Per Mar acquires Olson Security

DAVENPORT, Iowa--As of Oct. 1, Per Mar Security Services will assume the accounts and assets of Olson Security, a relatively small operation serving Maquoketa, Iowa. Owned by husband and wife Buddy and Myrna Olson, the company brings Per Mar roughly 240 commercial accounts and 160 residential accounts. Terms of the deal were not announced. Olson was a true family operation. Buddy had been sheriff in Maquoketa, said Per Mar president and chairman Mike Duffy, "so he kind of did all the business out there." Now, the town 25 miles north of Per Mar's Davenport headquarters is a better opportunity, he said, and "there's lots of opportunities for us to upgrade all the current systems." Also, all the accounts will now be monitored at Per Mar's central station. Previously, the Olsons had been monitoring accounts from their home. "Now they can go out to dinner," joked Duffy. "Whenever they wanted to go out, they had to have another family member come and watch the receiver." Jay Olson, Buddy and Myrna's son, has been with the company 19 years and will stay with Per Mar in the service department. Duffy, who reassumed the presidency of the company following the departure of Bill Jackson to Digital Monitoring Products this past summer, said he will continue in the position for a while. Duffy served as president for 25 years prior to Jackson's hire, so he knows the ropes. "Everyone who reported to Bill worked for us before he came on," Duffy said. "He did some nice things for us in terms of leadership training, and we have a lot of longevity on our staff," so the management team remains strong.