Archive: November 2002

BOCA RATON, Fla. - With deeper pockets through its parent organization and a new president at the helm, GE Interlogix's access control division Casi is ramping up its research and development and customer service in a move to increase its market share. The result, said Juan Cabezas, named president of Casi four months ago, will be product that integrates fire and building controls with the company's access control platform. "I want Casi to be thought of more than just in the access control space,"...

BROOMFIELD, Colo. - Less than three months after coming onto the security scene, systems integrator Vizer Group is setting itself apart from other newcomers by offering biometric-based access control systems and digital video surveillance systems. Already, the company is poised to hit the $500,000 sales mark by the end of the year, a feat company officials did not expect to accomplish so soon. "We originally had forecast about $250,000 by the end of the year and it looks like we could possibly...

DAYTON, Ohio - One of the industry's low-profile trade associations that prides itself on training is collaborating with heavyweight Security Industry Association on an alarm technician training course that will be offered online. The National Alarm Association of America, based here, has offered different types of training for the alarm industry since its inception in 1984, including an entry level course for alarm technicians offered both in a home study format and in a classroom setting currently...

IRVINE, Calif. - Westec Interactive has wrapped up a $1 million technological upgrade to incorporate IP connectivity into its video monitoring center here and hired an industry veteran to oversee operations using the new technology. Through the installation of Cisco routers and new Adtrans phone switches, communications between the central station and the 1,400 sites that it monitors are more secure and are more easily handled from the time the alarm is received throughout the viewing of the incident,...

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. - A 28-year-old security company here known for its unorthodox marketing techniques has struck a deal to bring Spiderman, Captain America, The Hulk and other superheroes to Chicago as part of a new marketing campaign. Keith Fisher, president of Keyth Technologies and Security based here, signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Marvel Comic to use some of the cartoon company's superheroes as material on the outside of Keyth Technologies' service vans. Fisher's company is...

HARTFORD, Conn. - Nearly 30 percent of adults said they had disconnected smoke alarms in their house and failed to reconnect the devices right away, according to a national survey sponsored by The Hartford, a property insurer. About 28 percent of the 953 adults queried in the survey admitted to intentionally disabling or removing batteries from a smoke detector and not immediately restoring it to service at least once in the past five years, while three percent said they did that routinely. The...

AMSTERDAM - Philips Semiconductor is among a host of technology heavyweights involved in the development of a new low-cost wireless networking protocol that is intended to become the industry standard for networking automation devices in the home. Branded Zigbee, the protocol is a low data rate, low power consumption wireless technology that eventually could be used in everything from wireless home security systems, remote lighting and thermostat controls, call buttons for the elderly and disabled...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Twenty-eight years after ASIS International created its certified protection professional (CPP) classification, the association is adding two more to its ranks– investigations professional and physical security professional. The new certifications will become available in 2003 after three years of work by ASIS International's professional certification board and association members. "The demand for specialized security services has dramatically increased," said Vicki...

IRVINE, Calif. - To expand its reach in the Latin American market, Assa Abloy ITG recently bought product distributor Codas Electronica based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The deal, which includes a regional office in Mexico City, provides Assa Abloy ITG with a platform to better serve the Latin America market. Codas Electronica is now part of Assa Abloy Identification Technology Group, Latin America. Future plans call for establishing offices in Brazil and Uruguay. Codas Electronica will distribute...

TOPEKA, Kan. - Protection One, together with BellSouth, has opened two more sales and installation locations under its co-branding agreement with the southern telecom company. A new office location opened in late September in Savannah, Ga., the second location in that state. The first office in Georgia was opened in Atlanta as part of the initial launch of the BellSouth Security Systems from Protection One program in early 2001. The two companies have also opened an office in Louisville, Ky., that...