Gillmore Security acquires ABLE Security

OAKWOOD VILLAGE, Ohio—Gillmore Security, a full-service family-owned company based here, on April 5 made its largest acquisition with the purchase of ABLE Security & Automation Corp.

“[ABLE] has a 50-50 commercial/resi split, and like ourselves, they do high-quality installation,” Alan Gillmore IV, COO of Gillmore, told Security Systems News.

Terms of the deal were not announced, but Gillmore said the buy increased the number of accounts by 10 percent and brings the company's RMR “close to about $280,000.”

Founded as a high-end residential company 42 years ago, Gillmore is located in Cuyahoga County. ABLE is located in neighboring Geauga County. Four full-time employees and one part-time employee from ABLE will join Gillmore. In addition, Ray Laino, former owner of ABLE, will join Gillmore to assist with the transition and to expand the company's presence in Geauga County.

Gillmore said he's excited to add “high-quality technicians, grow into a new geography and bring our services to bear with the new account base.”

This is the second acquisition in five months for Gillmore, which acquired World Wide Security last fall.

Business is good and the market for acquisitions is ripe, Gillmore said. Financing is available and there seem to be more attractive companies becoming available for purchase, he said.

Gillmore's commercial business includes a lot of hosted access control and is beginning to include more hosted video. He said he's happy that there are more video solutions with good mobile technology available.

“Small or large, businesses want connectivity,” he said. “I know business owners that log into their iPhone [and look in on a business] 20 times a day.” If they're unsuccessful, Gillmore hears about it. “I've received phone calls at 4 a.m. if someone can't get in to look at their business,” he said.

An increasing number of Gillmore's customers opt to lease rather than buy their video surveillance equipment, he said. “They future-proof their system and update their technology [for a] smaller initial investment,” Gillmore said. “I think leasing is the only way to do it, but we're happy to do it either way.”