It’s signed, sealed and delivered

ST. LAURENT, Quebec—Right on cue, Stanley Works in early March completed its acquisition of systems integrator Frisco Bay, its second purchase of a systems integration company in North America. The $45.3 million transaction provides the well-known tool-maker and hardware manufacturer with a coast-to-coast reach in Canada and little overlap with its Best Access business, a systems integrator it purchased last year. Frisco Bay brings to the table nine locations, 200 employees and $35 million in sales in 2003. The company will now be known as Frisco Bay, a Stanley Security Solutions company. Officials from Stanley Works could not be reached for comment by press time. Barry Katsof, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Frisco Bay, remains with the company as director of business development, while Ron Waxman will take over day-to-day operations in Canada. Now that the merger is completed, Katsof expects to tap into synergistic opportunities. “We can mine each other’s customer base,” he said. “We bring a value proposition to the customer. We sell solutions as opposed to product; now we have more in our array to offer as a global solution.” Part of that global solution offering will come from Frisco Bay’s Intivid business, which provides digital video solutions. Katsof expects Stanley Works will roll out the product through its 30 offices in the United States. Stanley Work’s purchase of Frisco Bay is part of the company’s plan to build its reach in the security solutions business. Including its acquisitions of Blick, Best Access, Frisco Bay and Intivid, the company has created a $650 million business focused on the security market. Four years ago, service accounted for 16 percent of Stanley Works revenue. That number has now increased to 47 percent thanks to its recent investment in the security market and the company’s transformation from a product offering company to a solutions set business. “That’s a very strong statement in the relationships they have with customers over the long haul,” said Katsof. “They’re not selling products; they’re selling solutions.”