About Us

From humble beginnings…

ATG Access started with two employees and a workbench producing mild-steel, telescopic and fixed security bollards to protect residential driveways from vehicle theft.

Becoming VPSP

In response to a government request to produce an automated bollard for installation within the U.K. public highway, VPSP was formed and the first automatic rising bollards were innovated and tested at a pilot site in Cambridge.

ATG Group acquires VPSP

VPSP achieved great success with traffic management systems in major city councils across the UK including Liverpool, Manchester and Cambridge. This caught the eye of the ATG Group who acquired VPSP in 1994.

ATG crash tests its first bollard

Following attacks on Glasgow Airport and the British Embassy in Istanbul; ATG was approached by the British Government to certify an automated bollard capable of withstanding a vehicle impact.

In 2005 ATG achieved their first dead stop of a 7.5-tonne truck and successfully gained PAS 68 accreditation.

ATG starts exporting

Glenn Cooper, Heather Cooper and Robert Ball (CoBaCo House) completed a management buy-out to form ATG Access and secured their first export contracts in the Middle East, Singapore & Malaysia.

First shallow mount bollard

The first shallow foundation bollards were developed and tested bringing a step-change in the industry and one which facilitated the securing of urban public realm projects – keeping people safe within crowded spaces and critical national infrastructure.

ATG Access Inc

ATG Access acquired the physical perimeter security divisions of Allen Vanguard in Canada and of Boon Edam in the US, going on to form ATG Access Inc. A direct, ATG Access office in North Carolina was opened and manufacturing under license facilities was established.

ATG wins the largest security project to date

A $9.6 million order to protect the New Doha International Airport in Qatar (Hamad International Airport) was the first example of the scalability and success of ATG’s global supply chain strategy.

Securing the London Olympics

ATG Access was awarded a major contract to test and develop bespoke solutions for the physical security protecting 25 sites for the London 2012 Olympics. This lead to the innovation of surface mounted technology to protect sites which had a threat profile for just 8-10 weeks throughout the duration of the competition.

LDC investment

Following substantial growth, Lloyd’s Development Capital invests in ATG Access and allows further investment in product development and export scaling to meeting global security demands.

10 years of export success

Over the decade, ATG Access had supplied security products to over 42 countries and had built up a network of 30 international distributors.

Gavin Hepburn promoted to Managing Director

Gavin Hepburn was promoted to Managing Director after 14 years with the business, having started for just two weeks in 2003 working on a final year, MBA project at Manchester University Business School.

Surface Guard

In response to a terrifying change in attack methodology; ATG Access successfully test and launch the pioneering Surface Guard system. This temporary security barrier system was designed to protect against the emerging vehicle as a weapon attack seen across Europe.

Hill & Smith acquires ATG Access

Hill & Smith Holdings PLC Acquire ATG Access Limited. ATG Access joined Hill & Smith’s other security companies: Barker’s Fencing, Parking Facilities, Hard Staff Barriers and Bristorm to form a new brand – HS Security.

Whilst still very much remaining ATG Access, HS Security aims to unite all company offerings to ensure clients can come to the brand to achieve all physical security requirements to solve site-wide challenges.

Richard Ellis appointed as Managing Director

ATG Access appoint Richard Ellis as ATG’s new Managing Director. Richard brings with him many years of experience within the construction sector. Commenting on his appointment – “the people, passion, and culture here at ATG is infectious, whilst the work we do is challenging, interesting and important. I am really excited about the next chapter for ATG and the growth and success that we can realise together.”