Archive: April 2002

CHICAGO-Kastle Systems' office here has increased its sales force to further develop relationships with tenants, builders and architects, according to the company's Chicago branch general manager, Marilyn Brooks. The additions take the office's employee roster to 22, nearly tripling its staff in the last four years. "Our growth is predicated on the health of the commercial real estate industry, and in Chicago, it's phenomenal," Brooks says. Carolyn Chambless has been hired as a systems sales consultant...

APTOS, Calif.-After serving the San Jose market for three years from a small 975 square foot office, First Alarm recently moved into a larger office that will be staffed by 15 technicians. The need for a new, 6,000 square-foot location follows a recent push by First Alarm to increase its presence in the commercial market through partnering with building and electrical contractors. "Our commercial fire alarm and access control business in San Jose has grown dramatically to where we have to have...

NEWMARKET, N.H.-A month after being bought by audio and video manufacturer Russound, home and commercial control systems maker IntelliNet Controls announced plans to end its OEM operations. "The decision was made not to OEM because you can only spread yourself so thin," explained Sergio Batista, director of market and product planning for Russound. Instead, IntelliNet intends to turn its attentions internally because the company's products were undercapitalized. Batista said IntelliNet will end...

TAMPA, Fla.-An ADT Security office was broken into in early March, according to a report in The Tampa Tribune. At about 8:15 a.m. on a Monday morning, an employee discovered that a laptop computer, worth about $3,500, was missing. A sheriff's report said that the robbery had occurred between 6 p.m. Friday evening and Monday morning. A locked office had been pried open. False alarm rate hits 99.8 percent, county imposes fines CLAY COUNTY, Fla.-County commissioners here in March enacted an ordinance...

Vancouver, Wash. Officials here and in Clark County are considering changes to the area's false alarm ordinances that would require alarm companies to verify the alarm and cancel the 911 call if the alarm was false. According to a report in The Columbian, the changes would also raise the fines for repeat offenders and charge a fee for unregistered alarms. The fines would be $25 for the third alarm, $50 for the fourth, $75 for the fifth, and so on. The city can suspend response to the account after...

VANCOUVER, British Columbia-After receiving qualifying receipts from all applicable securities regulators, Extreme CCTV Inc. concluded its IPO Jan. 28. The company is traded on the Canadian Venture Exchange under the symbol EXC. Established in 1997 by former executives of Silent Witness Enterprises Ltd., the company specializes in the design, manufacture and marketing of advanced infrared illuminators and precision-engineered video surveillance products for use by security providers.

QUINCY, Mass.-A proposed change to NFPA 72 that would waive minimum requirements for central stations with less than a certain number of monitored accounts has been opposed by the Alarm Association of Florida. Submitted by Scot Colby, vice president of Bayou Security Systems Inc. and president of the Louisiana Burglar & Fire Alarm Association, the Tentative Interim Amendment would reduce to one the number of dispatchers required to be on duty at one time to monitor fire signals. That would only...

SILVER SPRING, Md.-The National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association is launching a public relations campaign that will be distributed to news outlets across the country, perhaps making it one of the largest endeavors undertaken by the security industry. The campaign, called Reassuring America, is now in production mode. It will feature a 30-second television commercial geared toward residential and commercial audiences, a 60-second radio spot, print advertising and a four-color brochure. The advertisements...

WESTMINSTER, Mass.-Global fire detection and security systems provider Simplex Time Recorder Co. opened a new headquarters and operation center this spring, a move company officials say reflects double-digit growth. In April, Simplex moved from its century-old Gardner, Mass. site to consolidate its business in a 176,000-square-foot facility on 300 acres which will house all research and development, manufacturing, distribution, marketing and administrative operations. Employees at the former...

QUINCY, Mass.-James Shannon, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Fire Protection Association, was elected president and chief executive officer of the association by the board of directors at their March 6 meeting. Shannon was selected from a pool of other candidates considered by the board's search committee, as well as those recommended by an outside executive search organization, said Julie Reynolds, an NFPA spokesperson. "The Search Committee focused its efforts on identifying...