ASSA ABLOY has provided a ‘one-stop shop’ for specifiers working on education projects

Although many believe that Chancellor George Osborne’s pledge to invest £21billion into new schools and the refurbishment of existing buildings by 2021 will fall short of the mark, especially considering the current backlog of repair work, there has been a noticeable rejuvenation within this market.

The Security Solutions team at ASSA ABLOY has in particular benefitted from a commitment to repair and regenerate the current education building stock.

Recent successful specifications have included University projects at Nottingham, Sheffield, Aberyswyth, Warwickshire, Oxford, Liverpool and Loughborough, where a range of solutions have been provided from masterkey suites and door furniture to access control systems and door closers.

Similar progress has been made within the secondary education sector, where projects wins have included a full ASSA suite of products at Upper Shirley High School and Millbrook Secondary School, ironmongery specifications at Deyes High School, Holyport College and Perth College, whilst Priestley College may soon be benefitting from the group’s SMARTair® access control system.

More specialist applications on the horizon include the Richard Attenborough Embrace Arts Centre and the Stamford School Performing Arts Centre.

The ability to utilise and pool together the strength of the ASSA ABLOY product and brand portfolio, combined with the value-add offering from the experienced team, has enabled the division to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for specifiers working on education projects.

Allan Thomson from ASSA ABLOY, Security Solutions, said: “In addition to a strong brand portfolio and the development of market specific solutions, as a team we have been able to capitalise on the increased spending within education thanks to our consultancy services.

“The increased importance of whole life costing despite the existing disparity between capex and totex spending, forms an important part of the specification process and our ability to advise on this has helped us work more closely with AIs and specification teams. Providing a single point of contact with access to a wider range of products and value-add services is key to working with and simplifying the process for education specifiers, who, at any one time may be working across multiple projects and with a variety of suppliers and manufacturers.

“Education is an important sector for ASSA ABLOY, Security Solutions and we hope to continue this growth both as a first fit and retrofit provider.”