Pelco's Meyer looks ahead

CLOVIS, Calif.--As he deliberated on his decision to exit the access control business, Pelco CEO and president Dean Meyer was forced to examine both his own operations and the economy at large. In so doing, he saw the need to tighten Pelco's focus on its core offerings and transmit a message, both internally and externally, that the company is in good financial shape and excited about a suite of new (often IP-based) offerings.

Meyer said Pelco's global nature will help it weather the economy better than others, since “not all markets are impacted in the same way,” but he said Pelco was also simply working from a financially secure position.

“I won't speculate on our competitors,” Meyer said, “but I think the economy will create some separation. Some will handle difficult times better than others. I think it might result in some consolidations, or, depending on how bad things get, there might be some who say, 'This just doesn't make sense anymore.'

“I think it will streamline the industry before all is said and done.”

Meyer emphasized that even though Pelco is closing the access line, “We won't hesitate, we don't hesitate, to invest in technology and sales growth ... We're very excited about the breadth of the offerings we're going to come out with, the breadth of the IP camera offerings. I don't think it's me speaking out of school, but we haven't necessarily been leading that aspect of the market. But we'll be right up there leading with the rest of them come ISC West, and that is very much our excitement for 2009.”