The company was founded in Austria in 1982 as an electronics repair business. It later developed a range of integrated hardware and software solutions based on RFID (radio frequency identification) and NFC (near-field communication) technologies. These are used to offer contactless access and cashless purchases in leisure settings such as gyms, amusement parks, museums and other visitor attractions, along with corporate premises and public buildings.
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100 %+
Revenues between 2016 and 2020
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450 employees
in 2020, compared with 200 in 2016
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70 +
countries of operation
Ardian powers Gantner’s international expansion
Ardian acquired Gantner alongside its management team from Identec Group in 2016 and supported the company’s continued investment in R&D. Led by Managing Director Elmar Hartmann, Gantner built a strong position in the German-speaking markets and with Ardian’s support expanded into the US, the UK, the Benelux countries and Australia. Its systems now sell in 70 countries.
Gantner based its successful growth strategy on complete solutions that combine hardware and software. Its systems for gyms – spanning access control, information terminals, smart lockers and cashless payments solutions – are now used in eight of Europe’s top ten fitness chains.
In June 2017 the company strengthened its product offering for visitor attractions with the acquisition of Syx Automations, which added leading software solutions to Gantner’s successful hardware offering. This deal also gave Gantner a commanding position in the Benelux countries, where Syx had a market share of 80%. Today’s Gantner’s systems are used in scores of visitor attractions. Ski Dubaï, Gold Gym, McFit and Adidas.
Gantner made its second major acquisition with Ardian in June 2020, when it acquired the German company Contidata. This added a market-leading ordering and cashless payment solution for company cafeterias to Gantner’s product range.
The collaboration with Ardian as an entrepreneurial partner was a true success story. During the past four years, we have been able to continue our steep growth curve and double our size. With innovative products and integrated solutions for contactless access, ticketing and billing systems as well as flexible workspaces, we have become a truly global player that significantly shapes the market in our segments.
Enabling companies to offer flexible working
The company’s versatile access solutions, along with its experience in smart lockers for fitness chains, are now being implemented at corporate offices as part of their shift to flexible working. Employees store their belongings securely in smart lockers that integrate seamlessly into the company’s existing security systems. Today, Gantner’s corporate clients include Deloitte, EY, L’Oréal and the LinkedIn Headquarter in Dublin.
Focus on sustainability
Together with Gantner’s management team, Ardian worked to improve the company’s sustainability performance during its partnership. The company implemented a purchasing policy incorporating health and safety, quality and environmental criteria, redesigned hardware products to reduce plastic content and power consumption and moved into an energy efficient headquarters including photovoltaic panels and the use of groundwater for heating and cooling.
A new chapter for Gantner with SALTO SYSTEMS
In October 2020, Ardian announced the sale of Gantner to the Spanish company SALTO, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of access control systems. With the addition of the Gantner portfolio, SALTO will now have the combined strength and joint capacity of one million access points annually.
We are proud to have supported Gantner in its internationalization, important strategic acquisitions and the development of new industries and customers. As a result, the company has been able to expand its product range and geographic coverage. We want to take this opportunity to thank Gantner’s management team and employees for their trust and cooperation. We know SALTO is a good fit for further development in the future.
