Assa Abloy

Assa Abloy AB is a Swedish conglomerate whose offerings cover products and services ranging from locks, doors, gates and entrance automation. This also includes controlling identities with keys, cards, tags, mobile and bio-metric identity verification systems. Assa Abloy was formed in 1994, when Assa AB was separated from Swedish security firm Securitas AB.
Shortly thereafter, Assa AB merged with the Finnish high security lock manufacturer Abloy Oy (based in Joensuu, a subsidiary of the Finnish company Wärtsilä).
The company was introduced to the Stockholm Stock Exchange later the same year. Assa Abloy has since made over 200 acquisitions including Yale lock, Chubb Locks, Medeco in the United States, Mul-T-Lock in Israel and Fichet-Bauche in France. Its two largest shareholders are Latour and Melker Schörling AB.
Name.
Assa Abloy was founded at the merger of the two companies Assa and Abloy in 1994. Assa stands for August Stenman Stenman August. The name 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 Lukkotehdas and Ltd. from Finnish).
History.
Founding, growth and development.
Assa Abloy was formed in 1994, through the merger of Swedish firm ASSA and Finnish high security lock manufacturer Abloy. The company was introduced to the Stockholm Stock Exchange later the same year.
From a regional company with 4,700 employees in 1994, Assa Abloy has become a global group with 48,500 employees in 2018. The company has increased its operating income by 7000% since its formation and operates now in over 70 countries.
Revenue in 2018 was SEK 84,048 M.
Brands.
Acquisitions.
In May 1999, the acquisition of Effeff Fritz Fuss in Germany enabled Assa Abloy to enter the electromechanical lock market. Assa Abloy also acquires Mul-T-Lock in Israel, a manufacturer of high security locks. Assa Abloy doubles in size in 2000, when it acquires the global lock group Yale Intruder Security. In the same year, Assa Abloy acquires HID, adding electronic identification to its product portfolio.
In April 2002, Assa Abloy Group acquired Besam, a Swedish company specialized in automatic pedestrian doors. Another important acquisition for the group was Fargo Electronics, a company which develops systems for safe issuing of credit, bank, debit and ID cards. This was followed by other acquisitions such as Baodean in China and Irevo in South Korea in 2007.
In 2009, the Italian door automation manufacturer, Ditec, was bought. Important acquisitions were also made in September 2011, with the purchase of Crawford and Flexiforce. A number of purchases followed in 2012. The group acquired Albany Door Systems, a manufacturer of high speed industrial doors. November 2013 came with the purchase of the Polish fire and security door manufacturer Mercor SA, Ameristar USA, and Amarr.
In December 2018, Assa Abloy acquired Lorient, a UK based designer and manufacturer of high performance door sealing systems.
In February 2020, Assa Abloy acquired the UK-based, 140-strong biometric access and workforce management technology business, Biosite.
Cooperation 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 October 2015, Assa Abloy joined as partner to KTH Royal Institute of Technology’s Things, a start up hub for companies in the Internet-of-things sector.