Raefield: Mace CSSS to 'lead the pack' with product+service strategy

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.—Mace Security International is ready to expand the role of what a security company can do for its dealers. According to Mace CEO Dennis Raefield, three new hires, the acquisition of the manufacturer's own central station, and the development of a new dealer program will position Mace well for the future of the industry, a future based on next-generation services like remote video and access control.

While recently hired Mace CSSS management staff is working on a definitive dealer program and software/hardware innovations, such as DVRs that automatically configure and integrate with the video monitoring component of the Mace CSSS platform, the company is already looking for another acquisition.“We will acquire in two ways. We will eventually acquire a second, redundant site. And then we will also look for quality accounts, acquisitions or central stations that want to retire,” Raefield said.

In May, Mace announced three high-profile new hires, following on the February announcement that it had acquired Anaheim, Calif.-based third-party monitoring center CSSS. Peter Giacalone was announced as Mace Security Services president on May 12, Morgan Hertel as Mace CSSS' new director of operations on May 14, and Don Taylor was named Mace Security International's new VP of marketing on May 19.

According to Raefield, all three bring valuable knowledge and experience to the table and represent the execution of Mace's plans to be an industry leader. “We're using Peter for two different roles. Since we decided to enter the services business, one is to manage the overall strategy of Mace CSSS, and the other is to establish a dealer program for Mace Security products dealers … There aren't many people who have the unique dual experience in both dealer programs and central stations.”

Further, “Morgan is probably the leading central station manager with understanding of these next-generation services,” Raefield said. “He's been pushing for this stuff for his entire career.”

Don Taylor, who took over duties for Eduardo Nieves on May 29, “has this tremendous background in video, as well as dealing with dealers. So we feel like this will be the third leg of the stool,” Raefield said.

Hertel stressed that Mace's double-threat approach of product-plus-service will make Mace CSSS an industry leader. “This is much bigger than Mace getting into monitoring … If a manufacturer is able to come together with a service proposition, along with their hardware and deliver it to dealers of every type—traditional, nontraditional, integrators, IT companies—and give them something that's turnkey, it's really going to accelerate success,” Hertel said. “There's so many good technologies, and so much good service, but the problem is that it doesn't come together all that well … now that you have it all coming from one place, that's pretty big.”

Giacalone agreed. “There's so much you're going to hear going forward from this organization … By bringing a new level of technical sophistication and a new level of management sophistication, and a manufacturer who actually owns them, it's just really going to be a great catalyst for that next step of really making a difference,” Giacalone said “We have control of the manufacturing and development process of the back end, we should be able, with some focus and work, to move pretty quickly toward leading the pack.”

Raefield said he was optimistic about Mace CSSS' potential to change the industry. “This is the execution of the strategy we announced last November, to mix products and services for our dealer base. Now we've done it,” Raefield said. “It's a different tack. We'll know in a year if it was a good strategy.”