PSISeptember2017

INDUSTRY NEWS
INDUSTRY NEWS
In brief
Nortech Control Systems
has announced Norbain as
its newly appointed
distribution partner to offer
customers Nortech’s range
of people and vehicle access
control products. In
separate news Norbain has
also signed an agreement
with Siklu to expand its
reach to security integrators
and installers in the United
Kingdom and Ireland.
Nearly seven years since
Gate Safe initiated a
campaign for improved
standards in automated
gate safety, the charity
marked another important
milestone, as it celebrated
hitting 1,000 installers on its
acclaimed national register
of Gate Safe Aware
Installers - which currently
features 459 companies.
Evolution has launched a
new Security Design
Division to provide security
and fire system design and
specification services to
third-party integrators,
installers and clients.
Investment enables Oprema to
move to new premises
Oprema has moved to a new 15,000 sq ft
premises after securing an £850,000 coinvestment
from HSBC and Finance Wales.The
funding comprised a £350,000 commercial
mortgage and £100,000 VAT loan from HSBC,
and £400,000 from Finance Wales to refurbish
the new premises. The HSBC funding forms part
of a £2.6 million finance facility it has in place
with Oprema to help it grow its import business
and to support the running of the company.
Matthew Epps, Managing Director at
Oprema, commented: “The whole team is really
excited about the future of the company,
especially the recent move to our new premises
in Cardiff. The move created 15 new jobs and
further expands the reach and capabilities of
Facial recognition software free
for finding missing persons
Digital Barriers has announced that it will be
making its live facial recognition software
available at no cost to national and local
authorities and agencies in the UK involved in
the search for missing young people.
As seen recently on BBC Newsnight, the
automatic facial recognition system SmartVis
Face was built around machine learning,
originally with the purpose of tracking
criminals and terror suspects against watch
lists.
Digital Barriers’ CEO, Zak Doffman said:
“SmartVis facial recognition has been
designed to enhance the technology in use by
law enforcement and security agencies in the
fight against terrorism and serious crime. This
The Oprema Directors (L-R): Tim Duggan,
Matthew Epps, Ross Hawkins and Gareth Williams
our operation and distribution. This expansion
allows for a greater stock holding of up to £5
million and improved logistics.”
Warren Lewis, HSBC’s Head of Corporate
Banking in South Wales, added: “HSBC has
banked Oprema since 2013, but it has been the
last couple of years where we’ve seen the
business start to grow rapidly. Matt has a clear
vision for the business and we have been
impressed by his tenacity and professionalism
during this incredibly busy time. By introducing
Oprema to Finance Wales we have been able to
work collaboratively and strategically to ensure
Matt received a funding package that was
tailored to his needs, and we continue to
support the business with multi-million pound
facilities that will help it realise its future
growth ambitions.”
same technology can also be used to combat
the growing problem of missing and vulnerable
young people passing through our towns and
cities. Now we are making SmartVis facial
recognition software freely available to UK
agencies and authorities focusing on finding
missing young people. If the agency or
authority provides access to suitable cameras
and PCs, we’ll do the rest and we will also
make smartphone licenses freely available. At
the same time we will engage with the
suppliers of cameras and processing hardware
to seek to engage them in this donation.
Launching widespread facial recognition to
help search for vulnerable missing young
people is clearly an exceptional benefit of this
new technology and we want to ensure that it’s
widely available.”
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