Merger in Maryland

BALTIMORE, Md.--After being "friendly competitors" for many years, Homesafe Security and Questron have decided to merge and will be managed by new parent company HS Technology Group.

Merging the companies had been informally discussed for a couple of years, said Stuart Forchheimer, president of Homesafe and HS Technology group.

Both companies offer cabling, security, audio, video and low-voltage services to residential and commercial customers. However, Homesafe's client base is about 80 percent residential, while Questron's is heavily commercial.

For Homesafe, the merger is a good deal "because it brings 6,000-plus commercial accounts to the table. It's a new revenue stream, and Questron has already established strong relationships with these contacts," Forchheimer said. "In addition to their commercial base, they also have a new construction division, which is a good fit with Homesafe's builder division." Overall, HS Technology will have more prospects to "call on and hopefully add on services that the client didn't purchase when they originally built their home ... there are a lot of good little pieces to this deal that fit together nicely," he added.

George Hall, president of Questron, said, "in these times, this merger will strengthen us even more."

"It will expand our footprint, add experienced technical and management staff and reduce some of the soft costs involved in operating both of the businesses," Forchheimer said. Homesafe's business extended to Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. That territory now includes Delaware, West Virginia and DC.

"It expands our footprint, adds technical and management staff and reduces the overlying cost involved in operating both of the businesses," Forcheimer said. "In a sense, we can have our cake and eat it, too."

Each company will retain its brand, but employees will be cross-trained and both companies will be housed in the HS Technology Group headquarters here.