ISS expands into Carolinas

MIAMI—Propelled by a major job with a financial services provider, Integrated Security Systems recently expanded into North and South Carolina.

“We have technicians and management in place in the Carolinas,” ISS CEO Jeffrey Nunberg told Security Systems News. “ISS is fully staffed and provides a full suite of security and life-safety systems design and service. … We have complete coverage in Florida and the Carolinas.”

ISS will be opening an office in the Carolinas, likely in the Charlotte region in the near future, and “could end up with multiple offices up there,” Nunberg said.

In business since 1962, ISS is a PSA Security owner, that does CCTV, fire, access, and life safety and mass notification systems. It specializes in design-build projects and has in-house engineering, consultation, AutoCAD, construction and service departments.

With 60 employees and 2011 revenues of more than $10 million, Nunberg said: “we're having our best year in over 30 years.”

ISS previously had multiple offices in Florida, but closed those offices when the construction market collapsed in 2008. “About 70 percent of our revenue came from new construction [before 2008] and that turned off like a tap,” Nunberg said. ISS closed its sales offices but retained employees around the state who work remotely. “We spent the next two years rebuilding the business and working more consultatively with end users,” he explained.

ISS landed jobs in the pharmaceutical manufacturing, utilities, health care and financial services vertical and a large fire job for the Marlins baseball stadium. “In the fourth quarter of 2010, we started operating in the black again, and that growth carried over into 2011. We grew 40 percent last year,” Nunberg said.

ISS was hired by an electric utility for a multi-year project to upgrade its analog cameras to IP, many with analytics. “In 2010 we did about 60 percent of their work, now we do about 98 percent of their work,” he said. The utility has about 1,000 unmanned substations and copper theft is a problem. ISS is installing thousands of cameras and Nunberg said the VideoIQ product is working well for that.

The financial services project in the Carolinas involved updating 200 locations that have legacy burglar alarm systems to new DMP systems. “It's a complete overhaul, a 100 percent redo,” he said. The corporate sites will have their access control systems converted to a Lenel platform. That platform will be integrated to 1,000-plus locations, he said.
That job will be completed in the next six months, but maintenance and service will be ongoing. “My goal is to get a smooth operation moving for this client, and then to grow that territory,” he said.