ELKA on Building Smarter Barriers and Access Solutions
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Barrier gates have long been a familiar part of parking and access control, but their role within the wider system is changing. As parking becomes increasingly connected, even established infrastructure is expected to communicate, integrate and provide more information about its operation.
In this edition of In the Spotlight, Parking Network speaks with Andreas Klucinec, Sales Director at ELKA, a German manufacturer with a history stretching back to 1979. We discuss how barrier and access-control systems are evolving, what customers and integration partners expect today, and how ELKA is expanding its portfolio while maintaining its focus on flexibility and connectivity.
Q: Could you introduce ELKA and tell us a little about your own journey and role within the company?
Andreas Klucinec:
ELKA was founded back in 1979, so this decade we will celebrate our 50th anniversary. We are based here in northern Germany and have about 103 staff members.
What is important to know is that all our products are developed in-house and are 100% assembled and tested before being shipped here in Tönning, Germany.
I started with the company back in 2008 as a member of the international sales team, and since 2021, I am in my current role. I am enjoying working with our partners here in Germany, but also across Europe and internationally, educating them about our products and solutions and trying to help them create a better overall system.
Of course, connecting with people and nurturing these connections is also what I enjoy every day.
Q: Over the years barrier and access-control systems have become considerably more connected. Is that fair to say?
Andreas Klucinec:
A classic barrier system, classic parking system, access control system in the past was more passive. Especially the barriers, more like being connected, hardwired and awaiting the signal to be opened, or to be closed.
Today, our partners and end users may take a different approach to the system. It is everything all about bidirectional communication with a product. To be informed about the overall status of the project, of the barrier, be informed if anything has happened, but also being reminded that maybe service maintenance is due, and, if needed even to change settings or to look at what needs to be done to improve the operation of the barriers.
This is what we provide by offering our own IoT cloud solution.
Parking has evolved over the years and will continue to do so. For us, it matters that we can be part of this solution, so that connectivity does not end at the pay station or the ANPR system, but also includes our products. And that connectivity naturally brings new expectations as well.
Q: What are partners and customers asking from ELKA today, and how do you support those different requirements?
Andreas Klucinec:
This could be as simple as integrating the barrier to the existing systems, but also customizing the overall look of the product accessories, customizing, but also in terms of how we handle the project's delivery times, terms. Exporting is also very important. So not just a product that matters, but also how we support our partners in day to day business.
Of course, we have a fantastic R&D team, a great mix of young engineers and very experienced people. When it comes to especially integration of our barriers, we sit down with our partners, sometimes even the end users, to see what are their expectations and how we can handle it to make their ideas reality.
That is very important for us to really support our partners. To do so, we provide direct access to our partners here in Germany, in Europe, but also worldwide.
So they speak directly with us as a manufacturer. Our partners, they want to see how the barriers behave and they want to see and be sure that all the barriers installed, maybe in the city of Hamburg, are operating within the expected parameters. If something happens, this barrier will actively communicate with a service engineer or central command center.
You could say that bidirectional communication with the system becomes more and more important in everyday projects.
Q: Would you say flexibility is one of ELKA’s key strengths as a manufacturer?
Andreas Klucinec:
Absolutely. It is fair to say that we still have the flexibility as a manufacturer to listen to our partners and also the capacity to manufacture and supply barriers today to more than 80 countries worldwide.
This is for sure one of our strengths that we have, and we are very proud of. We hope that we will keep this in the future by investing into our R&D but also into our production.
Q: ELKA has a very open approach to working with both smaller integrators and larger organisations, right?
Andreas Klucinec:
That is correct. You have to keep in mind that Germany is our core market. We work with smaller integrators, but also with international groups.
We are proud that we provide the same level of service and support to all of them and to communicate with them about their next project, their next installation, and trying to help them find the right product for their project.
We do this here in Europe and Germany, mainly directly. In some countries, we have exclusive partners, and sometimes we decide to work depending on what we define as market needs, with a single company, especially maybe in Asia, for us for certain markets.
Q: What’s next for ELKA? Where are you taking the product portfolio from here?
Andreas Klucinec:
We have shown a couple of things recently. Back in 2025, we introduced our first bollard system. It is an electromechanical bollard instead of hydraulic one, and we believe that this product is a good fit for parkings.
We think about hotels, marketplaces, gated communities, but also private properties. This is what we see as a good fit to our existing range.
Q: Even as the product range expands, there seems to be one common thread: making these products smarter and more connected. Is that ultimately where you see things heading?
Andreas Klucinec:
That is correct, it is all about bi-directional communication with the product.
It is no longer just a push or pull and hoping to see the right information on the screen. Now barriers, bollards and pedestrian gates can actively communicate using our IoT cloud solution with our partner system.
They can give you a warning, they can give you an idea, but also they can just tell you everything is fine and that they are working within the expected parameters.
To do this, you have everything included in our cloud solution, or via API in your own system.
About ELKA
ELKA-Torantriebe is a German manufacturer of high-quality barrier systems, robust traffic bollards, high-performance gate drive technology and suitable accessories for modern access control solutions located in Tönning at the North Sea.
Over 45 years of experience, personal customer service, professional order processing and adherence to delivery dates make ELKA a reliable partner.
About Parking Network
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