Vehicle security has changed drastically since the 1970s, and one man who has witnessed this full arc is Tony Powell, Group Director and founder TVL Group. After starting out as a motor mechanic more than 40 years ago, Tony has built a long, illustrious career not just within the UK’s aftermarket vehicle security sector, but as a vital innovator, responsible for numerous now common products in the market.
“PEOPLE SAY THAT IMITATION IS the sincerest form of flattery, and it certainly seems the case with our products,” says Tony. “We take great pride in being often copied, but never outdone. We achieve that by taking a proactive approach to product development.”
Today, TVL Group is a leading player in the aftermarket vehicle security sector, with several key brands under its belt. This includes TVL Security and ProtectAVan, allowing the business to boast not just a diverse and award-winning portfolio of effective yet affordable security -products, but also the means to quickly
install its range on customer fleets. The overwhelming majority of the company’s offerings come courtesy of Tony’s intuition and expertise, largely drawn from his invaluable first-hand experience in vehicle security across the last five decades.
After originally completing a five-year motor technician apprenticeship, Tony immediately set his sights on moving into the sector, with his first step being to work in collaboration with the owner of a local convenience store offering key cutting services before, together, they founded the London East Security Centre (LESC) over 40 years ago. “LESC was predominately a general security company, fitting house and factory alarms, safes, locks and such, but by far the most interesting work we had was helping the Metropolitan Police shift illegally parked cars,” explains Tony. “In the days before wheel clamps and Z-Wagons, the Met’s usual plan of attack was to move these vehicles manually, which was not easy to do given we did not usually have the vehicle’s keys – we got very good at legally breaking into vehicles!
“What we would often arrive to find is that the Road Traffic Officers on the scene had given it a go at breaking into the vehicle themselves, usually damaging the rods connected to the locking mechanism in the process. That forced us to come up with new ways to disengage the system, not unlike how thieves still work.”
TVL Security’s team works in much the same way today. By collaborating with vehicle OEMs, it has built its product portfolio through rigorous testing efforts on the latest standard vehicle security systems to the test. Several of its products – including its ArmourShell external lock and DeadLock Protect+ and HookLock Protect+ security keys – have now received Secured by Design’s Police Preferred Specification (PPS) accreditation, meaning police forces can officially recommend these solutions to both current and potential victims of van crime.
This achievement is largely down to the work of the TVL Innovation Team which – not dissimilar to Tony’s early experiences working with the law enforcement – aims to identify inherent weaknesses
in standard factory-fit security systems. Once an entry method is identified, it then sets to work developing the most robust solution possible to prevent thieves from exploiting the same flaws.
This level of commitment has become necessary given how sophisticated thieves have become. As Tony explains, when he started out it was largely opportunist crime that threatened car and van owners. However, that soon changed.
“The most common MO used to be thieves simply walking down a street checking whether owners had accidentally left their vehicle’s doors unlocked overnight, but it didn’t take long for criminals to start getting creative,” he says. “The more intelligent ones soon figured out most car handle locks could be compromised simply by using a screwdriver to either jimmy the lock or puncture the door just underneath the handle. It really was that simple.”
At the time, automotive manufacturers were also not as up-to-speed on vehicle security as they are today.
“Most cars used to have common keys while some could be opened simply using almost a lolly stick as the lock’s internal wore down over time,” says Tony. “e manufacturers have become much savvier, but, unfortunately, so have thieves – they’ve swapped out their lolly sticks for power tools.”
Spotting a gap in the market – ideally timed alongside the growing van population in the UK – Tony branched out from helping the Met to creating innovative solutions to prevent vehicle crime himself. The first product under his belt was the DeadLock, inspired by developments in Europe.
Spotting a gap in the market – ideally timed alongside the growing van population in the UK – Tony branched out from helping the Met to creating innovative solutions to prevent vehicle crime himself. The first product under his belt was the DeadLock, inspired by developments in Europe.
Thieves have continued to push the boundaries though, and information on how to exploit factory-fit vehicle systems can spread much more easily with today’s technology.
“In the 1970s and 1980s, if a new attack method was discovered it was usually done so in London, but even then, it could take a month to spread across the whole city and six months to reach a Manchester or a Birmingham,” says Tony. “Now, that same information can be spread nationwide overnight, especially via social media.
“That is what drives us at TVL Group. We need to be constantly innovating if we are to give our customers any chance of staying one step ahead of would-be thieves.”
It is not just criminals and TVL Group that is evolving – Tony also sees more customers taking a more concerted interest in securing their assets.
“When we first started serving customers with TVL Security in 2009, the average job involved installing either just a side door or rear door DeadLock,” he explains. “Today, most vans in our compound will be in to have DeadLocks, OBD Port protectors, RepLocks, HookLocks, and more all added in one go. To me, that says that it is not just thieves that have realised the value a typical van can hold, but customers too.”
TVL Security is also evolving. In 2018, the business penned a unique partnership in the UK aftermarket vehicle security by agreeing a bespoke collaboration with Ford. e deal grants Ford customers the option to have TVL’s products added to Ford Transit and Transit Customs as factory-fit extras in Turkey before their new vehicle arrives in the UK. Could this route be followed by other brands?
“Ford has taken a quantum leap on the security front in working with us to install our systems as factory-fit options, but it is still pretty much out on its own in that regard,” says Tony. “When you consider how long it takes to bring a new model from the drawing board to driving it off the production line, it is going to take a few more iterations yet before we see all the major brands bringing any major security changes to their typical standard designs.
“That is not to say though that Ford will always be unique in this regard. Manufacturers have certainly woken up to the fact that they need to improve the base levels of security in their vehicles. We are in constant communication with some of the biggest automotive brands to help them understand the constantly changing field of vehicle security.”
The business has also recently made a significant investment in its Brentwood headquarters in Essex, adding valuable additional warehouse capacity, a vehicle compound capable of housing more than 200 vehicles at any one time, while also welcoming its vehicle fit-out brand ProtectAVan back to the site.
“The headquarters expansion underlines just how quickly the UK’s aftermarket vehicle security sector is growing,” adds Tony. “Adding all that extra space will allow us to ramp up our crime-battling efforts by helping the team here to complete larger jobs much more quickly.”
As for the future, in Tony’s view, even as more automotive manufacturers begin to buck up their inherent security competency, the tenacious approach thieves continue to take to committing van and tool theft means TVL’s expertise will always be required.
“Tackling the onslaught of van crime requires total dedication, which vehicle OEMs do not have the capacity to take on alongside their usual work,” he concludes. “That is where TVL Group brings huge value to the market.
“No matter how proactive OEMs become with security, there will always be a need for businesses like ours.”
