Archive: February 2007

NEW ORLEANS--As an estimated 800,000 people crowded the streets of New Orleans this week for the Mardi Gras celebration, The Security Center's brand-new portable monitored surveillance security systems scanned the crowd for trouble. Jeffrey Doussan, director of The Security Center, said, "We've been using them throughout Mardi Gras; we've had them on with different members of the sheriff's office" who ordered them from The Security Center. Before the units were deployed prior to the Fat Tuesday parade,...

DALLAS--Rob Hile, vice president of business development for Adesta, a national systems integrator based in Omaha, Neb., used his speaking opportunity here at TechSec Solutions, Feb. 28, to announce Adesta's selection by Cisco as a Physical Security Authorized Technology Provider. This ATP designation allows Adesta to provide video surveillance solutions using a diverse set of Cisco solutions, including routers, switches and a range of Cisco Video Surveillance Internet Protocol Gateways, Service...

DALLAS--Here at the Fairmont Hotel, the third annual TechSec Solutions's educational program kicked off Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. with a presentation by Dave Tyson, chief security officer for the city of Vancouver. In an hour-long talk, Tyson emphasized real-world and sometimes simple solutions for converging physical and logical security systems. For instance, he has physical security guards walking around making sure laptops are secured and carrying wi-fi detectors to make sure there aren't any rogue access...

WASHINGTON--The Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by a new lead sponsor, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), but the most exciting news, say supporters, is the reduction in the estimated cost of the bill. The bill (S-582) was introduced Feb. 14. It would give tax breaks to those who retrofit homes or businesses with sprinklers. The estimated cost of the bill, called the "score," was reduced from $2.2 billion over 10 years to $884 million over 10 years. "We always reached...

MINNEAPOLIS--An investor group has purchased the ScadaCam product line from the publicly held Norwegian support systems firm Powel ASA. Terms of the deal were not released. The new company is now Pivotal Vision, a software manufacturer that will partner with camera maker Cohu and computer maker Microsel to provide remote surveillance solutions for the utility industry, integrating with the SCADA system used to operate most major utilities. It is a homecoming of sorts for ScadaCam, which was founded...

WASHINGTON--Security industry manufacturers and integrators will have an opportunity to hear directly from General Services Administration administrator Lurita Doan's senior staff about the GSA's recent extension of its purchasing agreement to state and local governments (see "GSA purchasing extended," in the March issue of Security Systems News) and other issues during a Feb. 27 webinar hosted by the Security Industry Association. GSA announced Feb. 1 that state and local governments may use the...

EXTON, Pa., and MIAMI--WPCS, a NASDAQ-traded specialty communications and wireless technology design-build engineering firm, announced this week a letter of intent to purchase ATC International, a security systems integrator based in Miami with offices in Central America. WPCS will pay $2.45 million in cash at closing, with an additional earn out to be paid upon the achievement of certain earnings targets over a period of 24 months. The deal is expected to close within 60 days. This represents an...

DALLAS--The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers this week released for publication for public review a set of proposals that add physical access control to the existing standards for building automation and control. Upon approval, the new access control standards will be integrated into BACnet (also known as ANSI/ASHRAE 135-2004), a data communication protocol for building automation and control networks. According to ASHRAE, it is an American national standard,...

PALM BEACH, Fla.--Drawn by 73-degree temperatures and the opportunity to schmooze with other security company executives, entrepreneurs and investors, more than 200 people gathered here Feb. 8 and 9 for the 11th annual Barnes Buchanan Conference. One topic that came up in many iterations over the two-day conference: What does the sale of HSM to Stanley Works (for $545 million, representing a 60 multiple of RMR) mean to me as a security company, integrator or investor? Jim Covert, former owner of...

NORWALK, Conn.--Thomas Hudson's recent appointment to The Brink's Company's board of directors has not quelled his desire to see the company put itself up for sale, in fact he foresees "material progress toward the sale of Brink's within 12 months." "Not only is [the sale of The Brink's Company] still our goal, now that I'm on the board the likelihood of a transaction just multiplied ... It's a lot easier [to get things done] on the inside," he said. The Brink's company announced Feb. 8 that Hudson,...