HKC and Abloy UK Boost Joint Business Development

HKC Security and Abloy UK have appointed Steven Thomas as Business Development Manager – Professional Digital, supporting opportunities to bring together the Group’s expertise in intrusion detection, wireless security, and digital access solutions. We asked Steve about his background and what he's looking to bring to his new role.

What is your new role?

Business Development Manager – Professional Digital, working across HKC and ABLOY UK.

Tell us about your journey within the security industry?

I’ve spent most of my career around electronic security, wireless technology, and access control, working with manufacturers, integrators, installers, and end users.

My background includes wireless security through The Wireless Works and Inovonics, access control and digital locking with companies including iLOQ and BAS-IP, and more recently TÜV SÜD, where I worked with manufacturers on product testing, certification, and bringing products to market.

That mix has given me quite a broad view of the industry, from the technology itself, through standards and compliance, right through to the commercial question of whether somebody actually wants to buy it!

What attracted you to HKC/ASSA ABLOY?

Probably the opportunity to join some dots.

HKC has a really strong reputation in intrusion and wireless security, while ABLOY UK has an enormous amount of technology and expertise around doors, access, and digital locking.

What interested me was the opportunity to look across those areas and ask: what happens when we start bringing some of this together?

There is already a huge amount of capability within the Group, so for me it isn’t always about developing something new. Sometimes it’s about finding a simpler way of combining what we already have to solve a customer problem.

How has your past experience prepared you for your new role?

I’ve been fortunate to see the security industry from quite a few different angles.

I’ve worked with wireless systems, access control, digital locks, product manufacturers, installers, integrators, and end users, and more recently I’ve spent a lot of time around standards, testing, and certification.

That means I tend to look at an opportunity from both sides, can we technically do it? but just as importantly, does it solve a real problem and is there a commercial opportunity behind it?

I also enjoy talking to customers and installers because some of the best product ideas start with somebody saying, “Why can’t I do this?”

What do you hope to achieve in this new role?

I’d like to help create some genuinely joined-up opportunities between HKC and the wider ASSA ABLOY business.

A big part of my focus is looking at how intrusion, wireless monitoring and digital access can work together in a simple and practical way.

If we can make it easier for an installer or integrator to offer a broader solution without making their life more complicated, I think there is a big opportunity.

Ultimately, I’d like us to create some good reference projects that demonstrate what HKC and ABLOY UK can achieve together and then build from there.

Is there anything in particular you’re looking forward to starting work on?

One of the things I’m particularly interested in is bringing HKC together with ASSA ABLOY Digital Access Solutions such as SMARTair and Aperio.

I’m also enjoying exploring some markets where wireless monitoring can do much more than traditional intrusion detection, things like education, social care, staff safety, perimeter protection and environmental monitoring.

There are lots of interesting ideas, but I’m very conscious that the best starting point is normally the simplest one. Find a genuine customer problem, use as much existing technology as possible, prove it works and build from there.

What do you most look forward to in your time at HKC/ABLOY UK?

Learning.

ASSA ABLOY is a huge organisation with an incredible amount of knowledge, technology, and experience within it. I’m still discovering parts of the Group and thinking, “I didn’t know we did that!”

I’m looking forward to meeting more of those teams, understanding what already exists and seeing where there are opportunities to work together.

And, naturally, I’d like to turn some of those conversations into new business.

How do you feel about your new role?

I’m genuinely excited about the role. There is so much capability within HKC and ABLOY UK, and for me the opportunity is about joining some of those dots, bringing security, wireless technology and digital access together in ways that solve real customer problems. If we can keep it simple, prove the value and create something customers genuinely want, that’s the bit I really enjoy.