TMA Member Vector Security Raleigh, NC Branch Partners with Susan G. Komen to Support ‘Securing the Cure’ Program

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Vector Security, Inc., the provider of intelligent mobile security and automation solutions for homes and businesses, announced its partnership with the Susan G. Komen North Carolina Triangle to the Coast Affiliate (Komen NCTC) in support of the “Securing the Cure” program for breast cancer research and education.As part of the year-long partnership, Vector Security will donate $100 to Komen NCTC for each security system sold and installed by the Raleigh Branch mentioning promo code “SGK” during 2018. In addition, Vector Security will award one year of free basic monitoring services to a breast cancer survivor, as nominated by Komen NCTC, as part of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.“Vector Security not only protects the communities we serve, we also give back and support important causes,” said Drew Jones, General Manager of the company’s Raleigh, NC branch. “We are proud to support Komen NCTC in their efforts to promote breast cancer awareness and look forward to a successful partnership.”

“We are thrilled Vector Security has joined our local fight against breast cancer,” said Pam Kohl, Executive Director of Komen NCTC. “Donations made through the ‘Securing the Cure’ program will support community health grants across Central and Eastern North Carolina as well as contribute to Komen’s National Research Program, which provides funding for cutting-edge breast cancer research across the country. We are thankful to have partners like Vector Security, who enable us to work toward achieving our Bold Goal of reducing breast cancer mortality by 50% in the U.S. by 2026.”

A dedicated webpage has been set up at www.vectorsecurity.com/SGK for more information. Those interested can also contact the Vector Security Raleigh Branch at 919-859-0163 and mention code “SGK.”

Acquisitions

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Brivo Acquires Parakeet

Brivo has acquired Parakeet Technologies, a provider of smart building solutions which include sensors, thermostats, wireless locks and lighting controls. The acquisition — the first in the company’s 20 year history — accelerates Brivo’s ongoing push to enhance its in-building capabilities beyond its current access control, video and security.

 

Per Mar & Midwest Alarm Services Expand in Nebraska

Per Mar Security Service, parent company to Midwest Alarm Services, is pleased to announce it has acquired GT Fire & Security based in Grand Island, NE.

Kevin Dunbar Takes Sole Ownership of Dunbar Security Solutions, Products Businesses

Dunbar Security Solutions (DSS) and Dunbar Security Products (DSP) jointly announce that President and CEO Kevin Dunbar is now the sole owner of both companies. Both businesses are headquartered in Hunt Valley, Md., and together employ more than 325 people.

ADT Buys Alliant Integrators

ADT has acquired Louisville, Ky.-based Alliant Integrators, which will be folded into its commercial integration business. The full-service provider Alliant Integrators is among the largest systems integrators serving the Kentucky and Southern Indiana region.

Securitas Electronic Security Purchases Customer Contracts of iVerify

Securitas Electronic Security (SES) announces the acquisition of customer contracts and certain select assets of iVerify. The acquisition supports SES’s strategy of building its electronic security business in North America.

Giving Back

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COPS Monitoring Donates Laptops to Help Reunite Quarantined Veterans with Their Families and Loved Ones

COPS Monitoring donated laptops to the Veterans Memorial Home, in Vineland, NJ, giving its residents the ability to connect with loved ones during the necessary quarantines imposed by COVID-19.

ADT Releases FREE Mobile Safety App

ADT SoSecure is a free mobile safety app that allows people to silently request help from first responders. In most jurisdictions, it’s impossible to text to 911. With ADT SoSecure, users can discretely push a panic button on their phone and text back and forth with ADT’s alarm monitoring staff, who can send police, fire, or EMS to their location.

Per Mar Security Services Awards Academic Scholarships

Per Mar Security Services announced it has awarded twenty-one, $500 scholarship awards for the 2019-2020 academic year. Each year, children of Per Mar or Midwest Alarm Services employees can apply for scholarships to be used towards higher education.

