Minnesota integrator expands westward

Minnesota systems integrator Identisys, which in June acquired the ID division of Claritus, is moving forward with its stated plan to expand geographically. Yesterday, Identisys announced that it's  acquiring the Identification, Security and Presentation divisions of Mountainland Business Systems. Mountainland Business Systems is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and has additional offices in Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Montana and Wyoming.

I will have more on this deal after I interview Deb Ferril, president and COO of IdentiSys, on Thursday, but MIchael Shield, founder and CEO of Identisys, said in a prepared statement: "Our strategy in this case, targeted expansion further west of our headquarters in Minnesota. With the addition of the Mountainland Business Systems Divisions, we now offer sales and on‐site services in over 50% of the U.S., including Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.”

IdentiSys is a $40 million company that is privately owned by Shields. It began 13 years ago as an integrator of pure identification systems, but it does full security integration in a variety of vertical markets.

IdentiSys has made 10 acquisitions over the past seven years and this deal is the third acquisition in the past 6 months.

Mountainland's specialty is "providing identification technology solutions including digital photo ID systems, embossed card personalization systems, loyalty or membership card systems, smart card/biometric applications, secure access/access control/CCTV and patient identification solutions to the corporate, government, healthcare, education, membership/loyalty, first responder and emergency management markets in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Montana and Wyoming."