Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/31501
18 COMMERCIAL & SYSTEMS INTEGRATORS www.securitysystemsnews.com APRIL 2011 SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS Going national in Illinois FE Moran brings in key talent with acquisition, says it’s now poised to make the move into national accounts in a big way By Martha Entwistle CHAMPAIGN, Ill.—FE Moran wants to be the new player on the national accounts stage, and its president Brett Bean said the acquisition of Monroe, Conn.- based Synergy Systems will enable the company to quadruple its national accounts business in the next four years. “We’re aiming to make a big impact in national accounts soon,” said Bean. “We’ve kept a low profile, but we’ve been quietly building our capability across the country.” “We want to take our national account business to $20 million in gross revenue within the next five years,” he said. That will mean growing that business segment four-fold. Joining FE Moran are Synergy’s former own- ers, Mike Madden and Matt Ernest. Madden is focused on Brett Bean business development and coor- dinating national accounts on the East Coast and Ernest “is taking over a big responsibility in operations for national accounts,” Bean said. How can FE Moran—which is headquartered here and has offices in Illinois, Georgia, Las Vegas, and Michgan—compete with the likes of ADT, Protection 1, Vector, and Carter Brothers? Bean said he’s spent the past several years building an infra- structure and the past two per- sonally completing the licensing aspect of becoming a national accounts provider. FE Moran uses a network of partners across the country who must meet “rigid quality-control and project-management require- ments.” SSN ADT does food security If you make it, ship it, buy it or process it, you’re affected By Martha Entwistle BOCA RATON, Fla.—ADT Commercial is formalizing a specialty it’s had for a number of years into a new vertical market: food defense. One of the reasons for this move is the passage, earlier this year, of The Food Safety Modernization Act, which rep- resents the first major legislative overhaul of food production oversight since the 1930s. Included in the new law are requirements for food manufac- turers and suppliers to identify potential problem areas and out- For a more robust version of stories in this section, see: WWW.SECURITYSYSTEMSNEWS.COM n line ways to prevent or circumvent those areas of concern. The legislation affects “manu- facturers, processors and distribu- tors,” said Hank Monaco, VP com- mercial marketing for ADT. “Since we have the ability, with our scale, to protect each of those elements, [we’re working with] those customers to help them establish standards and best practices,” he said. Monaco said the food indus- try has an 18-month window to comply with the law. ADT already works with many in the food industry, but there is great variation in terms of degree of compliance with the new law, he said. SSN Adesta changes name Plan is for collaboration, assimilation with other G4S companies By Martha Entwistle OMAHA, Neb.—Adesta, a sys- tems integrator, which was acquired about 16 months ago by mega security company G4S, changed its name to G4S Technology on March 1. “We’re right on schedule, the name change was part of the integration and assimilation plan we started on from day one,” said Bob Sommerfeld, president of G4S Technology. While G4S Technology still provides “complex integration solutions and operations and maintenance services,” it’s now collaborating more with other G4S companies. Companywide, the goal is to “offer a total solu- tion that combines manpower/ guarding with technology,” he explained. “That was part of the strategy when G4S acquired us: We help enhance their tech- nology capa- bility. And then for us, we have the support of a much larger organization ... We now have a much more efficient way to Bob Sommerfeld address global solutions for customers,” he said. In January, G4S combined Adesta’s/G4S Technology’s net- work monitoring operation with its other monitoring opera- tions. In addition, G4S Technology has been collaborating with Touchcom, an integrator acquired by G4S in 2008. The two businesses are complemen- tary, Sommerfeld said. Where G4S Technology is larger and specializes in industrial and crit- ical infrastructure, Touchcom is more commercially and retail focused. SSN Making projects work Specifiers and integrators mix it up at TechSec By Tess Nacelewicz DELRAY BEACH, Fla.— Communicate, communicate, communicate. That was the pri- mary advice from two integrators and two specifiers who spoke on a panel Feb.15 at TechSec Solutions here on the topic of how integrators and consultants can work most effectively together. Other advice included thorough vetting of integrators during the pre-specification phase to make sure they have the experience and expertise to successfully complete the project. “The premise is that com- munication in large projects isn’t just good, it’s essential,” said Ray Coulombe, founder of several security companies in the secu- rity surveillance space, including SecuritySpecifiers, who moderated the panel discussion. On the panel were two con- sultants: Elliot Boxerbaum, CEO, Security/Risk Management Consultants, and John De George, principal and VP of consulting, Ducibella Venter & Santore. Rounding out the panel were two integrators: Philip Aronson, president of Aronson Security Group, and Jim Henry, executive VP of Henry Bros. Electronics, a Kratos company. Coulombe asked the group what good communication means. Boxerbaum cited a project at a “very large-tiered, three- plus-plus data center” in which there was “an absolute gem” of an integrator with whom they had continuous communica- tion as the integrator was going through the specs. “We really dealt with 90 per- cent of the issues before the first card reader went up and the first camera went in or before the first piece of wire was pulled,” Boxerbaum said. SPECIFIERS see page 21 BRIEFS Envysion helps Hardees LOUISVILLE, Colo.— Envysion, a man- aged video as a service provider, in March announced that OTAC, Inc. has selected Envysion as its exclusive video provider and is deploying the company’s Envysion Insight solution to all existing locations. OTAC, an operator of 21 franchised Hardee’s locations throughout Maryland and Delaware, will use Envysion’s point of sale integrated managed video to sup- port loss prevention, improve operations and drive bottom line profit improve- ments, according to a release. “With Envysion Insight we have already identified and curtailed several incidents of fraudulent transactions and procedure violations that were costing us money,” said Fred Mattes, director of physical facilities for OTAC, in a pre- pared statement. Safeguard protects utilities DALLAS—Safeguard Security Holdings, Inc. a provider of corporate, indus- trial and residential security solutions, announced Feb. 28 that its subsid- iary, SGI Protective Services, has been awarded an annualized contract sup- plying security services to the nation’s sixth-largest utility company. R. Michael Lagow, CEO for Safeguard said in a prepared statement: “We are excited to add this segment of business to SGI Protective Services’ business unit. This contract adds in excess of $1 million in additional revenue per annum to SGI’s book of business as we con- tinue to broaden our reach in the energy sector.” Safeguard offers physical and elec- tronic services through its operating subsidiaries. It provides armed and unarmed guards, security management staffing, and security installation and maintenance. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions reports Q3 earnings SAN DIEGO— Kratos Defense & Security Solutions on March 1 reported fourth quarter 2010 revenues of $120.8 million and adjusted EBITDA of $12.9 million, or 10.7 percent of revenues, up sequen- tially from $11.7 million or 9.8 percent of revenues from the third quarter. Kratos’ Government Solutions busi- ness segment generated fourth quarter 2010 revenues of $108.9 million and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.7 percent, and Kratos’ Public Safety and Security business generated fourth quarter 2010 revenues of $11.9 million and an adjust- ed EBITDA margin of 10.1 percent.