The old L-1 has morphed into MorphoTrust The biometrics company, acquired by Safran, has been reborn with a new name
By Martha Entwistle
Updated Fri April 6, 2012
BILLERICA, Mass.—L-1 Identity Solutions, acquired last year by international conglomerate Safran, has been reorganized and in February was reintroduced as U.S.-focused MorphoTrust.
MorphoTrust CEO Bob Eckel told Security Systems News that the company expects to have $400 million in revenue this year and has more than 1,100 employees.
L-1, founded by Robert LaPenta, grew by acquiring several biometrics-based companies, beginning in 2005. Since the Safran deal was finalized last August, Eckel has been busy with a major reorganization.
The capabilities of MorphoTrust are essentially the same as L-1. “There are a few things that have been moved around,” Eckel said. But there have been many changes in the organization, he said.
Most notably, Eckel has integrated functions—back office as well as sales, marketing, R&D and engineering—across the company. That was not the case under L-1, he said.
Eckel said L-1 was a corporate entity with three companies, none of which were integrated. In addition, Eckel got rid of the corporate facility in Connecticut; the company is now headquartered here.
“We want to have common sales and marketing …. and financial structure across the entity,” he said.
MorphoTrust is comprised of three business units that provide solutions to customers: Services, ID Solutions, and Enterprise Solutions.
Safran has many divisions and Morpho is the security division. There are several Morpho companies, three of which are in the United States. MorphoTrust “focuses on identity management, credentialing, service centers, biometric and enterprise solutions,” Eckel said. The service centers provide a range of identity-related services for state and federal agencies and commercial entities as well. Those services include fingerprinting and background checks, passport photos, and child ID kits.
MorphoTrust has a contract for TWIC (TSA workers) and plans to assist state motor vehicle agencies in outsourcing certain services.
In addition to its headquarters here, the company has four other locations—in Indiana, New Jersey, Tennessee and Minnesota—and a small office in Washington, D.C.
Deployment locations depend upon the availability of personnel and job location. All designs are done within MorphoTrust, but installation is sometimes contracted to local resources, Eckel explained.
The company also has factories where it produces drivers' licenses for many states, but it does not publicize locations.
The integration is nearly complete. “We are actively operating two sales leaders and three businesses,” Eckel said. “We are continuing to finalize integration of financial systems.” Nine financial systems are being integrated.
“We want to plow the savings [from the reorg] into R&D,” he said.
L-1, founded by Robert LaPenta, grew by acquiring several biometrics-based companies, beginning in 2005. Since the Safran deal was finalized last August, Eckel has been busy with a major reorganization.
The capabilities of MorphoTrust are essentially the same as L-1. “There are a few things that have been moved around,” Eckel said. But there have been many changes in the organization, he said.
Most notably, Eckel has integrated functions—back office as well as sales, marketing, R&D and engineering—across the company. That was not the case under L-1, he said.
Eckel said L-1 was a corporate entity with three companies, none of which were integrated. In addition, Eckel got rid of the corporate facility in Connecticut; the company is now headquartered here.
“We want to have common sales and marketing …. and financial structure across the entity,” he said.
MorphoTrust is comprised of three business units that provide solutions to customers: Services, ID Solutions, and Enterprise Solutions.
Safran has many divisions and Morpho is the security division. There are several Morpho companies, three of which are in the United States. MorphoTrust “focuses on identity management, credentialing, service centers, biometric and enterprise solutions,” Eckel said. The service centers provide a range of identity-related services for state and federal agencies and commercial entities as well. Those services include fingerprinting and background checks, passport photos, and child ID kits.
MorphoTrust has a contract for TWIC (TSA workers) and plans to assist state motor vehicle agencies in outsourcing certain services.
In addition to its headquarters here, the company has four other locations—in Indiana, New Jersey, Tennessee and Minnesota—and a small office in Washington, D.C.
Deployment locations depend upon the availability of personnel and job location. All designs are done within MorphoTrust, but installation is sometimes contracted to local resources, Eckel explained.
The company also has factories where it produces drivers' licenses for many states, but it does not publicize locations.
The integration is nearly complete. “We are actively operating two sales leaders and three businesses,” Eckel said. “We are continuing to finalize integration of financial systems.” Nine financial systems are being integrated.
“We want to plow the savings [from the reorg] into R&D,” he said.
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