First Response acquires competitor

BEAVERTON, Ore.—First Response Systems, an installation, monitoring and alarm response company based here, has acquired one of its competitors, ESDS Corporation, also based here.

First Response gained about $5,000 in RMR in the deal, company VP Jesse Foglio told Security Systems News. About 70 percent of the acquired accounts are residential, he said.

First Response has customers in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Almost all of the ESDS accounts fall within that territory, “which made the deal nice for us,” Foglio said.

“We didn't gain employees or a storefront, but we did gain some large accounts. We have opportunities we didn't have before,” Foglio said.

“We have worked closely with ESDS over the years, so it was a natural fit,” he said.

He declined to comment further on terms of the acquisition, which was finalized in March.

The owner of ESDS, founded in 1988 to provide residential security systems for new home construction, has retired. Since its founding, ESDS expanded into the commercial, industrial and governmental markets.

If a similar good fit presents itself, First Response would be open to more acquisitions in the future, Foglio said.

First Response is a family-owned business with 150 employees. It is a Honeywell authorized dealer, installing burglary, fire, access control and video systems, and it operates its own Five-Diamond, UL-certified central station and dispatch center. It also provides guard response, monitored video service and connected home services.

The company is in the process of setting up an ownership succession plan, which it hopes to have in place by the end of the year, Foglio said.