The unveiling of SALTO’s new WECOSYSTEM platform brings its three core brands together for ISC West in Las Vegas, April 9-12, where the company looks to make a big splash with its new identity, look and corporate structure that includes the naming of new CEO Marc Gómez.
“We’re officially launching the SALTO WECOSYSTEM at ISC West,” SALTO Systems North America President Bill Wood tells Locksmith Ledger. “We are excited to show off our new look while showing how our core brands – Gantner, Salto, and Vintia – deliver pioneering facility access, identity management, and electronic locking technology that ensures seamless, reliable, and secure experiences.”
Wood says the group’s new identity as SALTO WECOSYSTEM symbolizes a more holistic approach to the integration of brands, companies, and technologies.
“Over the last two decades, SALTO Systems has made several acquisitions, becoming a group of 11 companies that worked together but remained mostly independent,” he explains. “Over the last several months we examined who we are today and where we are going. We took our products and solutions and embraced a new mindset: to work together, not independently, to deliver solutions while putting people and partners first.”
Under the SALTO WECOSYSTEM brand umbrella, three independent core brands have been established to harness the strengths of each entity: Gantner, Salto and Vintia. Each core brand will play a pivotal role in contributing to the overall success and growth of the organization while maintaining its unique identity and focus:
· Gantner builds reliable and smart identification, access, cashless payment, and locker solutions that automate and digitize business processes to maximize organizational efficiency and security.
· Salto develops pioneering facility access, identity management and electronic locking technology that ensures seamless, reliable and secure experiences.
· Vintia creates scalable and comprehensive ticketing, booking, management and payment solutions for the leisure and attractions industry that increases operational efficiency, security and revenue by optimizing customer experiences.
“To put it in access terms, we developed the SALTO WECOSYSTEM to have one house with fewer doors Wood points out. “Today our team is 1,700 people strong with 40+ offices around the world and growing. The SALTO WECOSYSTEM symbolizes a comprehensive evolution, embraces a holistic approach, and reflects our commitment to innovation and the integration of brands, companies, and cutting-edge technologies.”
The launch of the SALTO WECOSYSTEM is accompanied by a new visual identity – including a logo, color scheme, and typography – which will be gradually implemented across all corporate materials, product packaging, and branding assets.
“The new identity endorses and visually connects the three portfolio brands – Gantner, Salto, and Vintia – to create a brand platform ecosystem,” Wood explains. “The common design DNA gives each brand its own identity while also visually representing the SALTO WECOSYSTEM.”
Corporate Structure Change
As a pivotal part of this new phase, SALTO WECOSYSTEM announced Marc Gómez as the incoming Group CEO (effective April 2), who brings “a wealth of experience and visionary leadership to steer SALTO WECOSYSTEM towards new heights,” the company said.
“I am genuinely excited to join SALTO WECOSYSTEM as CEO during this transformative period,” says Gómez. “The company’s commitment to innovation and its dynamic approach to change align with my own values. Together, we will chart a course for growth, success, and sustained excellence.”
Javier Roquero, outgoing CEO, transitions out to focus on his Board Member position and SALTO WECOSYSTEM Strategy Committee member, and will be involved in the launching of the coming SALTO WECOSYSTEM Foundation.
“I have been truly blessed to work alongside such capable and hard-working individuals at Salto for the past 23 years,” he says. “As I focus in my role as a Board Member and member of the SALTO WECOSYSTEM Strategy Committee, I am convinced that the company will continue to grow and get better under the leadership of Marc Gómez. I am grateful to everyone I’ve had the privilege of working with and wish them the best of luck in all their future endeavors.”
Marc Handels, SALTO WECOSYSTEM CTIO, co-founder and Member of the Board, will also join the newly formed Board Strategy Committee.
In addition to the integration of the company’s three core brands (Gantner, Salto, Vintia), the revamped organization will feature four global teams (Sales & Marketing, Technology & Innovation, People & Global Services, and Cybersecurity). These global teams will form the backbone of SALTO WECOSYSTEM’s operations, ensuring a unified and collaborative approach to the global market.
A Continued Focus on Sustainability
One area the company has doubled down on is sustainability, from its products and resources to its services and partners.
“Our company has been uncompromising in our commitment to sustainability,” says Wood. “Our commitment to having a positive impact pushes us to work with honesty and efficiency. We take responsibility for our actions, comply with the highest standards, and acknowledge that every decision we make in our factory or across our Business Units shapes a more sustainable future. This is why we established sustainability guidelines and principles for our projects and operations that reinforce our commitment to the value that life matters most.”
Marc Handels, co-founder and CTIO of SALTO, adds, “SALTO has a commitment to the sustainable delivery of our products. We’ll continue this focus in the SALTO WECOSYSTEM and promise to incorporate practices that help us deliver a more secure, interconnected world that positively impacts future generations.”
Salto supports this position on sustainability through social, environmental, and economic responsibility, “particularly with regard to global sustainability and the environments we operate within,” Wood points out. “This responsibility goes beyond corporate goals, and we are passionately committed to consistently engaging in a range of activities that reflect our commitment to the application of circular economy principles.”
Uniting the company’s core brands – Salto, Gantner, and Vintia – under the SALTO WECOSYSTEM reflects the company’s commitment to “delivering comprehensive yet distinct solutions and services that improve access, streamline operations, and enhance the user experience across a wide range of industries,” says Wood.
“This new brand ecosystem allows for a more cohesive market approach, creating further value for our partners who can leverage the strengths of each brand to deliver innovative solutions,” he continues. “The ability to retain distinct solutions, technologies, and brand characteristics while sharing and enabling one another’s synergies is a testament to the strength of the SALTO WECOSYSTEM and the collaborative spirit fostered within each brand.”
A Bright Future
As evidenced by strong growth in 2023, Wood says the company is poised to build on a solid foundation. “We achieved double-digit growth and our sales surpassed $428 million in USD (€400 million in Euros),” he points out, noting that the company has an installed base of more than eight million access points worldwide.
This synergy of brands, he asserts, allows the company to now offer a full suite of solutions under one cohesive identity.
“Similar to how our product and solution integrations contribute to comprehensive building ecosystems, we wanted our existing family of brands to integrate to deliver our own company ecosystem,” explains Wood. “This allows us to reinforce our approach in the security market through specialized brands that can deliver solutions based on what vertical they cater to or what services they provide. Our strength lies in the unity of our solutions, in this case three core brands – Gantner, Salto, and Vintia – and not in the number of companies we have.”
As Wood points out, today’s security and operational efficiency demands require flexible and scalable access solutions in a connected building experience. “While the traditional approach in the market emphasizes the control portion of ‘access control,’ limiting and securing is the primary focus,” he notes. “At Salto, we’re focused on providing more access, enabling more experiences. Modern physical security must be smart, seamless, and keyless. Our core brands deliver solutions that move us into the future of access and identity management.”
Looking at the business landscape for 2024 for both the company and industry, Wood sees continued growth and expansion.
“The access control industry in the next few years is likely to be marked by a significant growth in digital identity solutions leading to a massive replacement of traditional mechanical keys,” he says. “We’ve seen strong adoption in consumer, hospitality, and residential markets that value convenience. Enterprise customers are adopting new user journey centric approaches in Healthcare, Corporate and Retail markets as well.”
He continues, “As technology continues to advance, organizations and individuals will embrace these innovations to enhance security, convenience, and efficiency. The adoption of smart access and keyless cloud-based access control solutions will continue to grow. Cloud platforms will grow as they offer scalability, remote management capabilities, and easy integration with other security systems.”
