With hardware products becoming more and more commoditized, UWC is faced with the need to differentiate itself and deliver more value to customers. The company does this by boosting its manufacturing process.
UWC, a Malaysia-based manufacturer of electromagnetic locks, took to secutech a variety of products made with semi- to full-automated manufacturing processes aiming to ensure lock quality.
UWC locks come with holding force ranging from 300 to 1,500 pounds, making them suitable for a range of vertical markets including banking, industrial, healthcare, transportation, military facility, and retail. UWC reaches its global customers through distributors and appoints two in each region that the company does business in. The distributors then manage their systems integration customers, while UWC provides technical and advertisement support.
The electromagnetic lock was developed in the 1970s to fulfill the need for genuine fail-safe locking devices. The electromagnet is mounted to a door frame, and the armature plate is affixed to the door. When energized, the electromagnet attracts and grabs the armature plate with a strong retention force and locks the door. When input voltage is shut off, the armature plate is released, and the door is open.
UWC, which markets is products under the brand name Algatec, focuses solely on electromagnetic locks. “We are hardware-based, and we continuously improve the stability and consistency of our hardware,” said Andrew Fong, GM of Sales and Marketing at UWC.
With hardware products becoming more and more commoditized, UWC is faced with the need to differentiate itself and deliver more value to customers. The company does this by boosting its manufacturing process.
“We put a lot of efforts in our process. We upgrade our machines, we cut back on human resources, and we utilize automation,” Fong said. “We give better product stability to the customer through semi-automated processes, some even fully automated. We don't rely on labor that much.”
One key trend in the lock industry is demand for smart locks, which can be opened with the smartphone via NFC or Bluetooth low energy and connect with other smart home devices, such as lights and HVAC, whereby these devices are triggered once the lock is opened.
According to Fong, UWC does not rule out eventually entering this area, but some ongoing issues need to be resolved first.
“There are too many standards of smart home systems now. Everyone is having their own protocol, so we need to let that stabilize itself. I think we'll have to observe which ones are the more popular protocols,” he said.