SAFOS stands for unique access control using smartphone technology
Activate Bluetooth, select app, type in PIN code and open a drawer with the electronic key: TRACcess is the name of a system for real-time access permissions which is used in particular with remote objects, for example with radio aerial systems or high-voltage transmission poles and in luggage or vehicle fleet logistics, by security firms, the military and the police. Before the smartphone era, the product which is manufactured by the American company, Supra, operated by entering a code on a specific device. “There is no comparable system anywhere in the world,” says Yindela Hirtreiter, Product Manager at SAFOS AG. The family-run company which specializes in the manufacture of security doors has the exclusive distribution rights for Switzerland, and well-known customers rely on the TRACcess system. However, the success story was threatening to come to an end: Supra was taken over by General Electric, and the new contacts wanted to load the Swiss customer data onto American servers. As Hirtreiter comments: “Our clients would never have tolerated that."
Thanks to S-GE, messy situation successfully resolved
Negotiations had continued for years without success. Communications had stalled and information regarding product developments was not forthcoming. Supra was sold on to UTC – but the problems remained. SAFOS then turned to Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE), and the situation was quickly resolved. Following an initial meeting, the consultant called in the Swiss Business Hub in the USA, the parties got together, and soon new contracts were signed. Hirtreiter comments: “We are now working with our former contacts at Supra again and are finally receiving the necessary support.” The data will therefore remain on Swiss servers in future and can be migrated to each new product generation.
Yindela Hirtreiter praises the assistance provided by S-GE: “I felt like I was understood the entire time. The problem was solved quickly, stylishly and without any complications – fantastic!”
I felt like I was understood the entire time.
The problem was solved quickly, stylishly and
without any complications – fantastic!
Yindela Hirtreiter, SAFOS AG management
