excited about the opportunity and look forward to helping create the next phase of growth.”
DEN Smart Home Brings Intelligence to the Electric Strike
Generally, the smart-lock market focuses on bringing intelligence and remote connectivity to the locks themselves, typically through sophisticated internal hardware and software. However, a startup company based in the Netherlands is taking an alternative path to intelligent locks — via the electric strike.
DEN Smart Home earned a 2021 CTA Innovation Award for its new Integrated Strike, a software-powered electric strike that essentially transforms a “dumb lock” into a smart one.
“It works differently than other smart locks, because it is installed in a door frame,” company Founder and CEO Marijn van der Wal says. “It doesn’t do anything with your lock or your door handle. It is just a strike plate that will enable you to actually push the door open.”
The product looks like a normal electric strike for a deadbolt, but the keeper cavity for the deadbolt includes a pivoting “bucket” that can be controlled through an app. “The deadbolt stays out, and there’s just a small bucket that will be released when you have access to the door,” van der Wal explains.
This technology enables a lock to be adapted to the strike, which makes any mechanical locking device an intelligent one. When the user unlocks the door via the app, they simply push the door open with the deadbolt still extended, and the bucket inside the strike pivots open. After the door is shut again, the bucket pivots back in place and locks to also lock the door.
Some consumers spend a lot of money on door hardware, van der Wal says. “This way, they can just leave everything in place and just replace the strike plate. It can be installed with any lock, although you may need to take out a little bit more of the wood [in the door frame] in order to install the strike.”
He adds that the product is attractive to consumers who aren’t comfortable “advertising” that they have a smart lock on their front door but still want to enjoy the mobile functionality.
van der Wal says product installation is a bit beyond the skills of the average DIY user, although possible. “We intend to go into the CEDIA channel and installers channel to work with users to get it installed,” he says.
The official launch model will be Z-Wave and Bluetooth capable, and van der Wal says a Zigbee version is also in the works.
Learn more at www.densmarthome.com.
Rick Zimmerman has joined dormakaba’s Access Solutions Americas segment as associate vice president, partner development for physical access control companies. He will focus on growth strategies across the dormakaba product and service portfolio, with particular emphasis on door hardware and electronic access and data solutions in North and South America. Zimmerman will be based in the company’s Indianapolis headquarters.
“Rick is a bona fide industry leader,” says Alex Housten, chief operating officer, dormakaba AS AMER. “His role was recently created to advance the dormakaba product line to serve the electronic security integration market with leading products, backed by our robust, customer-first business model. Rick’s extensive experience includes entrepreneurial, high-growth roles at market-leading security technology integrators. He has a passion for the access control industry and the technology that leads to real solutions implemented at the end-user level.”
Zimmerman has more than 25 years of experience in electronic security at Stanley Security Solutions, Netech and Presidio. Most recently, he served as vice president of security for Koorsen Fire and Security.
Alarm Lock Systems, a division of NAPCO Security Technologies, introduced Peter Lowenstein as vice president of sales. Lowenstein will be responsible for energizing and driving sales in the Alarm Lock Division, overseeing the Alarm Lock sales team of regional sales managers and independent reps, reporting to Stephen Spinelli, senior vice president of sales for all NAPCO divisions.
Spinelli says, “We are excited to have Peter join us and welcome him onboard. I look forward to working with him and the team, as we continue to expand and build upon the success of Alarm Lock’s strong brands, like market-leading Trilogy and Networx Standalone and Wireless Access Locks, plus, debuting new lines, including Air Access, coming soon — the industry’s first cellular-based access control system, which uses both these lock lines to generate RMR for locksmiths and security pros.”
Contact Lowenstein directly at [email protected] or 631-263-4049.
