News Briefs Dec. 2012

Dec. 3, 2012

Detex Outdoor System Secures Garden Center

For garden center gates, restaurant patios, lumberyards, or building doors that at times stand open, the Detex Outdoor Area System offers security without concern about hardware deterioration from exposure.

Certain retail applications require a combination of components, and the Outdoor Area System features a range of hardware designed for those needs. In addition, the system is scalable for more complex application requirements. Retail customers can select the exact combinations of components that suit their particular application and know that they will integrate easily with each other and function well in rain, snow and heat.

Outdoor Area System components include Detex weatherized delayed egress hardware to prevent shoppers from slipping out with merchandise; access control devices that allow entry from an outside courtyard with a keypad or card reader; and door-propped alarms that produce an audible warning when a door is being propped or held open.

“Retailers can put together a system that keeps their premises secure in harsh environments,”said Ken Kuehler, National Accounts Manager at Detex. “Our weatherized components can take the elements without fail.”

To learn more about Detex weatherized systems, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.detex.com.

100th Anniversary Commemorative Padlocks Available

American Lock is producing a series of 100th Anniversary logo stamped solid steel padlocks. Anyone placing an order will receive the commemorative models.

American Lock Company founder John Junkunc invented the world’s first keyless dial combination padlock in 1912.  He soon bought American Cylinder Co., which eventually became American Lock and is operated today by Master Lock Company.  American Lock is getting a jump on the next 100 years, announcing a commemorative program for locksmiths that recognizes the first century of innovative achievements.

Long acknowledged as “The Locksmith’s Lock” for its industrial grade security products, American Lock is producing a series of 100th Anniversary logo stamped solid steel padlocks.  Anyone placing an order will receive the commemorative models.

Production of the popular A700, A2010, A5260, A5200 and A5100 padlock families, including all shackle and keying options, is now underway for the program.  It began shipping last month and will run through October 2013.  All items ordered during this period will be manufactured with the Anniversary logo lock bodies.

“There is a high level of excitement about our milestone anniversary, and this was especially true at this year’s ALOA Expo in Las Vegas.  With this program, we wanted to do something special for the locksmiths who have supported American Lock over the years,” said Michele Meierhofer, director of marketing - Security Products.

“Any locksmith will tell you that American Lock® Solid Body Padlocks are built to last, providing the highest security under physical attack and in the harshest conditions.  There is tremendous interest in American Lock products and we believe locksmiths will want to share a piece of history by being involved in this program.”

The five series being offered in the promotion are the perfect choice for the toughest conditions.  The A700, A2010, A5260, A5200, and A5100 endured rigorous testing and represent American Lock’s storied history of manufacturing high quality products that exceed commercial industry standards.  Designed with solid steel bodies, boron shackles, rekeyable five- and six-pin brass cylinders and dual ball bearing locking mechanisms that resist picking, pulling and prying, these padlocks offer many other significant benefits.

American Lock Solid Body Padlocks are available with patented, state-of-the-art BumpStop® Advanced Cylinder Technology that is designed to resist bump attacks. The patented Edge™ Key Control system uses an exclusive key and cylinder design with an additional locking feature to create numerous one-of-a-kind virtual keyways, allowing all operating keys to be unique to a specific facility.  And Weatherbuilt™ padlock protection covers for the A5260 and A5200 series help maintain smooth operation by keeping dirt and debris out of the keyway and internal components.

American Lock Company, a division of Master Lock Company LLC, is part of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. (NYSE: FBHS), a leading consumer brands company.  For more information, call (800) 323-4568 or visit www.americanlock.com.

Norton Closers Exceed 10 Million Cycles in Verified UL Testing

Combining innovation, safety and the highest level of convenience, the Norton 7500/7700, 8000 and 1600 Series door closers have surpassed 10 million cycles in a test witnessed and verified by Underwriters’ Laboratories. These closers exceed ANSI/BHMA Grade 1 cycle standards by six times, providing dependable and reliable operation year after year.

