Securing the globe with entrance controls

5 Jun 2015

Demand for maintaining high levels of security continues around the globe, and our entrance control systems now secure premises in more than 60 countries across 6 continents. The global export market continues to display a high demand for our tailor made products which are designed and manufactured to match the needs of a desired specification. But with the new Conservative government now formed, what could this mean for exports for us, as a bespoke British manufacturer?

Keeping a keen eye on developments following the formation of the new government are Tony Smith, IDL’s Major Accounts and Marketing Manager, and Tom Sharrard, IDL’s Regional Sales Manager, and Vice Chair of the Export Council of the BSIA ( http://www.bsia.co.uk/ ).

“In 2014, the UK Trade & Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) and the Home Office set out their approach to the security export market with the Increasing Security Exports: A new Government Approach.  Now that the new government has been formed, with the re-appointment of Teresa May as Home Secretary, we anticipate that this emphasis will remain and that the export markets will continue to be as strong for us in 2015 as they have been in previous years with our products being exported to more than 60 countries across 6 continents” Commented Tom.

Now in our 30th year of trading, IDL has a strong reputation for exporting entrance control and security products which bear the unmistakable hallmarks of British quality.  The products are made to order for each project, not mass produced in a remote factory, so ensuring  their accuracy and reliability and allowing us to make any alterations necessary to fulfil the brief.  Many of the world’s highest status buildings use Fastlane and Door Detective, and with a high proportion of these using our bespoke services to individualise the installation, be it with custom finishes, logos and external personalisation, custom reader integration or a complete cabinet re-design to suit the Architect and customers’ aspirations.

Whilst quality is always a factor in a customer’s choice, whether this outweighs price can vary significantly from territory to territory.  Tony Smith explains, “In the Middle East, price often comes further down the list of priorities than aesthetics, ease of use and return on investment as the contractor sees the benefits of discerning choice when it comes to lower lifetime cost of ownership.  Having had inferior products fail in a short time, they now prioritise quality and accommodate this initial outlay within their budget.  In Eastern Europe, however, we see that the budget available for the initial outlay is often tighter, forcing purchasers to have to consider lower price point options which can sometimes lead them to make compromises in supplier choice.”

At IDL, it is important to us that our products are to the best design and use the best materials to enable them to continue to perform to our customers’ exacting standards for many years after installation.  With products at a range of price points, IDL is able to offer an effective entrance control system to meet most budgets, whether that be for an office building, hospital, university or airport. We are working hard to ensure that customers are fully aware of all the cost implications so they can weigh up the initial, versus whole life costs, whilst considering the impact of elements such as the product’s functionality, the opportunities to remotely update software and support the products along with the robustness of integral technology. 

Certification costs are still sometimes a problem in Europe where, despite the goal of harmonisation of regulation across national borders, local regulators and buyers can still cling to old-fashioned requirements.  IDL has taken steps to ensure compliance with all local standards as Tony Smith explains, “We have to comply with CE in Europe, as do most manufacturers, and have recently been certified with UL for our American business.  We have seen local standards come to the fore in Russia, and there has been some talk in Germany about non-VdS compliant products being excluded from insurance cover so it is clearly becoming a more pressing issue.  When there is so much at stake with security products, we are very grateful that the BSIA is very involved in standards and working hard on the members’ behalf to ensure that the message of specifying certified products is being received.”

Feltham Point
Air Park Way
TW13 7EQ
Feltham, Middlesex
United Kingdom

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