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38 • FIRESAFETY&SECURITY
The long and winding road
» » WHEN WE THINK OF A
timeline, we often visualise
a journey - a linear path
travelled at a steady pace.
Although GEZE’s route
has spurred off in several
directions over its 155 years of
existence, it has been the past
three decades that has seen
it speed toward its current
destination. And, that is one
of a prominent high ground
of spearheading innovation
in door and window control
technology…
The company, which began
as a German craftsman’s
business and was once
a leading name in ski
equipment (as the creators
of a unique boot binding) is
now the ‘go-to’ manufacturer
and supplier of an exhaustive
range of automatic and
manual products and after
sales services. GEZE, not only
picked up the baton of change
with immaculate timing but
spread its wings across the
globe and gained international
recognition in the process.
Part of that expansion led
to the creation of GEZE UK –
this year celebrating its 30th
anniversary – at a pivotal time
when the boon of technology
was quickly taking hold.
In 1988, when Rick Astley
was topping the charts and
Stephen Hawking published
a ‘History of Time’, GEZE
set-up its UK subsidiary in
Chelmsford as a distribution
centre - primarily in
architectural ironmongery
- and an export gateway to
Commonwealth countries.
Within a decade, the
Disability Discrimination Act
became law. Accessibility
became a key requirement for
publicly accessed buildings,
triggering a surge in the
demand for automatics. This
co-incided with the launch
of one of GEZE’s most iconic
products, the Slimdrive range
for sliding doors – so called
because of an unobtrusive 7cm
operator height. Automatic
doors had come of age.
Around this time, GEZE
UK was setting up a ‘project
division’ (for the supply and
installation of automatic
doors) in Tamworth. And then,
in 2005, moved to a purpose-
built facility in Lichfield which
combined the distribution,
and supply and installation
sides of the business. A
service division was launched
soon after in 2008.
GEZE has become a brand
so synonymous with durability
and reliability in this sector,
that it’s strange to think that
it was only 1983 when its
owner Brigitte Vöster-Alber
jettisoned the company’s
popular ski product line to
fully concentrate on door and
window systems.
It was definitely the right
call. In 2017, GEZE had a
turnover of €406 million
worldwide and a £30 million
turnover in the UK.
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | SEP/OCT 2018
The business is still a family
affair – an influence which
shapes its strategic vision and
approach. Kaz Spiewakowski,
GEZE UK’s managing director,
is himself celebrating an
anniversary this year, five
years at the helm of the UK
company.
“It is most definitely a
family business which is very
empathetic in how it treats
its employees. It has great
advantages, that family spirit
is far less rigid and corporate
than many organisations and
there is definitely a long-term
view.
“I have worked in all sorts
of organisations, all have
their pros and cons; those
owned by venture capitalists
reach a target and then get
out. It’s about increasing
value, reducing costs and
maximising topline forecasts,
come hell or high water, then
selling the business. In PLCs,
if there is a profit warning,
there are inevitable short-
term repercussions to the
company’s value etc, it all
leads to a lack of stability.
“At GEZE, there are family
members engaged in the
business at all levels and they
have the long term interests
of GEZE at the heart of what
they do.”
How does this affect the
symbiosis between GEZE
UK and its parent company
in terms of culture and
approach?
“Mrs Vöster-Alber is very
patient person with a long-
term view,” says Kaz. “I enjoy
a tremendous amount of
arms-length interaction with
Germany. There is a natural
assimilation to the parent
company, the overarching
strategy and our staff
counterparts, but we are given