HID Global buys UK mobile RFID firm, expands Irish unit

Secure identity specialist HID Global has bolstered its radiofrequency identification (RFID) business by buying UK company Technology Solutions Ltd (TSL), which focuses on mobile RFID readers.

Austin, Texas-based HID Global – part of the Swedish Assa Abloy group – said that TSL adds “proven handheld RFID readers to our…portfolio of tags and Internet of Things enablement solutions.”

The UK firm’s readers are designed to work in challenging environments like the agriculture, construction and healthcare settings, for example to identify patients, samples and medication as well as to track medical equipment.

HID Global chief executive Björn Lidefelt said that TSL is a “strategic fit” for its core RFID business and would provide customers with a “one stop shop” for hardware and integration tools used to identify and track products and assets. The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

Loughborough-based TSL’s product range includes readers focus on ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID, but also covers high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) as well as barcode and QR code reading. The company has its own apps and a developer platform to allow for the development of bespoke applications.

It’s the second acquisition by HID Global in recent months. Last August the company bought Access-IS and its portfolio of barcode scanners, image processing devices, and near-field communication (NFC) and magnetic strip readers.

Irish centre

Meanwhile, HID Global says it is on track to open a new centre of excellence in Tully, County Galway, Ireland, by the end of this year and will grow its workforce there to around 300 by the end of 2023. The unit focuses on electronic passports and access cards.