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The Swiss key group Dormakaba is tightening its belt. Up to 1600 jobs are said to be affected.
The former key manufacturer Kaba has grown from a medium-sized company to a listed company. Since the merger with Deutsche Dorma in 2015, the company Dormakaba has been one of the three largest key groups in the world. But now the company has to save and is cutting jobs.
In order to achieve medium-term goals, Dormakaba is implementing a savings and conversion program. This should save CHF 170 million per year. According to Dormakaba, up to 1,800 jobs will be affected by the package of measures, with 800 full-time jobs being lost. The company currently has a workforce of 16,000 people.
Job cuts in Switzerland still unclear
It is still unclear how many of the 900 jobs in Switzerland will be affected. A spokesman for Dormakaba explains that detailed plans are currently being drawn up and discussed with the employee representatives in accordance with the statutory provisions.
The time of the announcement of the measures has nothing to do with the current performance, the spokesman continued. The growth targets were achieved in the first half of the year. “The transformation program is an important step towards achieving better profitability and sustainable volume growth.”
Key factory in Wetzikon
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Legend: Dormakaba has had a factory in Wetzikon for more than 40 years. Keys and locking systems are still made there today. Dormakaba
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Legend: The classic “Kaba 8” key accounts for around 30 percent of the production volume here. Dormakaba
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Legend: 90 percent of the mechanical locking cylinders manufactured in Wetzikon are destined for the Swiss market. Dormakaba
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Legend: Electronic products are also manufactured in Wetzikon. However, most of these are exported. Dormakaba
Everyone in this country probably knows the Kaba key. Hardly anyone has a key on their bunch of keys that says Kaba.
The locksmith and cash register factory in Zurich was founded in 1862 by Franz Bauer. For a long time, the company manufactured safes, i.e. safes. In 1934 the company, which was now called Bauer AG, built the first reversible key.
The invention of the reversible key
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Legend: Kaba
In 1934 the inventor Fritz Schori invented the reversible key. The then Bauer AG patented the first cylinder lock with a reversible key. This became known under the name “Kaba Castle”. The reversible key has the same features on both sides and can therefore be used on both sides. A novelty for the time.
The company grew steadily, building new factories and taking over competing companies. The first electronic safe system was launched in 1975 and the range expanded to include electronic access control. In 1995 the group of companies was renamed Kaba Holding AG.
In 2015, Kaba merged with Deutsche Dorma under the name Dormakaba. From then on, the company based in Rümlang served not only Europe but also the American and Asian continents with both online and offline locking systems.
Conventional keys are obsolete
At Dormakaba, the classic key now accounts for less than ten percent of total sales. The most important sales drivers today are electronic access solutions and door closers. The company also wants to further consolidate its position in cloud-based access control and time recording.
Digitization does not stop at the door either. The mechanical key is becoming less important and may soon be digitized.