Convergint acquires Altel in Canada

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.—Convergint Technologies, a global systems integration company based here, this week announced the acquisition of Altel, a commercial integrator with 28 years experience developing electronic security solutions for customers across many vertical markets.

Ken Lochiatto, CEO of Convergint Technologies told Security Systems News that he is excited to bring all 54 employees from Altel into the Convergint family, and to expand the company's presence in Canada.

“Altel is a company that has an incredibly deep service background, and is really deep from a technical standpoint, especially with Software House,” Lochiatto said. “They are headquartered just outside of Montreal, and they were looking to expand and grow, which is exactly what we want to continue to do as well. We get requests constantly from our customers to have a more significant presence in the Montreal area, and this deal does that for us.”

Lochiatto pointed out that Altel expands Convergint's presence in the province of Quebec, and it also brings additional coverage with offices in Toronto and Calgary. Founded in 1989 by Ricky Dumas, Jacques Leclair, and Yves Paquin, Altel has since built a strong, diversified customer base across the government, pharmaceutical, financial, and educational markets.

“Joining Convergint presents many new growth opportunities for Altel and its colleagues,” Ricky Dumas, president of Altel, said in the announcement. “Altel and Convergint are both very passionate about the values we believe in, with service to our customers being paramount. Combining our forces with Convergint will enable us to expand our offerings to our customers and deepen our service capabilities.”

Lochiatto pointed out that this deal helps to greatly expand Convergint's reach throughout Canada.

“We are well on our way to having coverage from coast to coast in Canada,” he explained. “Our business in Canada started in the West in Calgary and has been a very strong business. We have begun to scale our business with several acquisitions in Canada over the last five years. And with Quebec, which is a unique province in Canada, you not only have a French-speaking province but one where you get a lot of different work rules and approaches to doing business, so we look forward to working there and providing excellent service.”

After a somewhat slow start on the acquisition front the first half of the year, Lochiatto said the company will continue to be active over the next four months. “We are picking up the pace here in the second half of the year, after focusing on the transition from KRG to Ares, so we are making up for lost time now,” he said.