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28 residential systems www.securitysystemsnews.com august 2013 security systems news RESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS Deals give ASG ofce, accounts By Martha Entwistle BELTSVILLE, Md.—In the past three months, ASG Security closed four acquisitions that bring an additional $114,000 in RMR. In aggregate, the four deals include 2,600 accounts, ten employees and a new offce. Most of the accounts acquired in the four deals are residential. The new offce was acquired as part of the largest of the deals, Allied Central Station in the Long Island community of Oceanside, N.Y. "It was founded in 1963 and it's a well run family-owned business," Joe Nuccio, ASG CEO, said. Allied previously had a central station, but is now a pure security company. Former owners Jon Wapner and his two brothers will stay on with ASG. Wapner said he and his brothers were drawn to ASG because the company is at "the forefront of technology … and has substantial resources to market its [products and services]." The new offce will augment ASG's small existing customer base on Long Island and "allow us to be more effective in servicing our new and existing customers in the area," Nuccio said. The second acquisition was a company called Feel Safe Systems Group, a 50 percent residential company based in Owings, Md. Those operations will fold into ASG's offce here. "It's a good strong regional company that's been around for about 10 years. The former owner, Roy Young, is joining ASG in a sales role," Ralph Masino, ASG CFO, told Security Systems News. ASG see page 30 New sales center helps diversify Vivint By Tess Nacelewicz is growing inside sales in Provo, PROVO, Utah—Vivint is open- Houser said. It already has about ing a new 400-employee sales 400 phone sales personnel at its center in Washington state, part center here and is adding about of a move by the door-knocking 80 employees to their ranks each company to diversify itself by month, he said. increasing inside sales. "[With] inbound and out"The bigger vision bound [calls] over time is that we through our global still have this strong channel sales, right summer-program now we're on track model but we have a to put on more than more diversifed chan60,000 accounts," nel, meaning we're Houser said. "It's not just a door-toour best year ever— door company doing up by 75 percent direct-to-home sales compared to last but we also have a year." very strong inside Josh Houser The new Liberty sales program that provides bal- Lake center is expected to be ance," Josh Houser, Vivint VP of operating by early August, Housglobal channel sales, told Security er said. He added, "And maybe Systems News. in the future, we're looking at a He said the new center in Lib- third center." erty Lake, Wash., a suburb of Door knocking is still very Spokane, will be Vivint's second much a part of Vivint's sales inside sales center and the frst approach. In 2012, Vivint generone outside the home automa- ated 152,000 accounts through tion/home security giant's head- door-to-door sales, the company VIVINT see page 29 quarters here. The company also ACA acquisition is Home control in upscale market minus security? By Tess Nacelewicz MEDIA, Pa.—Alarm Capital Alliance has expanded into an affluent new market—The Hamptons—with the purchase of a 32-year-old security company in Southhampton, N.Y. Security Communications Audio Network Corp. (SCAN) has $170,000 in RMR and 5,000 mostly residential customers, said Anastasia Bottos, ACA's chief business development offcer and executive VP of acquisitions. A. Bottos She said SCAN has "a pretty substantial footprint in The Hamptons." That part of Long Island has some of the nation's most expensive homes. Bottos said SCAN had low attrition and loyal customers. "They've grown primarily through referrals, which speaks to their business," she said. The company's owners are retiring from the security alarm industry but are assisting in the transition, Bottos said. The purchase was on May 24, she said. SCAN will continue to operate under its own name, but as a member of Newtown Square, Pa.-based My Alarm Center, which is ACA's directto-consumer name. In essence, ACA, which has more than 140,000 customers nationwide and is headquartered here, will maintain SCAN as a new ACA regional branch. ACA is taking on its 40 employees, said Bottos, who declined to discuss terms of the deal. Although ACA has a lot of concentration in New York, this is the company's first regional offce there, she said. "Our model really is for sellers to maintain their own brand and own operation," Bottos said. However, ACA doesn't have other customers in SCAN's area so it bought it ouright. SSN Comcast has option for customers who want home management but not a security system By Tess Nacelewicz remotely access lighting and PHILADELPHIA—A man- thermostat controls" but who tra in the industry today is don't want professional security that customers want more monitoring. than a basic home security Comcast isn't getting out of system—they want offering security extras to control their services. Customers lights and thermostats can still get a Comand remotely look cast home security in on kids and pets. system, professionBut Comcast Cable ally monitored for believes there are cusComcast by COPS tomers out there who Monitoring, in a don't want a security package now called system but still would Mitch Bowling Xfinity Home like those useful features—so Secure, said Mitch Bowling, it's offering a new product just Comcast senior VP and general for them. manager of new businesses. Comcast, based here, recently But he said Comcast believes announced the launch of Xfn- that security and home automaity Home Control. It said the tion services don't have to be new product "is for customers packaged together if that's not who want smart home solutions what a customer wants. like video monitoring and the "We want to appeal to as COMCAST see page 30 ability to either schedule or BRIEFS ADT Pulse has new video motion sensor technology BOCA RATON, Fla.—ADT recently introduced new video motion sensor technology to provide ADT Pulse customers with improved security and home automation, according to a company statement. The upgrade allows users to schedule actions when motion is detected by indoor or outdoor wireless cameras, and to receive instant email or text message alerts with video clips of the activity. The clips can be stored for up to 30 days on the ADT Pulse web portal. "ADT's product engineers performed extensive quality testing at our Innovation Lab to perfect the new motion detection feature," Tony Wells, chief marketing officer at ADT, said in the statement. The new video motion feature allows customers to monitor family members, determine when people or mail packages arrive at home, and lock and unlock doors remotely based on knowledge gleaned from video clips, the statement noted. Northstar Alarm donates security system to family PROVO, Utah—NorthStar Alarm Services recently donated a home security system to a local family that has two children with disabilities, according to a news release. The company in June installed the system in a Habitat for Humanity home newly constructed for the Artanduaga family. The family has three children, two with autism. The youngest child needs constant care, according to the news release. Nancy Mickiewicz, partnership coordinator for Habitat for Humanity, said in a prepared statement, "This generous donation will give the family peace of mind now and in the future." The wireless system that the company installed at no cost in the home is valued at about $2,500 and has an easy-to-use touch screen panel. NorthStar will cover the monitoring for two years, after which the equipment will still be able to be armed and disarmed. Honeywell reels in trio of awards at ESX this year NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Honeywell Security team left the Electronic Security Expo (ESX) in Nashville in June with three awards in tow, including the Best Overall award, given to the LYNX Touch 5100, Honeywell's wireless residential security platform, according to a news release. The LYNX Touch 5100 received the award based on the opinion of a panel of judges. The LYNX Touch 5100 also took home the honor for Best Alarm Equipment in the wireless alarm systems category, one of the two Maximum Impact Awards received by the company. Honeywell pocketed a second Maximum Impact Award for its Tuxedo Touch control panel, which won the honor for Best Alarm Equipment in the intrusion alarm control panels category.