UTC consolidates integration biz

LAS VEGAS--UTC Fire & Security celebrated here, on the floor of ASIS International, the one-year anniversary of its purchase of integrator Red Hawk Industries by consolidating all of its U.S. integration business under the Red Hawk brand. UTC's legacy Chubb brand, and Initial Electronics, purchased earlier this year from Rentokil Initial as part of the Initial Electronic Security Group, will no longer be market-facing brands in the United States. In Canada, all of UTC's integration business will be consolidated under the Chubb brand. "At UTC Fire & Security, we're being a lot more active in putting forward our brand," said Antonio Cintra, president of Security Services Americas at UTCFS. "When we bought Red Hawk, we did it with the intention of consolidating all of our integration business under the Red Hawk brand ... They have a very strong brand in the banking segment," and he said UTCFS is actively replicating the Red Hawk business model in other verticals. In addition to the brand roll-out, Cintra said UTCFS is making a "multimillion-dollar" investment in back office support for Red Hawk, including a common North American IT platform, and front-office sales efforts, including a sales force automation tool. Further, all technicians will now be equipped with handheld devices that will enable them to respond to customers in more efficient ways. Cintra emphasized Red Hawk's reputation for customer service, claiming 99 percent customer retention, "something we're really proud of and looking to replicate in other verticals." Cintra also noted that Red Hawk is not done growing. UTCFS most recently acquired Crow Security, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in June of this year, and "we're continuously looking for the right expansion opportunity," Cintra said. "We feel opportunities exist in the Sun Belt states, we continue to look at Florida, basically anywhere that the Baby Boomers are moving as they get older." He said UTCFS evaluates companies based on their geographic location, but also a culture and business model based on the delivery of services to customers. He noted Red Hawk generates approximately 30 percent of its revenue through recurring service revenues. "When people talk about RMR," Cintra said, "that's not just monitoring, though that's a big piece of it and Counterforce will keep their brand and continue to provide monitoring services. But service is also about response time, delivery capability, providing the right level of support, and getting the right technician to the right job, beyond just being able to monitor facilities." Former Red Hawk president Greg Johnson, who remained with UTCFS as general manager of Security Services Americas Commercial U.S., has now left the company to pursue other interests outside of the security industry.