At the end of 2019, the strategic committee for the security industries sector of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games certified your concept of nomadic crowd access control booth. Where is the project at?
Alain BEHM, manager : “The cancellation of sporting, cultural, leisure events, etc. prevented our testing phases but yes, we are continuing this diversification. Today we have a whole range of modules to offer, their marketing begins in the spring […] Obtaining this label from the Olympic Strategy Committee has enabled us to come into contact with other companies at the forefront of innovation. This is how we were approached by the German industrialist Rodhe & Schwarz. He had just pulled out a microwave body scanner; we brought the mobility solution with a new lighter and smaller module (3 meters long) and still easily transportable. A trade agreement has been concluded. It was before the first confinement; today, things are progressing ”.
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What are the prospects for the development of these control solutions?
“Certainly, big events must be able to take place again, but once they do, I remain convinced that demand will be very strong. The Covid has introduced the concept of social distancing, or barrier gestures until now, if an object was detected when a person passed under a gantry, it always required a manual search by the security guard to identify said object. Tomorrow, with this type of scanner, it will no longer be worth it. Other innovations are underway to facilitate the level of detection, that it becomes intuitive and facilitates the fluidity of the crowds at the entrance of stadiums or concert venues… ”
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How else has the crisis impacted your business?
“We had a satisfactory level of orders at the start of the year but very quickly, the cash flow suffered; our Italian or Spanish suppliers were no longer responding … Between confinement, the May bridges and the summer holidays, we lost two months of production but in the end, we made up for it. We had made € 6M in turnover in 2019; we are missing € 1 million in 2020 ”.
And so far, what is the situation?
“We adapt, the teams work more, there are permanent absences because of the virus. Innovation opens doors for us. The activity of industrial bodywork and special trucks accounts for up to 30% of the activity. The 2021 objective is to exceed € 7 million in turnover. Some recruitments will still be necessary ”.
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