DICE Corp. Offers Free PBX Call Forwarding for Central Stations, Dealers, and Proprietary Monitoring Centers Working Remotely

DICE Corporation is offering four months of free PBX call forwarding for the alarm and security industry as part of the company’s support efforts during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. This offer is available to any central stations, dealers, and proprietary monitoring centers at no cost.

Stanley Security Donation to Help Replace Fallen K-9 Police Officer

The systems integrator presented the police department in Fishers, Ind., with a $10,000 contribution in honor of a fallen police dog. Harlej, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, was shot and killed in November while chasing a suspect through a field in Fishers. His handler, Fishers Patrolman Jarred Koopman was not injured. Over the course of his career, Harlej was deployed more than 560 times and helped remove drugs and guns from Fishers’ streets.

Brinks 5K Benefits Mission 500 and Community

Every year, the Brinks 5K attracts sponsors from across the nation to contribute to Mission 500.  Runners, walkers, and Brinks employees participate in the event, raising thousands of dollars for the foundation.

Honeywell Converts Facilities to Produce Hand Sanitizer during COVID-19 Pandemic

Honeywell temporarily shifted its manufacturing operations at two chemical manufacturing facilities to produce and donate hand sanitizer to government agencies in response to shortages created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Honeywell also recently converted several manufacturing plants that typically make safety glasses and face shields to also produce N95 masks, which are in short supply during the coronavirus outbreak.

Vector Security Networks Awards More than $20,000 in Scholarships

Vector Security Networks announced the recipients of its 2020 Loss Prevention Foundation (LPF) scholarships, which provide financial support to loss prevention professionals seeking to obtain Loss Prevention Qualified (LPQ) and Loss Prevention Certified (LPC) certifications.

Vector Security Donates Meals to Lancaster Emergency Medical Services Association (LEMSA) 

As a show of appreciation for Lancaster Emergency Medical Services Association (LEMSA), Vector Security, Inc. donated meals to feed approximately 80 employees, including members from two platoons as well as administrative staff.

Genesis Security Services, Inc. Aids Victims of Puerto Rican Earthquake

Earthquakes in Puerto Rico have destroyed homes, businesses, churches, and other important infrastructure. In response, Genesis Security organized several events to provide aid to the people in in the Municipio de Guayanilla in the southern area of Puerto Rico. Genesis joined local volunteers to provide food, first-aid articles, toiletries, camp beds and other items. Genesis is very proud of the efforts by the company and its employees who also personally donated items and volunteered in the effort.

Awards

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ADT Receives Corporate Social Responsibility Award from Mission 500
With a dedicated week of service and many events throughout the course of the year, including Seasons of Service events around the holidays, ADT provides numerous opportunities for its employees to participate in community service. At the company’s corporate headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., employees assembled 1,000 Care Kits for veterans and donated over 15,000 pounds of food as part of a food drive in November. Also in 2019, ADT contributed $40,000 to the National Volunteer Fire Council and several volunteer departments to raise awareness and recruit more volunteer firefighters across America.

Alarm.com Wins Customer Service Award
Alarm.com has won a 2020 Excellence in Customer Service Award in the Organization of the Year category from the Business Intelligence Group. The Alarm.com customer operations team, known as CORE (Customer Operations and Reseller Education), earned the recognition by delivering excellent customer service, technical support and training to thousands of service providers in the security industry every day.

CPI Security Named SDM 2019 Dealer of the Year
Congratulations to CPI Security, Charlotte, NC, for winning SDM magazine’s Dealer of the Year. This isn’t the first time CPI was named SDM Dealer of the Year: Their first award was in 2000, just nine years after the company’s official founding. 

Altronix eBridge800E EoC 8 Port Receiver named one of Top Network Devices
The eBridge800E EoC 8 Port Receiver was named one of ASMAG.com’s Security Buyers’ Choice Awards in February 2020. The receiver offers customers a convenient way to upgrade their existing coax systems to IP devices by integrating a PoE+ switch and an FOC Receiver. Embedded LINQ Technology allows remote monitoring of power and diagnostics.

