The Wool Mill Centre

“When we decided to repurpose this wonderful building as a coworking space” says John, “we knew we had to think long term about the ways that people would be working post-pandemic, well into the mid-21st century. That meant being very high tech and environmentally sustainable. It meant offering our tenants complete autonomy, and a ready-to-go space, so that they could focus 100% on their business, not their building. It also meant that we had to be able to manage the space cost effectively so we could offer our tenants great value.”

When it came to technology, John knew that access control was an essential enabler for his vision. But there were several challenges in selecting the right system: “We wanted an electronic access control system”, explains John, “to make access simple for our tenants, and management efficient for us. But most required cabling, which in an old building like the Wool Mill Centre presented us with a potential cost and structural challenge.”

The electronic access control (EAC) system also had to integrate seamlessly with Nexudus, John’s chosen coworking management software platform and, with no onsite servers at The Wool Mill, it had to be managed via the cloud.

John selected SALTO’s cloud-based technology platform, SALTO Keys as a Service or KS, as the EAC solution for The Wool Mill Centre. “SALTO KS is an integration partner of Nexudus” says John, “and once we saw the product, we knew it was perfect for us. SALTO have a wireless lock option, which instantly did away with our cabling issue. The XS4 Mini locks are well designed, and are a great aesthetic fit with our internal building style.”

Tenants access the building and their dedicated offices with a key card or using their mobile phone as a credential. For visitors, the front main entry door has an intercom connected to individual rooms, and tenants can let their guests in using the SALTO KS app on their phone.

The installation was managed extremely smoothly by SALTO partner JTW Security. James West, Director agrees that SALTO was the perfect fit for this project: “With a refurbishment of an old building like this, a wireless solution is essential”, he said. “Running cables would have been almost impossible, not to mention expensive.” John was delighted with the way that JTW Security managed the whole setup process smoothly and completely hassle-free.

For John, the decision to implement SALTO KS was a good one. “Our major tenant, SalaryMasters, say their staff love the ease of using their phone for access”, he says.