07|12|2017

The Halma group acquires Setco

Last November 10 the British group Halma acquired the Spanish company Setco, a leader in the Spanish emergency telephone market for elevators –a highly regulated sector– where it operates with the Microkey brand. It also markets GSM wireless transmission and monitoring systems.

The Setco management team will continue to lead the Spanish company, which will now become part of Avire, a Halma Group company specializing in elevator safety. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Barcelona, Setco will provide innovative complementary solutions for Avire customers, such as the technology that allows elevator controllers to communicate with the outside world, provide status information and enable the external updates and maintenance of the controllers.

The Microkey business was predominantly focused on Spain and Portugal, so its integration in Avire brings new opportunities for growth at worldwide thanks to access to its sales and support channels.

Rob Lewis, managing director of Avire, says: “This is a really exciting time for Avire, Microkey and our customers. With the addition of Microkey’s cutting-edge technology to Avire’s global footprint we have created the clear market leader in terms of size and technology. Not only is this good news for our customers now, but with the increased R&D resource we are expecting even more exciting customer-focused products in the near future”.

Andrew Williams, CEO of Halma, adds: “The acquisition of SETCO accelerates Avire’s development of remote monitoring capability for the elevator market and it also significantly strengthens Avire’s presence in Spain. In addition, SETCO will benefit from access to new geographical markets by capitalizing on Avire’s existing sales channels and using Avire’s brand strength”.