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Vanderbilt announced on Wednesday that is has completed its acquisition of Access Control Technology (ACT) Ltd., a manufacturer of access control, video management and door entry systems based in Dublin, Ireland. The purchase, which was first announced in August, is intended to grow the company's footprint in the European market while also expanding their product portfolio.
Just over a year ago, Vanderbilt acquired the Siemens Security Products line of business, which significantly expanded the company's international presence and also bolstered their internal research and development capabilities. The company subsequently established a headquarters facility in Wiesbaden, Germany, to help streamline operations for the newly combined organization.
Tasked with overseeing the integration of these two companies into Vanderbilt is industry veteran Joseph Grillo, the company's CEO. Grillo, whose career in the security industry spans more than 30 years, has lead an aggressive growth strategy at Vanderbilt since the investment firm he founded, ACRE LLC, first acquired the company in 2012 from Ingersoll Rand. I recently caught up with Grillo to discuss how these acquisitions have solidified the company's presence in Europe and what the future holds for future expansion efforts.
Griffin: How does ACT fit into the Vanderbilt portfolio?
Grillo: We added significant market share in Ireland and the UK, which are mature but sizable markets for the access control industry. We also added...