ASSA ABLOY to buy SimonsVoss

ASSA ABLOY announced today that it will be acquiring digital locks and access control firm SimonsVoss Technologies.

The German firm creates access control and locking systems that operate electronically, and the SimonsVoss products are used primarily in the commercial sector and in government buildings. The company, which expects sales totaling more than 40M Euros in 2008, employs roughly 225 persons and is located near Munich.

SimonsVoss will exist as a separate business unit within ASSA ABLOY. ASSA ABLOY also is parent company to such major brands as HID Global, Fargo Electronics, Yale, Securitron, Adams Rite and others. The companies are grouped around access control, ranging from purely mechanical locks to complex IP-connected doors and smart card solutions.

Although the agreement to acquire SimonsVoss has been signed, the purchase still needs to meet approval of regulatory boards. If all goes well in those approval processes, the acquisition will close in the first half of this year.

SimonsVoss earned a bright blip of product fame last year with its SV1 Cylindrical RF Lock, which picked up a SIA New Product Showcase award. The product was designed to replace a traditional lock with its self-contained access control system. Likewise, the company's products all take this digital angle, and the product line expands from use at fairly small facilities all the way up to enterprise level access control situations. The SimonsVoss products extends from biometric transponders to shunt locks, PIN pads, locking system software, wireless communications and more.