SIAC’s Glen Mowrey Receives NCACP Award
The North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police (NCACP) honored SIAC’s (Security Industry Alarm Coalition) Glen Mowrey with their Outstanding Partnership Award. In addition to his role with SIAC, Mowrey is a retired Deputy Police Chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. This award, presented at NCACP’s annual training conference, is awarded to those who assist the association and has a great impact on advancing the law enforcement industry.

AICC Chair Receives RCA Fellow Designation
Lou T. Fiore , long-time chair of TMA’s Alarm Industry Communications Committee, became of a fellow of RCA in Nov. 2019.

Habitec Security Named a Toledo Top Workplace for Fourth Year
Habitec Security, ranked No. 52 on the SDM 100, was selected as one of The Blade’s Toledo, Ohio Top Workplaces for the fourth time. The Top Workplace recognition is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third party survey administered by research partner Energage LLC, a provider of technology-based employee engagement tools. The anonymous survey measures several aspects of workplace culture, including alignment, execution and connection.

Products and Technology

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CHeKT Released Its Bridge Firmware 2.6.0
Firmware versions 2.6.x and higher enable support for video analytics events. The Bridge will convert these camera analytics events into a Contact ID alarm code and a video event for the alarm monitoring center, giving integrators a solution to create a real-time response to camera analytics. With the Bridge attached to an intrusion panel, you can expanded zone detection to include cameras with analytics and allow the Bridge to deliver the alarm and video information directly into your central station.

OpenEye, Interface Security Systems Partner for Remote Video Surveillance Solution
The strategic partnership will combine Interface’s interactive monitoring service with OpenEye’s web services platform (OWS) to deliver a remote video surveillance solution with Cloud video management to retailers, restaurants and distributed enterprises.

OpenEye Offers New Compact Plug ‘n Play Recorder Series
OpenEye introduced a new compact 1U cloud-managed recorder with a built-in PoE switch. OE-MD Series recorders are an NDAA compliant, low profile, all-in-one IP recording solution perfect for users looking for a plug n’ play IP recording solution compact and quiet enough to fit virtually anywhere.

OpenEye Releases Web-based Fisheye Camera Dewarping and New Integrations
OpenEye announced the release of the Winter 2020 OpenEye Web Services (OWS) update v2.1. The latest update includes updated web-based 360° camera dewarping, Search in Live, improved System Reports, two-way audio in mobile, and other updates to make finding video and managing the system easier.

DMP Introduces System Panics From Virtual Keypad™
DMP users can now use Virtual Keypad if they ever need to trigger a system panic. The app, as well as VirtualKeypad.com can display Police, Emergency and Fire panics in the menu. Dealers just need to add it to their customers’ app user in Dealer Admin™.

DMP to Release FirstNet Alarm Communication Radios
DMP will release a line of FirstNet-certified and compatible alarm communication radios in the spring that will work directly with AT&T FirstNet. With the new communicator, DMP XR and XT Series panels are the first to be available for use on FirstNet.

New Marks USA 2020 Custom Architectural Locking Catalog
Marks USA, a division of NAPCO Security Technologies, announces the release of their new 2020 Custom Lockset Catalog. The new catalog includes over 250 Marks USA custom levers, knobs & escutcheons, standard and custom design decorative locksets.

New StarLink Cellular Solutions Full Line Brochure
Napco Security Technologies, Inc. introduced a new full-line brochure on its class-leading StarLink® Cellular Solutions for commercial fire, connected business/home and intrusion alarm applications.
Downloadable online, the new brochure contains specs and ordering info. on all StarLink models & accessories.

Alarm Lock Wireless Networx Locks Certified for Lenel Version 7.6 OnGuard® Access Control & Video Platform
Alarm Lock, a division of Napco Security Technologies, Inc., announced that its Trilogy Networx® Wireless PIN and Prox Access Locks & Keypads are now certified with Lenel Version 7.6 OnGuard® Integrated Access Control & Video Security Platform.

