Clearview National March 2018 - Issue 196 | Page 13

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ERA’s Head of Marketing Tania Tams said:
“As a responsible manufacturer, we are keen to
explain how investing in security now could
save heartache in the future. Since fitting an
inferior security product could cost the end
user dearly, not only financially, but also in
terms of inconvenience and emotional distress,
we want to provide products that can be relied
upon.
“Our traditional range of locks covers all
essential lock types for securing external doors,
including euro cylinders, mortice locks and
night latches.”
Tania continued: “For example, with lock
snapping widely recognised as a form of entry
for intruders, ERA’s Fortress cylinder lock
offers maximum resistance against entry by
snapping, along with being anti-pick, anti-drill
and anti-bump. The Fortress’s first defence
is its British Standard TS007 3* status with
the ‘3*’ clearly visible to deter any would-be
intruder.
“Most homeowners wouldn’t recognise that
a cylinder without stars is not recommended if
it is their only security line of defence, or even
that a 1* cylinder is only recommended with a
2* door handle. A lot of people assume ‘a lock
is a lock’ and wouldn’t even be aware of the
different stars on a lock or BS markings.
“Once end users understand the snapping
risk is vastly increased with a standard no star
cylinder, the ERA 3* Fortress becomes the
obvious choice.”
SECURING WINDOWS
Tania said: “Similarly, whilst window locks
can often be overlooked, they are a crucial line
of defence when it comes to securing a property.
Simple steps, such as making sure window locks
are fitted and used is important. However, fitting
a superior window lock such as ERA’s extreme3,
INDUSTRYNEWS
Clive Oakley
with 3D locking around the edge of the window,
gives greater protection. We believe it is the most
secure window lock on the market and the best
defence against intrusion.”
‘APPLESQUE’ HARDWARE
Innovation is integral to ERA’s philosophy, as
exemplified by the company’s smartware range of
security products, including its newly launched
HomeGuard Pro, a cloud-based alarm system
operated using a single smartphone app.
“Being cloud-based brings benefits such as
the ability to monitor multiple hubs from one
account, real time alerts to all contacts and the
delivery of upgrades quickly and easily directly
to the hub.”
HomeGuard Pro works with Lightwave
to fully integrate with ERA’s new products
including DoorCam, a Wi-Fi video doorbell and
TouchKey, a keyless smartlock, creating a total
state of the art home smartware solution.
Touchkey is coming to market this
spring and it will be important to ensure
that customers are armed with the product
knowledge and technical support. Darren
Waters said: “We have to overcome consumers’
fears about security and reliability and the risk
of people hacking into electronic products.
“TouchKey has robustness. We have
partnered with a company called UniKey, a
leader in Bluetooth locking technology, praised
for its ‘fantastic software.’ Also, it’s sometimes
tough to make hardware ‘pretty’ but our
TouchKey is sleek, dare I say it, ‘Applesque’.”
TESTING TIME
Clive Oakley, supply chain operations
director, had some mind-boggling numbers
for visitors. The company brings in 85 pallets
a day, with 40ft containers coming from the
Far East, has 7,000 different products in the
warehouse, produces 25,000 multi-point locks
a month and master-keys cylinders which can
have 70 components. “That’s like building a
Swiss watch,” explained Clive.
He added: “Our supply chain is complex.
We have built the facility so it can grow.
We are enhancing and future-proofing the
traditional skills we have been using for the
past 180 years.”
ERA seriously puts products through
their paces at its test centre, where they are
effectively bashed and battered to within an
inch of their lives at the security performance
test rig. As well as digital ‘lock-pushing’
buttons which can test locks 100,000 times
if necessary, there are tests for durability in
the face of salt spray, the cumulative impact
of humidity and heating and cooling cycles.
Clive said: “We are looking to put products
through much more realistic conditions than
some other companies do.”
Visit www.eraeverywhere.com
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