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Sister security companies unify their operations

Sister security companies unify their operations

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. - Sister security companies Security Services and Technologies and Intercon Security have recently unified operations to bring synergies between the two across the border and provide a platform for future growth. Parent company FirstService Corp. announced the change in late March, appointing Frank Brewer chief executive officer of the FirstService Security Division and responsible for North American operations. Brewer was previously chief executive officer of SST’s operations in the United States. “There’s a lot of oppor-tunity to cross pollinate the two operations,” said Jay Hennick, chief executive officer, president and founder of FirstService, based in Toronto. Each company, said Hennick, is a leader in their respective markets, with Intercon well known in Canada and SST in the United States. Together, they represent a $130 million company with more than 2,000 employees and 12 offices. By 2009, the company’s goal is to reach $309 million by tapping into under leveraged products and services. Until now, each company carried its own product lines. SST offers off-the shelf products, while Intercon sells its customers a proprietary security system and central station service from its monitoring facilities in Toronto and Vancouver. “The way we’re going to get to this growth is to take our products to Canada,” said Brewer. “And we’re going to take their central station service.” Brewer also anticipates buying power between each company and the opportunity to better coordinate North American accounts. Already SST’s footprint includes New York, Chicago, Eatontown, N.J., Valley Forge and Reading, Pa., Columbia, Md., Alexandria, Va., West Palm Beach, Fla., and Houston. The company provides integrated security systems, such as access control, CCTV and burglar alarm systems. Intercon, which offers a host of services ranging from monitoring and security guards to systems integration, operates in Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver. Hennick said unifying the two companies has been in the works for more than a year. “They’ve been communicating and working together for a long time,” he said. “It’s a natural move for us and it’s one that we’ve been working on . . . to make sure both organizations were ready for the merger.”

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