Castle Rock Security opens doors in late February

MONTICELLO, Minn.--Bill Kuhn, a veteran of ADT Security, has branched out on his own to open Castle Rock Security. It will be an alarm company focusing on residential security, with "some commercial, specifically small business," said Kuhn, who'll serve as company president. Castle Rock had a targeted opening day of Feb. 25 and is still negotiating with two companies regarding an authorized dealer relationship. The company will start out small, said Kuhn, who will run the company with his brother as a silent partner and their two wives providing back-office support. They'll begin with one installer and look to reach 10 employees by this summer. The company will service the Twin Cities area, along with "first and second tier suburbs." Kuhn said they'll begin with "mostly alarm stuff initially," but plans down the road to become a one-stop shop for home automation, HVAC systems, and other installation work. "Our heart in this is on the customer end," said Kuhn. "My feeling is that the residential security industry has turned south in the last few years, and we'd like to try to reverse that."