Sentry has been Acquired by Skidata

GRÖDIG, AUSTRIA - SKIDATA has acquired a majority stake in Sentry Control Systems, a leading provider of parking solutions and technology in the United States. Sentry Control Systems has long been one of SKIDATA’s most successful American distributors. With its participation in the company, SKIDATA acquires Sentry’s industry-leading sales and service platform and strengthens its U.S. business.

SKIDATA and Sentry Control Systems have been partners since 2000, and this investment bolsters the relationship between the two companies. With the recent acquisition, Sentry’s executive and management team will remain on board and, together with SKIDATA will jointly continue to develop business in the U.S. market.

"By investing in Sentry we are taking the next step in the growing American parking industry. We are strengthening our US business and from now on can directly serve even more customers who, in turn, benefit from years of know-how and a strong single-source solution - from complete parking management systems, software and hardware, to third party systems and the associated service," said Hugo Rohner, CEO of SKIDATA, speaking about the majority participation.

SKIDATA, founded in Austria in 1977, today operates in over 90 countries, with 10,000 installations, 21 subsidiaries, and 3 joint ventures. The American SKIDATA Inc. Car Access branch was established in March 2002. An additional American subsidiary for people access was opened in 2008.

A successful cooperation is intensified
Sentry, an independent, family-owned company, has acted as distributor of SKIDATA's parking solutions in California, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland since 2000, and today represents 40% of SKIDATA’s business in the U.S. Sentry offers a very successful installation and service business, and has introduced many pioneering products into the American parking market, such as Frogparking’s single space occupancy sensor and parking management software package, the only solar powered parking guidance system on the market.

“SKIDATA’s investment in Sentry will strengthen an already-strong relationship,” said Frank Flanagan, principal and owner of Sentry Control Systems. “SKIDATA brings the support of a world-wide leader with extraordinary resources in terms of intellectual property, people, innovation, and systems. Together, we will continue to change the way technology is brought to the parking industry.”

SKIDATA will benefit from Sentry’s business contacts and outstanding sales and service platform; Sentry will benefit from SKIDATA's experience and know-how in major projects and their international accounts. "We are very proud that SKIDATA and Sentry can take this path together. Sentry has built an exemplary service organization and is well-known in the market as a leading solution provider for parking technology," said Hugo Rohner.

About Sentry Control Systems
Sentry Control Systems is a national provider of parking solutions and technology. Sentry has 25+years of experience providing a consultative approach to a wide range of environments: entertainment, retail, office buildings, municipalities, mixed-use, universities, and more. Sentry provides solutions for, but not limited to: parking access & revenue control (PARCS - SKIDATA), occupancy sensors, enforcement software, permit management systems, mobile apps, and software tools for parking analytics (Frogparking), parking guidance (INDECT), multi-space meters (Global Parking Solutions), and more. Visit Sentry online, www.sentrycontrol.com.

About SKIDATA
SKIDATA is an international leader in the field of access solutions and their management. Almost 10,000 SKIDATA installations worldwide in ski resorts, shopping centers, major airports, municipalities, sports stadiums, trade shows, and amusement parks provide secure and reliable access and entry control for people and vehicles. SKIDATA places great value in providing solutions that are intuitive, easy to use, and secure. The integrated concepts of SKIDATA solutions help clients optimize performance and maximize profits. SKIDATA Group (www.skidata.com) belongs to the publicly traded Swiss Kudelski Group (www.nagra.com), a leading provider of digital security solutions.