dormakaba Exit Hardware: Panic Bolt

dormakaba is a Swiss-headquartered global access-solutions company that builds the stuff that makes buildings actually work: door hardware, door closers, automatic entrances, electronic access control, and keying/locking systems across commercial, residential, and institutional sites. The group is based in Rümlang (Zurich), Switzerland and sells into 50+ countries with a large installed base in doors, hotels, airports, offices, and public buildings. 

The modern company was created through the merger of Germany’s dorma and Switzerland’s Kaba, finalized in September 2015 (initially branded “dorma+kaba,” later standardized as dormakaba). That merger fused two long-running lineages: DORMA (founded 1908 in Ennepetal, Germany) with deep door-technology roots, and Kaba with a long history in locking/identification (origins going back to the 19th century in Zurich). 

What dormakaba is known for in the trade/spec world is the “whole doorway” approach:

• Door hardware + control (closers, floor springs, related hardware) 

• Entrance systems (automatic doors, turnstiles/personnel gates depending on market) 

• Access control & identity (credentials, electronic locking, and management layers) 

Scale-wise, dormakaba reported net sales of CHF 2.87bn for FY 2024/25 and ~15k employees (15,346 cited), reflecting a genuinely large global footprint.