Dallmeier pounces on U.S. market, opens headquarters in Fla.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--Dallmeier, a German video technology company, moved stateside in January to provide customer service and support to its North American client base. Dallmeier entered the U. S. distribution channel in 2001 and worked with a New York distributor to sell products to about 20 integrators in the casino and banking markets. Although it has already developed sales relationships in North America, the company wanted to be closer to assist customers. "Over the years, we figured out that the distance didn't work out so well, and we decided to move ourselves over to the U.S.," said Andy Birchner, vice president of sales. The company, which began in 1984 with headquarters in Germany, expanded internationally over time, reaching countries throughout Europe, Africa and Australia. Birchner said that having a U.S. presence propelled the company in a new direction. An office in the United States will "take better care of the customer base that we have established." It also positions the company with a closer view of the market, as the market strategy is quite different, when compared to the European market, Birchner said. With this in mind, Dallmeier can tailor its product line, which covers a full range of video security from digital video recorders to intelligent systems such as detectors for dedicated motions like abandoned suitcases, to the market. For instance, it partnered with Pixim, of Mountain View, Calif., which produces an imaging system chip for cameras, to roll out a camera line. Birchner said this is a trend that will continue: "We will bring out different specific cameras as add-ons to our systems." As its reach increases to more integrators and end users, the firm ensures that its customers are well versed in and understand its technology by offering technical workshops. The training programs will be held at the Fort Lauderdale office. The Dallmeier team will also go to the installation site. "Very often when you work on large projects, such as a casino you go on site and train the manager of the casino on running the system," he said. A satellite office in Colorado has been set up for a casino accounts manager to work closely with casino clients in the West as well as one in Chicago for the director of sales. Birchner said the company is considering opening an office in Las Vegas with a dedicated showroom for the casino market, followed by an office in the Northeast. "We will establish our contacts through the decision-makers of the market and integrators," he said. " It's also always important to keep relationships with end users, show them new technologies."