Protection 1 buys Cam Connections

LAKELAND, Fla.—Protection 1 announced today that it is buying Cam Connections, (CCI) a full-service integrator based here. The acquisition comes in the midst of Protection 1 being acquired by Apollo Global Management, but it's still closing deals on its own.

"While CCI serves a number of different industries, they are particularly strong in the retail segment and providing integrated high-end solutions," Protection 1 CMO Jamie Haenggi told Security Systems News in an email interview.

CCI President and CEO Robert Bull will remain with Protection 1 as VP-CCI, a division of Protection 1. CCI was founded in 1998 and has 60 employees. In addition to its headquarters here, it has offices in Davie, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C. It is licensed to work in Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

CCI's web site says its security and loss-prevention customers include “hundreds of America's leading businesses and government agencies." Haenggi said she could not disclose customer names because of NDAs but said it is "safe to say that some of the customers include leading grocery store chains and high-end department stores along with government agencies."

CCI's capabilities include life safety systems, access control, CCTV and video analytics, and POS monitoring.

Haenggi said CCI has done video monitoring in the past and Protection 1 looks forward to getting CCI up on the Protection 1 platform.

"CCI brings a history of listening to their customers and designing solutions that meet their specific needs, going beyond proposing canned systems," she said. "Similar to our other acquisitions such as Suntera, Integration Logistics and Camtronics, CCI adds a nice complimentary skill set that further enhances Protection 1 in the market place," Haenggi said. Most important, however, "CCI has the same dedication to serving their customers as Protection 1. They understand the importance of customer service and the impact it plays on keeping the customer," she said.

Apollo Global Management, one of the largest private equity firms in the world, in May announced it plans to acquire and combine Protection 1 and ASG Security. The deal is expected to close in July.