Michael Randone Joins Per Mar as Key Account Manager
Per Mar Security Services is pleased to announce Michael Randone has joined the company as key account manager. Michael brings with him 30+ years of sales, technology and executive management experience. In his variety of roles, client management and strategic business development has been at the forefront of his client centric efforts.

Per Mar Names Two New Sales Managers
Per Mar Security Services is pleased to announce it has promoted Tim Newcomb to sales manager for its Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids branches. Newcomb will be responsible for managing and growing Per Mar’s Electronic Security Division in the Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids markets. In addition, the company has hired Frank Damit as Sales Manager for its Madison, WI and Rockford, IL branches. Damit will be responsible for managing and growing the Electronic Security Division in the Madison and Rockford markets.

TMA Members Named Security Systems News’ Top 40 Under 40
Congratulations to TMA members who made SSN’s Top 40 Under 40 – Class of 2019: Matthew Brandon, AvantGuard Monitoring Centers LLC; Jordan Dice, IPtelX; Juergen Henry, COPS Monitoring; Anthony Iannone, Affiliated Monitoring; Nicole Kenny, Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS); and, Laura Penrod, Cooperative Response Center (CRC)

Clare Hires Industry Veteran Gene Marks
Clare is excited to announce Gene Marks, a leading security industry veteran who has joined the Clare team as Vice President of Sales. He will provide his expertise and facilitate the launch of the ClareOne Wireless Security and Smart Home Panel and security sensor line, as well as a new camera line later this year. Gene brings with him a wealth of knowledge and over 35 years of professional experience within the security industry. He served most recently as the Business Development Manager at Nortek Security & Control which owns brands such as 2GIG, Linear, GoControl, and others.

Bold Group Announces New Vice President of Implementation and Project Management
Bold Group announces the addition of Greg Polley to its executive team as Vice President of Implementation and Project Management. Polley spent over eight years as President of Frase Protection, the largest privately held security systems dealer in Memphis, Tenn.

 

People

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Stanley Security Names Kara Pelecky as Chief Information Officer
Pelecky, who joined the company on March 2nd, will be responsible for the strategic vision, leadership and ongoing implementation of the system integrator’s information technology initiatives. She brings to the company more than 20 years of experience as a highly accomplished technology executive and business transformation specialist.

Stanley Security Appoints Chadi Chahine as Chief Financial Officer
With over 22 years of experience as a global market financial executive, Chahine will be responsible for helping accelerate short- and long-term business objectives while also ensuring strategic financial decisions and initiatives operate with excellence. He previously held roles with a variety of companies including Abbott and Smith & Nephew.

SnapAV Appoints Jana Sherer as Business Development Manager for the Security Market
As the former National Account Director for Interlogix and Distribution Channel Manager for Milestone Systems, Sherer brings a wealth of experience in growth strategy and execution of national market programs for the security channel. In her new role, Sherer will help SnapAV develop and implement initiatives to help the company better serve security integrators.

King III emergency Communications New Emergency Dispatch Center Director
King III is pleased to have Michelle Lindus join the company as Emergency Dispatch Center Director. Having spent the last 16 years in Emergency Dispatch Operations with Vivint Smart Home, Lindus has a reputation for resolving problems, improving customer and employee satisfaction, as well as driving overall operational improvements.  In 2016 she won the prestigious Central Station Manager of the Year and in 2012 her central station won the coveted Central Station of the Year award.

DICE Corporation Welcomes Executive Vice President Avi Lupo
DICE Corporation is proud to announce and welcome Avi Lupo as the company’s Executive Vice President. Lupo will play a leading role in the company, contributing to high-level organizational decisions, product development and new business opportunities. He will also be integral in establishing new sales and marketing expansion strategies for the company’s growing cloud video recording technology, CloudEye.

