The Key to the Future
Interview with Thomas Polonyi, Managing Director of BKS GmbH
From mechanical locking systems to smartphone control - BKS GmbH from Velbert has been shaping the future of security technology for 120 years. In the interview, managing director Thomas Polonyi explains how the traditional company masters the balancing act between classic craftsmanship and digital innovation, what role cybersecurity plays in this, and why customers will still have the choice between keys and smart access control in the future.
Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Polonyi, you have been the managing director at BKS for almost a year. What particularly attracted you to this role?
Thomas Polonyi: BKS is a very traditional company with an excellent brand name, embedded in the Gretsch-Unitas Group. The decisive factor for me was mainly the question of how the shareholder is positioned. The owner, Michael von Resch, has given me the necessary trust and freedoms from the start that I need to be able to act here. This is very important in collaboration and by no means a matter of course.
Wirtschaftsforum: What distinguishes BKS compared to the competition?
Thomas Polonyi: We are the only provider that covers the complete range – from purely mechanical locks to electronic locking systems to our GEMOS control software for building management. Some competitors are very specialized, only making locks or just cylinders, while others focus exclusively on electronics. But in this completeness, especially as we move into the entirely digital realm of building management systems, there is no other provider with such a range.
Wirtschaftsforum: How digital will the future of locking be?
Thomas Polonyi: The trend is clearly towards digitalization. Today, you still need to take out your phone and open an app. In a few years, there will be automatic recognition – you just walk past the door and it recognizes that you are authorized, and opens automatically. However, we will also see two parallel worlds in the future. There will continue to be many people who prefer a traditional key.
Wirtschaftsforum: What challenges does increasing digitalization bring?
Thomas Polonyi: Clearly cybersecurity. We are attacked by hackers numerous times a day, which we can of course fend off. When you sell building management software, the effort for security is enormous. The big challenge is to balance maximum security with the greatest possible convenience. This may seem contradictory at first, but that's exactly what we need to reconcile.
Wirtschaftsforum: BKS still produces heavily in Germany. How important is that for you?
Thomas Polonyi: In our mechanical products, we have a very high depth of manufacturing and produce almost everything here in Velbert. For electronics, we naturally buy more and more, especially concerning circuit boards. But the final assemblies still take place right here with us. It is important: All products, including the electronics, are developed by us. We are not a company that buys products from the Far East, sticks BKS on them, and resells. Having the know-how about our products in-house is very important to us.
Wirtschaftsforum: How important are the employees for the success of BKS?
Thomas Polonyi: They are absolutely central. We have about 600 employees and a very good atmosphere in the company. We are particularly proud of our training — our apprentices even have their own brand, called 'Schlüssel-Talente' (Key Talents). Of course, we also have hierarchies, but we do not cultivate them. It is important that employees can bring in their ideas and thoughts. We maintain a positive error culture and despise internal company politics. Decisions are not made by me alone, but by the entire management team. We try to live this philosophy of personal responsibility at all levels.
Wirtschaftsforum: What innovations have you recently brought to the market?
Thomas Polonyi: At the BAU fair, we just introduced our new ixalo, a double knob cylinder with improved battery life of over one year. The intelligence is in the cylinder itself; only the battery is in the external knob. Online programming is possible via radio or mobile phone. There is also a new lighting concept and a gateway for communication. Of course, everything meets current security standards — that's absolutely crucial for electronic solutions.
Wirtschaftsforum: Where do you see BKS in the future?
Thomas Polonyi: Our goal is to be the market leader in quality and delivery reliability. The big opportunity lies in the fact that we can offer both mechanical locking systems and software solutions from a single source. Bringing these two worlds together more meaningfully will be our task for the future.