Doyle seeks density in upstate N.Y.

PALM BEACH, Fla.--Doyle Security was one of several companies with representatives here at the Barnes Buchanan Conference that, while conscious of the economic slowdown, is flush with capital and ready to acquire the right company in 2009.

“I've stopped watching CNN. I think [all the bad news] is just dramatized to the nth degree,” said John Doyle, CEO of Doyle Security. Doyle represents the fourth generation to run Doyle Security, which was founded by his great grandfather in 1919. Based in Rochester, N.Y., the company has offices in Buffalo and Syracuse and Erie, Pa.

“We're located in this 200-mile corridor in western New York. We provide wholesale monitoring beyond that area, but 98 percent of our RMR is within 60 miles of our branches,” he said.

Doyle has $544,000 in RMR and $10 million in annual revenue. Of that RMR, $515,000 comes from retail monitoring and $29,000 from wholesale. Doyle's residential business accounts for 61 percent of his RMR, his commercial business represents 32 percent, and wholesale monitoring makes up seven percent. Doyle also runs a safe and lock division. It has 90 employees.

Doyle has experienced steady growth over the past 20 years and has expertise in CCTV, access, PERS (a business Doyle said he really likes) and fire. He doesn't do any large systems integration. He said Doyle tried it for a while, but it wasn't a good fit for his business.

Doyle said he's got a very dense market share in Rochester: “We're looking to raise our other markets to that level and are looking for strategic acquisitions to bring up that density. We've got great name recognition in Rochester. A lot of people there think we're a national company.”