ADS's new headquarters

NASHVILLE--ADS Security moved its Nashville headquarters to an 18,000-square-foot building in order to accommodate the growth the company has experienced over the past decade, and in anticipation of future expansion. Said Mel Mahler, president and chief executive officer of ADS, "We moved nine years ago, a mile and a half from here. The old facility was 10,000 square feet. We thought it would be good for 25 years, but in the last decade, we bought the companies in Chattanooga, Murfreesboro and Birmingham [with an addition of more than 22,000 new accounts from those sales alone] and we were just busting at the seams. Because of the growth that came through acquisitions, we had to move." The relocation in October to the new leased corporate office space, which is 80 percent larger than the company's former digs, cost approximately $2.2 million.Included in the upgrade was the build-out of the facility and the installation of all new hardware, software, and emergency back-up systems for the ADS Security Central Station that monitors approximately 60,000 commercial and residential accounts in 18 states in the Southeast. Said Mahler, "The change also allowed us to upgrade our systems, moving toward the wireless world, expanding on what we're doing with long-range radio. In the last couple years we've gone to wireless, Internet-based systems and long-range radio, and that's not just because of VoIP," but also because of the prevalence of cell phones, he said. ADS's upgrades haven't been limited to its physical surroundings. Seven months ago, Lela Mullins was promoted from central station and customer service manager to senior vice president of monitoring operations, where she created a customer care group. Duane Snyder also joined the team as vice president of sales on Nov. 7 from ASG Security. "We're in a growth mode and trying to move forward," said Snyder.