The Company

The company certus was founded back in 1992 by Dr. Karl F. Harms. As managing director of the Harms Trading Group, he is well informed of the problems that exist in the retail trade. During the late 1980s, Dr. Harms was looking for a security solution for his own supermarkets. This search was motivated by the ever increasing inventory difference in his stores - caused by shoplifters. At that time no suitable security system was on the market that fully satisfied his needs, or that of the mass market.

Studies were conducted at renowned research institutes, the tests showed Electro-Magnetic (EM) technology as being most suited for the mass market. These results allowed us now to concentrate upon the hardware aspects of such a system. Parallel to this, a close link with a subsidiary of the Siemens concern, the "VAC" made tests to find a suitable signal element.

Working together with the trade, a list was drawn up of all the problems that a new EAS system must overcome, to solve the problems that currently existed. To concentrate research and development, certus was founded in 1992. certus had for their development a perfect testing laboratory, a chain of supermarkets. A critical criteria necessary, a continuous detection, even if a shopping trolley moves within the gateway. Certus not only fulfils this criteria, they can also detect secured items inside a metal shopping trolley. This demonstrates that large quantities of metal do not overpower the system and render it temporarily out of function. Certus is the only EM system that is capable of achieving this.

After numerous years of development, certus had arrived at the point where they could present to the trade the finished serial product. In 1996 the certus system was presented to the public for the first time at the Euroshop. Important features like a detection in and around a moving metal shopping trolley, detection on metal products and in aluminium-lined bags were made public for the first time.

Such advantages have enabled certus within a relatively short time span to realise sales of over 3000 systems throughout Europe.

To maximise the effectiveness of the sales and service activities, we work closely together with independent dealers. They are part of a network spread throughout Europe. Each individual dealer can better meet the individual needs of his own countrymen. Our European coverage puts us in a position to offer the certus range of security products to a European customer base with the backing of the necessary technical support.

Our dynamic research and development team work continually on improving the certus security products. We strive also to expand upon our range of products. New introductions include the Wa-Con system (shopping trolley monitoring system) and the Porta-Con System (controls the direction to which a person enters or exits a store).