Vector grows by three in Mid-Atlantic

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa.--Vector Security, poised to become the largest privately owned commercial/residential alarm company with the pending sale of HSM to Stanley Works, announced in December the completion of three acquisitions. The largest of the three comprises two companies, Security Concepts and National Alarm, based in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville, Va., respectively, and owned by Ron Smullen, who will join Vector going forward. Vector also purchased Custom Security, of Columbus, Ohio, from Andy Conti, who will become Vector's Columbus-area manager of sales and operations, and WiredUp, of Williamsburg, Va., from Matt Krudziolek, who will continue to manage the office for Vector. Terms of the deals were not released. In total, the acquisitions bring more than 35 new employees and two new branch offices to Vector in the growing Charlottesville and Williamsburg, Va., areas. They also complete a 2006 that saw the company make six purchases. "We've had a pretty good year," said Vince DiValerio, Vector's vice president of acquisitions. He said the year followed their acquisitions growth plan and compared favorably with the previous couple of years, "where things were a little bit slower." DiValerio said the market has heated up this year in terms of higher multiples being paid, which has attracted the attention of potential sellers. "We took advantage of that," he said. "We were in the buying mode." He admitted that rising multiples make acquisitions more expensive, but "it also makes it more attractive to sellers, from a timing standpoint, to move forward with a sale. A few years ago, it didn't behoove the seller to sell low. As the multiples began to climb, that brought some of the sellers out from the behind the bushes." Ron Schall, district vice president for the Richmond, Va., area, said the Security Concepts/National Alarm buy opens a key Charlottesville market for Vector, which was considering opening an office there anyway, and "helps spread us west so we can look into more western and southwest Virginia opportunities." Also of interest is WiredUp's traditional focus on high-end home audio, an area Vector vice president of marketing Dave Merrick said the company is actively exploring. "Everything now is about staying home and having conveniences," he said. "Now we're stepping into that high-end market, with everything from blind controls to plasma TVs, a whole new side of the A/V division."