The Locksmith Journal Sep/Oct 2018 - Issue 58 | Page 39

PROUD SPONSORS OF THIS PAGE the autonomy to manage our own market. We understand our routes to market and customer demand on this island, which is quite different to mainland Europe or other regions. I have been given a mandate to get on with it.” There are company ‘directives’, he admits, but these are incremental to maintaining the strength of the brand, its credentials and approach as an innovative manufacturer and service provider of solutions. Understanding the market, its changing needs neatly dovetails into new product development (NPD). Although the majority of GEZE’s NPD is undertaken at its Leonberg HQ, supported by defined resources, budget and testing, its UK subsidiary is given the flexibility to modify or design products where it identifies an emerging demand. Ideas are developed by the technical team or FIRESAFETY&SECURITY • 39 through the established PDP process which are filtered through a gateway system. “It’s nice for people here to be able to flex their muscles,” says Kaz “It gives them a chance to move away from the day-to-day running of the business and focus on their own projects. “The thing that we have to be mindful of, is that any modifications don’t compromise the products and that they must undergo rigorous testing.” Recent examples include the production of a locking bracket for the drive belt of the Slimdrive SL NT operators for sliding doors – a solution that was created out of test parts from a 3D printer, and a water- resistant underfloor operator that was devised to meet particular client needs. Technology has brought about the greatest changes in the fortunes of GEZE and that pace of change has been most significant in the past 10-15 years. There has been a digital revolution as opposed to an evolution which have been demonstrated by products such as the GEZE cockpit and range of smart ventilation products that marry the natural environment with digitisation that can orchestrate the working conditions, safety and security of a whole building. Says Steve Marshall, GEZE UK’s Service Director: “We have always been part of a very technical landscape but technological requirements now are as much about digitisation and system integration as they are about hardware. Safety, security and environmental requirements are key considerations and feature highly on customer’s shopping lists.” He believes that embracing modern technologies is where the company’s future lies. “On the service side, we have already seen LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | SEP/OCT 2018 tremendous change in who our customers are and the frameworks in which they operate. We have been responsive to those needs and kept apace to ensure that we can meet and exceed those demands and will continue to do so by embracing new technologies and adapting them for future needs.” These include a variety of digital applications – software is now leading the pace of change just as hardware did a few short decades ago. In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) and remote management look set to be incorporated to provide enhanced levels of expertise and application out ‘in the field’. Although a ‘satellite’ to its parent company – with over 250 employees in the UK, compared to 2,500 in Germany – there is a self- determination that propels GEZE UK to ever-greater things.