Increasing opportunities for Entrance Control products in India

Major infrastructure developments, rising security concerns, and awareness of latest tech-rich systems, are escalating demand for entrance and perimeter control solutions, claims Mr. R. Venkatesh, Director & General Manager- South Asia, Magnetic Auto Control Pvt. Ltd., in an interview with Maria R.

What new sales opportunities are being observed in India’s entrance control/barriers industry?

Indian cities are fast emerging as engines of economic growth, with new infrastructure development and modernization / upgradation of existing infrastructure across the country. This is bringing a slew of challenges and growth opportunities, along with safety and security concerns, due to this, we are seeing increased demand for entrance and perimeter control solutions across all business verticals, governmental, defense, commercial, infrastructure and other spaces.

Growth in critical market segments like government entities, refineries, and defense, etc, increases the need for more superior entrance and perimeter control solutions. With major investments being made in metro rails and other smart city initiatives, demand for pedestrian and vehicle entrance control will only keep growing. This is also evident in new and upcoming commercial airports as well as modernization of existing airports.

How is demand escalating at metro rail stations and at airports?

The World is moving towards quick, convenient and managed entrance control. At Magnetic, we constantly keep pace with new trends and developments, so that we design and manufacture products that offer the most appropriate solution.

In both domestic and international airports, with passenger flow increasing every year, there is a demand for systems to manage, control and enable a smooth and secure flow of passengers at immigration points and at boarding gates. Magnetic offers solutions that accelerate identity checks and enable easy, quick, and obstruction-free movement of passengers. For metros & BRTS, we have been offering automatic fare collection systems for several decades globally.

What are the features and USP of Magnetic product range?

Magnetic’s pedestrian and vehicle entrance control products come with advanced motor and motor controlling technology designed and built in Germany. Magnetic range of vehicle & pedestrian access control products include toll-way barriers, parking barriers, complete motorized slide, and swing gate systems for industrial applications. In the pedestrian access control, we offer flap barriers, swing barriers, half, three quarter and full height bi-directional turnstiles.

Our in-house design and engineering team in Chennai design and develop customized solutions that suit the aesthetics and technical requirements of our customers. Our products are low maintenance with low cost of ownership, and are manufactured at our facility in Puducherry to offer 10 million+ opening and closing cycles, with simple integration of all third-party products and solutions. Our customer base is spread across all business verticals like government, critical infrastructure, IT/ITES, BFSI, pharma, education, industrial, etc.

What are Magnetic’s R&D capabilities for meeting quality standards while being price competitive?

The research and development team of Magnetic in Germany develops software and hardware solutions to meet changing market demands. The team builds modular products that can be tailor-made to meet customer-specific solutions. We also ensure that our products comply with the technical requirements and standards. A dedicated test and standards department ensures high quality, user safety, and compliance with all relevant market requirements.

Our core competency lies in offering innovative, high quality, tailor-made products for meeting individual customer needs. Magnetic India not only offers local engineering and design support to its customers, but also provides regional sales and service across the length and breadth of the country.


In a price-sensitive market like India, customers expect a strong positive relationship between cost and product quality. Magnetic products meet customer requirements for high quality, low cost of ownership, by developing superior quality products that are competitively priced. In fact, our aesthetically designed products of superior quality, high throughput frequency, and low maintenance give us a strong position in India’s fast growing and demanding market.

How is the market in India different from other international markets?

The pedestrian and vehicle barrier market in India is getting matured with increasing knowledge and awareness amongst potential buyers and end-users. The security market in India is also growing with new technical developments and increased awareness of security systems. This is happening in tier-2 and 3 cities as well.

In India, the challenges and demands are that of countries with high passenger traffic such as China, South America and other Asian countries, all of which demand technically strong and economical solutions, without compromising on design. In most of Europe and the Americas, the market is well developed, whereas the Asian countries are seeing growth and we expect this trend will continue for the next decade. Standards and safety regulations also play a large role in Europe & Americas and we expect India to also follow them very soon.

What factors have made Magnetic a leading brand in the pedestrian and vehicle barrier industry?

Magnetic was started in 1946 in Liestal, Switzerland, as a manufacturer of electric and servo motors for which magnets are indispensable components. That is how the name ‘Magnetic’ originated. In 1959, a German subsidiary was set up in the south of Black Forest. The company decided to use its extensive experience in developing drives and components for complete systems, and this was how Magnetic barriers came to be developed.

Our entrance control solutions are known for their robust performance. We have our headquarters in Schopfheim, Germany, and a sales network across the globe. Though motors and motor controllers are produced in Schopfheim, we have local manufacturing and assembly in 7 countries, viz. USA, Brazil, Malaysia, Australia, China, India, and of course, Germany. Since 2012, we have been a part of the €450 million FAAC Group’s Access Control business unit.

FAAC Group, headquartered in Bologna (Italy), was founded in 1965. Today, it is a leader in Entrance Automation, Entrance Control and Parking Solutions, with 18 manufacturing locations, and a strong presence in markets such as India, China, Australia and Asia Pacific countries besides Europe, Americas, South Africa and the Middle East. In India, FAAC has been present for over a decade through its subsidiaries FAAC India Pvt. Ltd. and Magnetic Autocontrol Pvt. Ltd, representing both Business Unit Access Automation and Access Control.

Please tell us about the recent development in your company.

To further consolidate its presence, FAAC Group is integrating its Indian business units under a single company, viz. Magnetic Autocontrol Pvt Ltd. Following which, the operations of FAAC India Pvt. Ltd will be taken over by Mr. Deepak Kapoor, Founder, Neptune Group, which henceforth, will be known as Neptune Automatic Pvt. Ltd., and will be the sole distributor of FAAC Access Automation products in India.

We will be further enhancing our operations and presence in India in the next months and look forward to working closely with our existing customers, distributors, dealers and channel partners as well as acquiring new customers in the growing Indian market.