Diebold Creates a Division for College Campus Cards

Diebold Inc. said it has formed a campus card division, by combining three areas of its business.

Last week's announcement came only months after the card-based transaction systems provider acquired Griffin Technologies Inc. and a little more than two years after it began making inroads into producing college campus card technologies.

"This is a logical continuum of the way that we have been aggregating our efforts in this area," said Gregg A. Searle, executive vice president of Diebold, which is based in Canton, Ohio.

By combining disparate parts of the company, which include electronic security, self-service, and transaction divisions, Mr. Searle said, "We have created the largest campus card company in the United States."

Griffin, which Diebold acquired for $20 million, provided college campuses with cards that allowed students to get into buildings, purchase meals, and buy books.

Mr. Searle said that Diebold currently has more than 30% market share among campuses with 5,000 to 12,000 students, and 60% market share among schools with more than 12,000 students.

Analysts see the restructuring as consistent with Diebold's efforts to branch out at home and abroad.

"The company has been working to diversify and sell its products to colleges, universities, hospitals, and financial institutions outside the United States. This involves product line expansion," said Mark Parr, first vice president of McDonald and Company Investments, Cleveland. "College markets are expanding."

Also, Diebold said it has reorganized aspects of its business and made related appointments.

*Alben W. Warf, who joined the company in 1981, was appointed senior vice president for electronic systems development and manufacturing. He was previously group vice president for self-service systems. He will report to Mr. Searle.

*Gary Lorenz was named general manager for the campus card division. He reports to Mr. Warf. Mr. Lorenz was formerly the senior vice president of Griffin Technology and general manager of its software development division.

*John F. Ziegler, formerly the general manager of the electronic security division, was named business development executive. He will be responsible for international expansion of the electronic security business, and evaluation of merger and acquisition opportunities.

*Bradley J. Stephenson was named general manager of the electronic security division. He will also report to Mr. Warf. Mr. Stephenson was director of InterBold Product Planning and Management.

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