Neighboring companies find synergies in their differences

WOBURN, Mass. - Two neighboring life safety and security companies, each with a different focus, recently joined forces to tap into the other’s expertise. This spring, fire systems experts B and T Security and Safety Systems relocated its office from Mal-den, Mass., to here, several months after it was bought by Ultraguard Protective Systems, a full service and traditional security company. Terms of the transaction were not released. For B and T Owner Jack Beckwith, the sale of his company enables him to tap into Ultraguard’s administrative expertise and share some of the responsibilities of running a company he started in 1976. “Working 24/7, seven days a week wears on you after 27 years,” said Beck-with, who remains president of B and T, a company he named after his sons, Brian and Tim. For Ultraguard, a relatively young company in the security industry with only four years in the business, buying B and T provides it with extensive expertise in the fire market. B and T came with design, installation, service and fire inspection know-how, said Jim Baker, president and owner of Ultraguard. “They had all the certifications that are very difficult to get,” said Baker. “B and T brought the resources, the knowledge and the tools to the table.” Together the companies employ 52 people and are expected to generate $5.5 million in sales for 2003 and $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue each month. Though now part of Ultra-guard, B and T will retain its name, which is well-known in the greater Boston area. Baker said Ultraguard will also be able to capitalize on B and T customers who need burglar alarms, a service B and T did not offer previously. “What they brought was a very educated staff, a good education,” said Baker. “We didn’t do it as an overlay acquisition. We did it as a full acquisition. We wanted the people and the staff.”