Diebold heads Down Under

NORTH CANTON, Ohio - The acquisition of electronic security company Vangren Technology is expected to serve as a platform to grow Diebold Inc.’s security business in Australia and New Zealand. The early September deal dovetails well with Diebold’s existing business in Australia, where it has offered ATM services to the financial market for a number of years. “We got an ATM foothold in Australia six or seven years ago and built a very nice ATM business,” said Bart Frazzitta, vice president of security for Diebold, based here. “We now want to make the model similar to the model that we have here, which is security and service transaction.” Based in Melbourne, Australia, Vangren is regarded as one of the country’s leading privately-held electronic security and systems integration companies. The company serves financial institutions, government facilities, hospitals, airports and other corporate facilities through additional offices in Perth and Sydney. The company has a staff of 71 employees located in the Australian security market. For approximately the next 12 months, Diebold plans to retain the Vangren name, but will gradually fold the company under the Diebold brand. There may also be opportunities to consolidate offices where locations for Diebold and Vangren overlap, said Frazzitta. Diebold’s other recent purchase of Cardinal Brothers Manufacturing may also provide it with the chance to bring more offices together. The October acquisition of Cardinal Brothers, headquartered in Victoria, Australia, provides Diebold with a manufacturer of rising screens, bullet-resistive walls and doors, anti-bandit shutters, prison security systems and other physical security equipment. Reg Bohler, managing director of Diebold Australia, said that Cardinal’s experience and manufacturing capabilities will further bolster Diebold’s newly formed Australian security organization.