Abloy to expand international business and focus on rail sector

Abloy to expand international business and focus on rail sector

Finnish locking solutions provider Abloy is expanding its international business operations with a major  focus on the global railway industry.

To facilitate this growth and support its professional customers worldwide, Abloy will open new competence centres in in North America, Southern Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region this year.

The company aims to be active in major railway infrastructure and rolling stock projects worldwide. The new competence centres will focus on Abloy’s PROTEC2 CLIQ access control technology. Opening of the latest CLIQ competence centre was announced in the United Kingdom earlier this year. Last year Abloy opened up its first centres in Poland, South Africa, Singapore, Colombia and France.

Abloy is already known for securing high-profile properties such as the Panama Canal, Louvre in France, State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, British Museum, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the United Kingdom.

In the last few years, Abloy has invested in developing its PROTEC2 CLIQ technology to deliver a range of solutions combining digital communication and precision mechanical products.

Abloy has chosen to specifically focus on the rail industry, as this vertical market is undergoing many challenges with digital transformation. Digitalisation links trains, track, yards, logistics and stations in a complex ecosystem, and provides valuable data to railway operators. The ecosystem covers assets such as locomotives and other rolling stock, signalling infrastructure, and railway stations.

New innovations in the rail industry feature not only intelligent locomotives, but also intelligent access management and control, as well as electronic locking systems.

“The digital transformation in rail transport operations is having a substantial effect on the security, reliability, and costs of rail operations and efficiency,” says Pauli Jormanainen, regional director, Abloy.

However, rapid digitalisation is posing new challenges. There are many legacy systems still in use for security and safety. In addition to this, there is no single standardised global signal, track, infrastructure, security and safety regulation or format. Also, today there are more threats to security than the past with the rise of terrorism, vandalism and the risk of cyber threats inherent with digitalisation.

“With modern access control systems and locks, you can manage all your staff, contractors and suppliers using one key access to all areas. For example, with our PROTEC2 CLIQ access management, you can control and schedule access remotely. You also have an audit trail of all the tracked movements for all key holders. All wireless connections are encrypted and secure”, says Jormanainen.

“ABLOY electric locks and padlocks are some of the most advanced in the world. Based on a rotating disc cylinder, our PROTEC2 CLIQ access control and locking system combines the best parts of the electronic and mechanical worlds. The disc cylinder is perfectly suited to the challenging conditions of railways, including exposure to dust, rain and ferrite”, Jormanainen concludes.
Join Abloy at Asia Pacific Rail 2019

Abloy will be showcasing its latest technologies and innovations at Asia Pacific Rail 2019 in Hong Kong, 19–20 March 2019, at stand A13. https://www.abloy.com