Kaba Access is striving to implement lean manufacturing processes in all plants.

Premier Business Partners:

Busick Brothers

Kaba Group has experienced 146 years as a global leader in the security industry. It applied that success to Kaba Access Control, formally known as the Unican Group, which was established in 1964 and was based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. After Kaba Group acquired the company in 2001, it transformed it into a leader in the lock industry.

“We are a leader in this industry due our focus on the customer needs,” Process Engineer Jeff Owens says. “Our marketing group provides engineering with detailed information of what the customers expect in the industry.

“Our engineering staff evaluates the marketing requirements and develop products that will not just meet, but exceed the customer expectations,” he adds. “We utilize the latest technology in our designs and manufacturing processes to keep our costs down and stay competitive.”

After the acquisition, the company moved its headquarters to Winston-Salem, N.C. It manufacturers security and keyless brands such as Simplex and E-Plex.

The products are used in commercial, institutional, residential, healthcare and government facilities. “Kaba Access Control provides security and key convenience in facilities around the globe,” the company says. “Innovative and comprehensive solutions have made it the preferred product choice for facilities and sites.”

The products are mainly sold through distributors throughout the world, Owens says. The company has three manufacturing facilities in North America: Winston-Salem, which builds commercial-grade mechanical and electronic push button locks and safety deposit locks for the banking industry; Rocky Mount, N.C., which manufactures keys, key machine and cylinder manufacturing; and Montreal, which manufactures electronic locks with card access for the hotel industry.

Kaba describes itself as “a world leader in access control solutions and door hardware.” The company invests substantially in research and development to maintain that position, Owens adds.

“We add more sophisticated features to our products as security and access control requirements evolve,” he says. “[For example, we developed] an access control lock that can read and authenticate a FIPs 201, which was mandated for all federal employees and vendors as a result of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12.”

High Standard for Suppliers
Kaba Access is striving to implement lean manufacturing processes in all plants. “We want to streamline and reduce costs,” Owens explains. “We also want to look at purchasing new equipment to speed up the process and make products more accurately and consistently.   

“Our goal is to concentrate on the areas where we can see a major impact on the bottom line,” he continues.  “For example, on several product lines, we have taken machining operations that require seven operations on different machines into performing the seven steps on one machine, eight parts a cycle. We designed and built our own fixtures to achieve this drastic improvement.

“We have also acquired robotic arms to perform sanding and buffing operations, and remove parts from our diecast machines.

“The robotic sanders have increased production and reduced labor dramatically. The robots in the casting department have also reduced labor down to one operator running a casting cell instead of two. We are improving manufacturing techniques at all times to keep the costs of products low without sacrificing quality.”

The company also ensures its suppliers meet high standards. ‘We normally look for people who are ISO-certified,” he says. “If they are not, we usually conduct audits to assure the product is good and consistently made, and that they meet our expectations. We do quite an extensive survey with the product.”

The company has a consistent supplier base, but there have been times when it used different suppliers. “It depends on the need,” Owens says. “Sometimes we have had to outsource to suppliers wherever we find the most economical costs with out sacrificing the quality.”