Pro-Tec looks to new technologies to grow business

CALGARY, Alberta - With its one-year anniversary approaching in July, Pro-Tec Monitoring Solutions looks to close out 2005 with 5,000 accounts and a new Global Positioning Service offering. The company began operations in the spring of 2004, but went live with its third-party monitoring services that summer. As of press time, the ULC-listed central station works with six dealers, handling approximately 500 accounts overall. “We’ve established ourselves to be in a position to handle any type of account,” said Wayne Demofsky, vice president of operations at the company. These services include burglar, fire, panic and medical alarms. Demofsky is now evaluating the market for GPS services and will implement the technology within the next three months. “It’s something we’re really excited about and see as something really important for our company in the near future,” he said. The transition to GPS services will be easy, according to Demofsky, since Pro-Tec’s monitoring software from Dice already features tracking applications. Demofsky said the company would offer a host of services, including asset tracking for pallets, vehicles and individuals. “To us, it doesn’t matter where that signal comes from,” he said. “The idea is that it will trigger an alarm and we will jump at that.” Earlier this year, an undisclosed Colorado-based dealer contacted the central station about its monitoring services. Although the company hadn’t considered cross-boarder monitoring until that time, the dealer’s alarm portfolio is significant, in the range of 2,000 to 5,000 accounts. “We hadn’t considered that avenue of business,” said Demofsky. “But we’re all over it.” Pro-Tec was recommend to the dealer, who is based in the same time zone as the company, through Digital Security Controls. The central uses DSC’s IP-capable Sur-Gard III receiver, and the dealer seeks an ULC-listed central that can handle IP-based signals. Moving forward, the company will continue to build out its business in the Calgary region. To date, it has networked with local dealers to promote its growing business. Additionally, the company has advertised directly to end users, offering monitoring promotions through radio and newspaper ads.