Continental Access Adds New Regional Sales Manager to Support Midwest Integrators
Continental Access, a division of NAPCO Security Technologies, hired new Midwest Regional Sales Manager, Rob Etmans. Rob comes to Continental after years of working for one of Continental’s integration partners in the Wisconsin area, and as such has real-world, solid experience selling, installing and servicing Continental products.

COPS Monitoring Promotes Juergen Henry to Assistant VP of Operations
As Assistant Vice President of Operations, Juergen’s primary role will be to provide direction and individualized support to the operations managers at each of COPS’ six locations to ensure continued commitment to the high standards that has made COPS Monitoring a leader in its field. Juergen began his security industry career 10 years ago in an entry-level position in COPS’ Florida monitoring center.

COPS Announces Promotions to Strengthen Accounting, Finance Teams
COPS announces the promotions of Michele Beckett to vice president of accounting and Nicole Black to vice president of finance. Michele Beckett is a graduate of Rutgers State University, Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and recently celebrated 10 years at COPS Monitoring. Nicole Black graduated from Shippensburg University and began her career in public accounting at KPMG, LLP, a Big Four accounting firm. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and has also earned the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification.

Resideo Hires Jay Geldmacher as New President, CEO
Resideo Technologies announced that the company has appointed Jay Geldmacher as president and CEO, and a member of the board of directors. As a 30-year industry veteran, Geldmacher brings experience leading a complex industrial and technology spinout, Artesyn Embedded Technologies. Most recently, Geldmacher was president and CEO of Electro Rent Corp., a leader in testing and technology solutions.

 

Industry Associations’ Joint Survey Results Reveal COVID’s Impact

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In the last few weeks, TMA joined with ESA and SIA to conduct a nationwide survey of members in order to better gauge the impact COVID-19 has had on electronic security and life safety businesses. This survey confirms the electronic security and life safety is being negatively impacted despite its role as an essential service in our economy.

Quick Figures:

  • 21-30% loss of revenue is the median reported for all respondents
  • Less than 4% of respondents were denied the “essential service” label in their jurisdictions
  • 31-40% denial of access to job sites for service/testing/inspections/maintenance was the median for residential integrators, compared to 21-30% for commercial integrators

A cross-section of the industry represented itself in the responses as follows:

Market Segments Responses
Residential Integration 27%
Commercial Integration 49%
Monitoring Center 11%
Manufacturer 41%
Distributor 11%
Manufacturer Representative 5.7%
Individual/Specifier/Consultant 19%
Other Security Solution Provider 19%

Impact on the Industry Overall

Across the country and in every vertical, our industry is experiencing negative effects on revenues from state and local executive orders for residents to practice social distancing. Survey respondents reported a median loss of revenue between 21 and 30% due to the executive orders. More than 60% of respondents reported losing this much or more of their revenue.

While most companies are experiencing declining revenues, some are impacted more than others; about one in five respondents reported a loss of more than half their company’s revenue.

Although revenues have dropped, most companies are not hindered from doing business due to “shelter-in-place” and business closure orders. Less than 4% of survey respondents reported that their businesses were denied access as an “essential service” in their jurisdictions.

More than 56% of respondents reported having to reduce hours or layoff less than 10% of their employees. On the other end of the scale, 13% of all respondents were forced to reduce hours, furlough or layoff more than 90% of their employees. Less than 4% of survey respondents reported that their businesses were denied access as an “essential service” in their jurisdictions.

Impact on Residential and Commercial Integrators

The median reported revenue loss due to COVID for residential and commercial integrators was 21-30%. The majority of integrators – more than 70% – lost less than half of their revenue.

The denial of access seems to contribute to income loss for most integrators, as more than 80% report some level of interrupted access.

Some business owners might wonder which verticals are faring better than others, as many companies have already pivoted into the commercial space. According to the survey results, the differences are significant but not as drastic as you might expect. The median loss of revenue reported by residential integrators was 31-40%, while the median loss of revenue reported by commercial integrators was 21-30%.

