Atlas acquires Ozark in Springfield consolidation

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.--In a move that strengthens its commercial base, Atlas Security acquired Ozark Protection in July. "It's a nice company, not real large, but it has 80 percent commercial accounts," said Jim Wade, president of Atlas. "It's good for us. Given our market, we don't get a lot of opportunities for acquisitions right here in our own backyard." Wade is pleased with the quality of the accounts, which include several large accounts, including multi-location retail accounts. Atlas has been in business since 1961. It's a full-service security company that does burg, fire, CCTV, video surveillance and access control. Commercial work accounts for about 65 percent of its business with the rest being residential. Wade's family is entrenched in the security business in this part of the country. His father-in-law, Marvin Britton, who died in 2005, founded both Atlas and panel manufacturer DMP and brother-in-law Rick Britton now owns DMP. Wade's son, Ryan Wade is the IS manager at Atlas. Atlas does work within a 100-mile radius of this office, "in the four-state region" of Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas. It has a UL-listed central station and monitors about 9,000 accounts. The Ozark acquisition adds another 400 accounts to that total. The acquisition also adds one technician to Atlas's staff of 43. Another technician will come in handy, Wade said, as the company is "extremely busy getting bids and quotes out to [residential care facilities for fire alarm systems] and preparing to install the systems [already contracted]." The rush is the result of state legislation that mandated updated fire alarm systems to be installed in these homes by the end of 2008, Wade said.