TPI’s Texas-Tough ATM Enclosures

Company Builds for High-Security and Temporary Events Placement

by Hank Schlesinger

TPI of Garland, Texas, has been providing protective enclosures for some 30 years. The family-owned company began by offering enclosures and pedestals for the independent payphone business before smoothly transitioning into other industry segments, such as gas station air machines, prior to entering the ATM market. Today, they remain one of the leading manufacturers of protective enclosures for the money machines.

Not coincidentally, that was the same path many of today’s dedicated ATM operators followed over the years. With the entrance of cell phones and decline of payphones, a good number of them eventually moved into the growing ATM business. And TPI, with its well-known reputation for quality, was the natural fit for many of those early entrants in the ATM field.

“Around 2008 we got into the ATM business,” said TPI’s co-owner Bobby Silber. “We started making ATM enclosures and vaults, and our business kept expanding with our customer base.”

As Silber explains it, the company’s offering of products has steadily grown and evolved along with the ATM market segment. That means a product line that has come to include not only enclosures for permanent locations, but also protection for temporary event installations. This line includes not only secure weatherproofing, but a full host of options aimed at marketing, such as custom graphic panels, color schemes and decals. In this respect, it’s not too far a stretch to say that TPI’s offerings have not only expanded over the years but have also helped to grow location options for ATM deployers.

As Silber noted, one key to the company’s success is that all products are made in the U.S. “We operate right outside of Dallas,” he said. “We’re a full-service sheet metal and machine manufacturing company. Everything comes in as flat sheets, and we laser cut, weld and powder coat in house. All of our graphics and assembly are done in house, too. That way, we can control everything and keep the quality high.”

And then there are the company’s line of high-security enclosures. With models specifically designed for virtually every ATM on the market today, from universal fits to those specifically designed for models of best-selling brands such as Hyosung, Triton, and Genmega. As Silber is quick to add, what sets TPI apart from the competition is their long-time experience in the ATM arena. Not only do they understand the marketplace, but also criminal trends that target a machine’s vulnerable points. This knowledge has served both TPI and its customers well when it comes to secure design.

“We’ve been in the industry so long that we understand what operators are doing and what vandals are doing,” Silber said. “We understand the attack points and the tools used. We have more route operator experience and more people on staff with route experience than other companies. That means they also have experience installing, de-installing, and break ins. All that is a major advantage over our competition.”

Unfortunately, as Silber added, ATM crime is on the rise. “The criminals have gotten smarter,” he said. “When unemployment rises, they have more time and need cash, so they start vandalizing the equipment. What we do is look at all the ways a machine can be attacked and what kind of tools are used, like pry bars, drilling, and torch cutting. There are different points of attack we try to block with our designs. And we’re not going to cheat with cheaper gauge steel.”

The design for model-specific enclosures begins with an evaluation of the machine itself. Not only does TPI work with manufacturers to get the machine specs but also get the ATM in-house to study it for likely points of attack by criminals. This strategy, Silber said, is another reason his company’s enclosures have an enviable crime-resistant reputation.

And too, the demand for TPI products has also increased over recent years as ATM deployers seek out new categories of locations. This trend not only includes temporary venues, but also permanent outdoor locations.

“Right now, we’re selling more outdoor and drive up kiosks than indoor,” he said. “The market inside is saturated. So, operators are turning to outside locations. A lot of businesses, such as gas stations and outdoor malls, aren’t open 24/7, and operators are putting in drive-ups or walk-ups outside those types of places.”

This trend, he said, started two or three years ago. The reasoning, of course, is simple: an outdoor kiosk expands the time beyond that of the location’s regular business hours. That TPI has been quick to jump on this latest trends isn’t surprising. The company not only tracks the latest trends in ATM placement but has also consistently evolved its product line to meet those security needs.

For more information, call the office at 972-276-2901 or visit them online at www.tpitexas.com.