The story of Apromix goes back a long way, as one of the two co-founders, Luca Michelazzo, recounts. “I was still in high school and knew Gian Luigi de Guio, who at the time was organizing the Bassano Rally Racing. He asked me to help him digitize the processes by working on an RFID reader, a technology that was unknown in Italy at the time. Some time later, we began collaborating together.” The first 125 kHz frequency transponder was born in Switzerland and was mainly used in the veterinary sector to microchip animals. The evolution of this technology for more “industrial” uses, including access control, was achieved in Austria by a group of researchers from the University of Graz, who together formed a company called Mikron. They later became the inventors of the current MIFARE technology, which is now used worldwide. “We entered the RFID sector too early,” continues Michelazzo. “In the beginning, we focused a lot on training and information to better prepare the market and our customers.”
“In 1995, our first product, FASTKEY, was born,” specifies Gian Luigi de Guio. “It had completely innovative features for the market, including an antenna on the printed circuit board and the ability to distinguish between two different card movements; this is where APROMIX was born, along with a series of new products,” he concludes. Today, the company is able to offer a range of solutions for both access control and automation. Over the years, the company has developed products for other sectors, including the veterinary world, waste disposal, and custom products for companies that, due to production needs, required technology capable of automating processes. “The access control market has continued to evolve over the years,” continues De Guio, “and Apromix, in particular, has always been at the forefront. We were the first in Italy to design a concentrator with a web server onboard, which didn’t require the installation of software on the PC. We also made the first dual-technology readers, which could read both 125KHz and 13.6 MHz frequencies.”
Today, Apromix has strong experience and expertise in managing access control, even for complex systems. A significant example is the fitness sector, where the company can offer not only the system for controlling and managing gates but also the gates themselves, such as turnstiles and doors. The partnership with Benincà has allowed the company to enter different sectors and markets. “Working within the group has taught us to make products more industrially,” says Luca Michelazzo. “Today, we have to think about the needs of a broader market, and if we focus less on individual cases, this is allowing us to grow further.” .
“What hasn’t changed, even now that we are part of the Benincà group, is our integrated approach to systems and the modularity of our solutions,” concludes De Guio.
