Research & Development
The key to dormakaba’s sustainable profitable growth – and a core part of its strategy – is its strength in innovation. The Chief Innovation Officer leads global engineering capabilities and is responsible for dormakaba’s innovation strategy, including the platform and connectivity initiatives through the EntriWorX ecosystem. The company continuously develops new products, solutions, and services, supported by a substantial annual investment in R&D.
As of financial year 2023/24, dormakaba holds more than 1,800 active patents and patent applications. Employees around the world contribute to the Group’s innovation and product development, increasingly using data-driven ecosystems to create solutions that will satisfy future needs of customers and markets. The company has also set up a range of technology partnerships to realize the potential of its offerings in vertical markets such as airports, healthcare, lodging, and multi-housing.
All Access Solution product development efforts are organized as one global function, leading to a range of initiatives to rationalize dormakaba’s product offerings onto common hardware and software platforms, reducing time-to-market while increasing efficiency in product development. The company continues to enhance the value of digital transformation through service offerings, including a comprehensive support package covering the full life cycle of its products: not just planning and installation, but continuous, digitally provided day-to-day services.
Continued investment in digitalization and related product innovation has positioned the company well to provide its customers with effective solutions to their fast-evolving needs for safe, secure, and sustainable buildings. The adoption of seamless, touchless access and mobile solutions, has accelerated further, opening opportunities for dormakaba in attractive vertical markets such as healthcare and multi-housing.
dormakaba continues to embed sustainability in the core of its product development. Several sustainability innovations have been brought to the market, including an energy efficiency calculator and a novel sensor system to dynamically adjust the opening and closing of automatic doors and so contribute to optimize building’s energy consumption. Since 2023, all new product developments and optimizations are covered by our circularity approach.
Latest Innovations:
The EntriWorX ecosystem offers further solutions for planning and supporting architects, specifiers, and engineers, including the new BIM-based EntriWorX Planning 360 specification tool, which integrates into the tool chain of EntriWorX Planner and into both Salesforce and SAP Configurator. Other EntriWorX products provide improved visualization of door placement and maintenance interval specification, among other features.
Access Automation Solutions offers a range of products empowered by ConnectorOne, which allows customers to connect our products to third-party building management systems with plug-and-play ease. Successfully deployed in corporate headquarters, banking, and logistics locations, RC TOUCH continues to enhance our security gates offering, providing touch panel monitoring and control over up to ten gates per panel and multiple panels in a network. Our UltraQ ACT provides sporting venues with a compact, guest-operated, battery powered admission control solution, featuring automatic tailgating detection. The gate perfectly complements our UltraQ ticket validation device, which is the preferred solution for major global sporting events.
The ES 250 PRO EASY sliding door operator, launched globally in April 2024, is a worthy successor to the ES 200 EASY. Based on our ES PROLINE platform, ES 250 PRO EASY now includes the SMART Drive Unit. Fully conforming with EN 16005, the line is intended to replace other ES 200 variants in future.
Access Control Solutions has launched MATRIX as a Service (MATRIXaaS), providing a simple, flexible cloud-based solution for advanced access control. Available globally, MATRIXaaS is aimed at small to medium business customers and offers an always up-to-date solution without on-site installation or software updates. The MATRIX IoT Connector provides secure communication between the cloud application and components.
Seamlessly integrating with global ERP systems, B-COMM HCM consolidates time and labor data to track, manage, and clarify employee attendance, shopfloor activity, and building access for medium to large businesses. Further security is provided by the 9012 Keypad unit which connects to c-lever PRO, c-lever compact and digital cylinder systems, and allows PIN-code verification for digital door locks without wiring.
The EHD9000 BEST Heavy Duty Door Closer is joined by the TS Match OEM door closer, which provides customers with further performance/price balance options.
Safe Locks’ APEXX Axessor IP, which launched in March 2024, won the 2024 ISC West New Product + Solutions award in the Lock and Key category. A multi-year harmonization, the one-of-a-kind APEXX consolidates the key features from four high-security platforms into an industry-leading IoT device.
Key Systems pre-launched the Quattrocode D key machines in May 2024, providing highly automated duplication and engraving of dimple and laser keys at 20% faster cycle timing with extremely tight tolerances. In addition, the Profile Reader, launched in December 2023, is the first locksmithing device using AI and advanced algorithms to identify key profiles and support key duplication. The OBD Snoop ID88, launched in November 2023, is a world-first cloning tool for Volkswagen Group models, and complements the ID49 launched in May 2023 which provides cloning for Renault, Dacia, Kia, and Hyundai models.
