Custom Alarm scoops up Premier

ROCHESTER, Minn.-Security and sound company Custom Alarm picked up 450 additional accounts for its central station by buying neighboring firm Premier Alarm & Security. The transaction included all the assets of Premier, such as product inventory, existing installation projects and monitored customers. The purchase price was not released. "The owner just felt it was time that he moved on," said Leigh Johnson, owner and chief executive officer of Custom Alarm/Custom Communications Inc., a full-service, four- location security firm with head-quarters here. For Custom A-larm, the new accounts increase the company's overall customer base in the Rochester, Minneapolis and St. Paul areas, both on the monitoring and service side. Overall the company serves approximately 5,000 customers. Johnson anticipates it will take several months to integrate Premier's customers into his central station since each account's alarm system needs to be inspected. "They're also being monitored by a couple of different wholesale monitoring companies," said Johnson. He expects to complete the project by this spring. Melissa Brinkman, director of business development, said the company plans to tuck in other small acquisitions in the future as they fit in.