“The testing certification that our Norton door closers have received, exceeding 10 million cycles, reinforces the reputation of the highest level of dependability and reliability in the door hardware industry,” said Leslie Saunders, vice president of product management, ASSA ABLOY. “We continually hold ourselves to a higher standard with Norton, by developing products that we know will go above and beyond market expectations.”

The Norton 7500/7700, 8000 and 1600 Series door closers are used in a variety of applications including healthcare, education, commercial or light commercial. There are custom options for each door closer to support any type of opening in a structure or facility.

 For additional information, visit www.nortondoorcontrols.com.

Toshiba Helps Minimize Retail Shrinkage

Goodwill Industries International, Inc. is one of America's oldest charitiesand a $3.2 billion nonprofit. A major source of funding for the organization is its 2,400 Goodwill stores in the United States and Canada. However, like all retail outlets, these stores suffer from shrinkage, especially at the point-of-sale (POS). Goodwill also witnesses theft at its unattended drop-off sites where donors deposit items for re-sale.

Confronted with this predicament, Goodwill's Northwest-North Carolina (NWNC) chapter took the proactive step of migrating from traditional analog CCTV systems in 40 stores to IP video surveillance systems from Toshiba (www.toshibasecurity.com).

The year-long project began when Versa Technologies, Inc., a Winston-Salem, NC-based solutions provider, installed a Toshiba business communication system in the NWNC chapter's newly built Regional Operations Center in Winston-Salem, NC. 

Clay Poindexter, president of Versa explains: "We let their loss prevention team know that we do more than business communication systems; we design and install IP video surveillance, structured cabling, professional A/V, and much more. That sparked a dialogue about how to address POS security within the stores and at their many drop-off centers, most of which were free-standing and others that were incorporated into the stores."

Goodwill's loss prevention team told Poindexter that the chapter had lately opened up a number of stores in more upscale communities. This outreach effort was helping to change the image the general public held regarding Goodwill stores. However, the move to better neighborhoods had also brought with it higher value drop-off items such as flat-screen TVs.  Sadly, there had also been an increased incidence of theft.

Versa used the opportunity to introduce Goodwill to IP video surveillance, a major advancement over the analog camera/DVR solution it currently had in-place. Goodwill recognized the potential of network cameras after Versa successfully deployed a system at its regional operations center, alongside the new business communication system. Management now understood that it could afford to install IP at all of its stores without the hassles and on-going maintenance costs of traditional CCTV.

Versa recommended the deployment of an IP camera/NVR system in each store over existing data networks that could be accessed remotely by the loss prevention team back at Goodwill headquarters. Versa's camera placement diagram resulted in more than 95 percent  of each store being monitored. Each store has between 10-13 Toshiba IP cameras. Larger stores have as many as 20.  Toshiba IK-WB21A PTZ cameras provide high-resolution sweeps of the sales floor, while fixed Toshiba IK-WB30A day/night IP cameras watch the checkout areas. Outside, Toshiba IK-WB02A cameras protected by environmental housings were installed to watch the drop-off boxes.

Another requirement of Goodwill was that cash handling needed to be closely monitored to spot potential fraud from employees and customers.  For that reason Versa installed a Toshiba 16-channel, 1TB NVS network video recorder in each store equipped with Surveillix TransCapture POS software. TransCapture provides Goodwill managers with needed security at every cash register. With just a few simple clicks, the manager has immediate access to all necessary transaction and video information. Alerts can be customized to notify loss prevention that a specific item is being rung-up by showing special colors to the on-screen font, speaker beeps, pop-ups or relay triggers.

"Surveillix Central Station allowed the Loss Prevention Staff to access all of the NVS units and download higher quality images faster over existing data networks," said Versa's Clay Poindexter.  "The POS System fully integrates so that the Loss Prevention Staff can easily search thousands of transactions to find all of the No Sale, Void & Refund Transactions to ensure there is a client at the register."

In the time since the system was installed, theft in the stores and at drop-off boxes has noticeably been reduced and video recorded has successfully been used to prosecute offenders.