Stanley remolds the HSM brand

LAS VEGAS-Roughly a year after the acquisition of HSM Electronic Protection Services, Stanley Works has combined its Stanley Systems Integration unit with HSM to create Stanley Convergent Security Solutions, to be headed by president Brett Bontrager and former HSM national accounts chief Tony Byerly, as chief operating officer. However, the HSM name won't completely disappear, as the HSM National Account Program will remain as a branded entity within Stanley CSS. "We actually did some market surveys and customer focus groups to identify the strength of the HSM and Stanley brands," said Byerly, on the ISC West show floor. "Stanley has some of the best brand recognition, both inside and outside the industry, and that's going to be very strong for us in the commercial/industrial space especially. At the same time, HSM played very strong in the national accounts program, which continues to grow exponentially, so HSM was well recognized by that set of buyers. So, Stanley is going to be the primary entity, and HSM is going to be the offering within the Stanley brand ... HSM will be very prominent at ASIS. You'll still see it." While the Stanley name has unquestionably opened more doors for his sales people, said Byerly, HSM has had a noticeable effect on Stanley as well, said Bontrager. "We were open last year that were going to do a reverse integration, and put the legacy Stanley Systems Integration business on the HSM platform, from systems to processes, and what we've been able to see is a dramatic improvement in service to our customers." ssn