Convergint acquires Operational Security Systems

At ISC West last month it was nice to meet and catch up with Convergint Technologies' executive chairman and founder Dan Moceri, and president and CEO Ken Lochiatto, who were both kind enough to participate in an ssnTVnews video interview on the Security Systems News' trade show floor stage.

The global systems integration company has been very busy recently—and since its inception in 2001—and just completed an acquisition this week of Operational Security Systems Inc. (OSS), an Atlanta, Ga.-based security integrator with an additional location in Orlando, Fla. Founded in 1972, Operational Security Systems is run by president Jim Coleman, who along with more than 50 colleagues from the company will be joining the Convergint team.

Moceri told SSN that he is excited to have Coleman and his entire team joining the Convergint Technologies family, as the company shares many of the same values as Convergint.

“We have a lot of respect for Jim and his company as he has created a strong culture and team that is very focused on the service side of the business, which is how we have grown our organization,” said Moceri. “In addition to being strong from a service perspective, Jim has developed a very strong engineering company and a solutions provider that brings additional capacity and capabilities to our team.”

“Operational Security Systems and Convergint Technologies share two common core values: looking after the needs of our customers and looking after our fellow colleagues,” Jim Coleman said in the announcement. “Joining the Operational Security Systems team with Convergint Technologies brings deeper resources to our clients and new and exciting opportunities for our colleagues. This acquisition will prove beneficial to all involved.”

Convergint Technologies has seen a steady track record of both organic growth and growth through acquisition since its founding in 2001.

“We continue to grow very aggressively organically, but you can only grow so fast organically, so when we have an opportunity like this to bring in good quality people all at one time, we certainly want to take advantage of that,” he said.

Will Convergint continue to stay active on the acquisition front? “Absolutely—stay tuned,” said Moceri. “As always, we've got a nice pipeline of acquisitions and we expect another exciting year on that front. We've started off very strong in the first quarter along with very strong organic growth over the last year and we continue to supplement that growth with acquisitions.”

In addition to this acquisition, the company just opened an office in Toronto, which is part of the company's planned expansion in the greater Toronto area. The new office is strategically located in the Bell Trinity Square beside the Eaton Centre on the PATH system, which is mostly an underground walkway that links about 30 km of shopping, services, and entertainment in downtown Toronto, the company noted.

“This exciting new location enables us to be at the doorstep of the downtown Financial District and to support all of our existing and future clients in the area while delivering our Values & Beliefs to be our best customers' best service provider,” Greg Taylor, vice president, Eastern Canada Operations for Convergint Technologies, said in the announcement.

Security and building automation technicians, as well as locksmith services, will also be added to this location to provide rapid response for clientele, and the new office will also serve as a satellite learning center. “We plan to host Lunch & Learns at the site with our technology partners to provide our clients with information about the latest trends and technologies in electronic security and building automation solutions,” Eric Heagle, business development manager for Convergint Technologies, said in the announcement.