Fire Detection co. moves to Sparks , Md.

SPARKS, Md.--It was not the name of the town, rather the opportunity to build a new state-of-the-art facility, that drew fire detection hardware and software developer axonX here to open new headquarters. A start-up founded in 2002, axonX received a $2 million capital infusion from Johnson Controls late last year (see "AxonX gets on the A-list," in the Feb. issue of Security Systems News). At that time, the companies entered into a one-year partnership, where axonX licenses its software to Johnson Controls while retaining the right to sell its hardware to other customers. Since that time, axonX has hired four new employees: a vice president of operations, fire science engineer, global products manager and an administrative assistant. The 6,000 square-foot new headquarters here is 10 miles north of its previous location at the Emerging Technology Center in Baltimore and about six times the size, said Mac Mottley, chief executive officer. The company moved at the beginning of the year, and Mottley said they're wrapping up the finishing touches on the facility this week. The fire science engineer, Andy Lynch, built a new laboratory with a "large hood and ventilation system," that the company will use to "burn small fires for testing its equipment." The company's signature product, SigniFire, uses algorithms to analyze live video images to detect fire and smoke. The video images are obtained by security surveillance cameras. For more on axonX, see the May issue of Security Systems News.