The reported levels for denial of access to job sites for service/testing/inspections/maintenance in each segment correlate with these figures, with residential integrators reporting a median denial rate of 31-40% while the median denial rate for commercial integrators was 21-30%.

Survey responses confirm the observation many have already made: gaining access to residential customers’ homes has been more difficult during this time than access to commercial properties, many of which are unoccupied due to social distancing measures. This could contribute to lower demand for residential services during the pandemic.

When asked how industry associations could continue to help businesses weather this storm, respondents most frequently expressed their desire for opportunities to connect and continued updates on the latest information related to winning business strategies, economic assistance and industry trends.

Visit TMA’s COVID-19 Resource Center. We encourage regular review of the resources we offer, and we will continue to keep members informed on all the latest developments that impact your business.

UL Seeks Feedback on Revised Guidelines

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On March 16th, in response to a request from TMA, UL published a statement on Monitoring Station Certifications and continued operations as communities work to contain the impact of COVID-19. An initial set of guidelines for virtual workplaces was included for stations considering at-home operators as part of their contingency planning.

Since then, it’s become clear that health risk mitigation measures will likely be required for longer than any of us had anticipated. UL now seeks feedback  from industry stakeholders that rely on UL Certifications as part of their own risk management programs to review the updated Guideline revisions, which are intended to better define virtual workplace security measures.

Review the revised draft of Virtual Workplace Guidelines that incorporate these initial suggestions. Because this version of the Guidelines is more technically specific than the original, UL would welcome industry feedback prior to publication.

Please send any input you may have directly to Steve Schmit, Senior Staff Engineer, UL.

Steve will also discuss the revised Guidelines and UL’s direction in the COVID environment during TMA’s Virtual Town Hall on Monday, April 20th.

TMA Members Named SSI’s SAMMY Award Winners

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Security Sales & Integration announced the winners of its 2020 Sales and Marketing Awards (SAMMYs). The SAMMY Awards program, now in its 25th year, is the only one of its kind in the security industry to recognize and honor dealers and integrators for their marketing, business, installation, and overall excellence.

Typically hosted as a gala affair on the eve of ISC West in Las Vegas, the coronavirus outbreak forced ISC West 2020 to be postponed, moving the SAMMYs to the safe confines of the Internet.

Please join in congratulating the TMA members who won a 2020 SAMMY Award are:

Best Website Design
AvantGuard
Ogden, Utah

Best Promotional Giveaway Item
Wayne Alarm Systems
Lynn, Mass.

Best Promotional Video or Audio
Guardian Protection Services
Pittsburgh

Best Sales Brochure
Acadian Total Security
Lafayette, La.

Best Display Advertisement (Print or Electronic)
Acadian Total Security
Lafayette, La.

Best Overall Integrated Marketing Program Large Company
STANLEY Security
Fishers, Ind.

Installer of the Year (Large Company)
Vector Security
Pittsburgh

Integrated Installation of the Year (Large Company)
ADT
Romeoville, Ill.

Attend TMA’s Weekly Virtual Town Hall Meetings

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To date, TMA has hosted two Virtual Town Hall meetings and we have an additional four scheduled. Attendance has been high and the interaction between members and key subject matter experts has been open and compelling, as we had hoped.
 
We will be hosting meetings at 11:00AM [ET] on each Monday of April [6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th). We may extend the schedule based on member needs.
 
Due to the outstanding support we’ve received for these meetings, and some concerns over the bandwidth and security of the Zoom platform, we have decided to present all future meetings on GoToWebinar.
  • If you have already registered for future meetings, you don’t need to do anything. TMA staff is transferring all current registrations to the new platform and you will receive a new confirmation with login instructions from GoToWebinar shortly.
  • If you have not registered, and would like to take part in our future Virtual Town Hall meetings, please register online.