Ohio-based firm expands

CINCINNATI—Shiver Security Systems, with a 6,000-customer footprint in southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky, has moved into a new 14,000-square-foot facility from its previous 8,000-square-foot site, thanks in part to its recent move into the residential market.

A family-owned business for more than 40 years, Shiver Security was strictly focused on commercial business until early this year, Alison Shiver, residential sales and marketing manager, told Security Systems News.

Her father, Chip Shiver, is head of the company. She is third-generation in the business.  The new HQ is about 10 miles from the previous site, Alison Shiver said.

The move into the residential market was instigated by customers, said Shiver, who has been working with her father for 16 years. Commercial customers were asking Shiver Systems to protect their homes, she said.

She decided to go with it.

“I asked my dad about moving into the residential market. We were wanting to sell 30 [residential] units a month. Now we're at 45,” she said. The company's goal is to boost that to 50 new resi accounts per month.

Shiver Security Systems is a Sonitrol dealer commercially, but it uses Honeywell products for its residential customers, Shiver said.

Residential customers tell Shiver that their first priority is cameras, but that they also want home automation features, including thermostats, smart locks and garage doors all controlled by an app, she said.

Shiver Security has its own monitoring center, which is a selling point for the business, Shiver said.

“We are seeing DIY and we are going up against that. But where are you being monitored? Our selling point is the call for service,” she said.

The increase in new home construction is helping, too, she said. She is in touch with builders' associations. “There are tons of homes going up, the market is up. It's incident driven,” she said.

Shiver Security employs 55. Many of its customers have been with the company since its onset, Shiver said.