Calling All Investors! ALOA Scholdarship Fund
By Vernon Kelley, CFDI, CFL, CMIL, CPL, ICML, IFDI, LSFDI
Industry corporate partners, what would you say to low-risk, high-reward investment opportunity? We’re all looking for a handsome return on an investment, aren’t we?
Now, what would you say to a 98% return on investment? That’s what you get for your “investment” in the ALOA Scholarship Foundation.
For the uninitiated, the ALOA Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3), tax-exempt, educational corporation. The purpose of this foundation is to provide funding for locksmith educational programs and assistance to individuals who wish to pursue a career in locksmithing. While ASF shares a headquarters and staff resources with ALOA Security Professionals Association, ASF is an entirely independent entity.
And, yes. Donations are tax deductible. Your return on investment just keeps getting better!
How do we keep ASF’s administrative costs at an absurdly low 2%? Well, there’s no Ponzi Scheme going on here, that’s for sure. The ASF board of directors is an all-volunteer board. Board members receive no compensation for their time or for travel.
Let’s be honest. I’m playing a little fast and loose with some financial terminology, so let’s get down to it and talk about an investment of another kind: Investment in our industry. The ASF needs help from our manufacturing and distribution industry members for financial support.
Above and beyond helping aspiring locksmiths blossom into potential customers with your donation, your company will also receive additional benefits. With a contribution of $1500 or more, your company will be:
- Featured as a part of a “Thank You” article printed in industry publications
- Listed on a ASF special banner at the annual ALOA Convention & Security Expo
- Allowed (and encouraged) to use the ASF sponsor logo on your website and in other marketing material
- Listed on the ASF website and in our brochure distributed at trade shows.
For companies eager to make a more generous investment in the industry, single contributions of $20,000 or more to ASF will be honored by an annual scholarship named after the contributor.
As a manufacturer or distributor, what better investment can you make than to put your resources into the next generation of locksmith and security professionals? What would be more valuable than ensuring a bright future for our industry?
The support of industry manufacturers and distributors is critical to continuing the ASF mission, so please consider donating to the ALOA Scholarship Foundation.
Ready to donate? Contact the ALOA Scholarship Foundation, 3500 Easy Street Dallas, TX 75247-6416. Phone: 800-532-2562. Email: [email protected]. Web: aloa.org/asf – click the “DONATE” button or click on this link to download as a pdf and mail in your donation: www.locksmithledger.com/12395573.
Midwest Wholesale Hardware Acquires Strauss Lock Distributors
NEW YORK – High Road Capital Partners (www.highroadcap.com) announces that its portfolio company Midwest Wholesale Hardware (www.midwestwholesale.com) has completed the acquisition of the assets of Strauss Lock Distributors (www.sld-usa.com).
Based in Des Moines, Iowa, Strauss Lock Distributors (“SLD”) is a leading wholesale distributor of residential door hardware and security products. In addition to its Des Moines headquarters, the company operates distribution centers in Phoenix, Arizona and Charlotte, North Carolina. SLD provides expert customer service and tailored solutions for the residential builder market.
“SLD’s focus on the residential builder market and strength in the building products channel are tremendous complements to Midwest Wholesale Hardware’s extensive commercial and institutional offering,” said Scott Rubino, Principal, High Road Capital Partners. “In addition, Midwest will be able to extend SLD’s reach into several new geographic markets.”
“We’re excited to join the Midwest Wholesale Hardware team and have the company’s national distribution network behind us,” said Dan Swift, President, Strauss Lock Distributors, who will continue to lead SLD following the acquisition. “Our new partnership will provide access to resources and expertise that will take SLD to the next level.”
Midwest Wholesale Hardware was acquired by High Road in February 2017 and was the sixth platform company for High Road Capital Partners Fund II. Strauss Lock Distributors is the second acquisition completed by Midwest Wholesale Hardware under High Road’s ownership and follows the acquisition of Akron Hardware in October 2017. High Road Capital Partners has completed 46 transactions – 17 platform investments, 23 add-on acquisitions and six exits – since its founding in 2007.
dormakaba USA Inc. Launches New Website
Reamstown, PA - dormakaba USA Inc. announces the launch of its comprehensive local website that features extensive product and market information specific to the North American market.
www.dormakaba.us is a compilation of former DORMA and Kaba websites that hosts technical documentation, product images and marketing material for our entire product portfolio. Visiting industry professionals will be apprised of our complete index of products targeting a wide variety of vertical market applications. Visitors can now manage the complete opening by visiting one comprehensive website.
"Everything we do is oriented towards developing seamless access solutions and services that make buildings smarter and more secure. Our new website is a vital tool to support our customers and educate users on our suite of products and services," states Michael Kincaid, Chief Operating Officer, dormakaba Access Solutions | AMER.
"A customer-first approach drove the development of www.dormakaba.us and will continue to fuel future enhancements," states Stephen Pollack, VP of Marketing Communications, dormakaba Access Solutions | AMER. "The web-development team has created a solid foundation for our digital experience that will continue to evolve. The launch of www.dormakaba.us is the first of many phases in our engagement strategy with additional releases already planned".
Visit www.dormakaba.us to learn more about the local product offering for North America, find your local sales representative and download relevant technical documentation.
Salto Systems Partners with Phunware
Norcross, GA -- SALTO Systems, a leading manufacturer of electronic access control solutions, has partnered with Phunware, an enterprise mobile software company, to deliver integrated mobile access control platforms that offer easy-to-use applications for both multi-family residential property managers and residents.
SALTO Systems is a worldwide leading manufacturer of battery-operated RFID locking systems supplying its solutions to a variety of industry verticals including multi-family residential, healthcare, education, transport, government, and hospitality. Phunware’s enterprise mobile app lifecycle management platform helps brands engage, manage and monetize mobile users worldwide.
The first joint project—a luxury high rise in Miami with hundreds of doors—leverages an integration between the SALTO and Phunware platforms to allow residents to manage SALTO electronic locks with the same Phunware-powered application they use to submit work orders, receive package delivery notifications and other luxury living essentials. The integration eliminates the need for a physical access card by securely sending a mobile key to a registered and verified iOS or Android device. If the device is lost or stolen, access can immediately be updated.
The project will function using a SHIP integration with the Phunware mobile application. SHIP is a proprietary communications protocol based on a software dialog that allows third-party access control providers to manage and control SALTO offline and wireless locking devices by way of their own software graphical user interface (GUI). Even though the SALTO locks are governed by the SALTO service, the operations are triggered by Phunware’s GUI.
“This is an innovative integration that draws on strengths from both SALTO and Phunware to deliver user-friendly access control at an enterprise level,” said SALTO Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales Michael J. Mahon. “As a leading access control provider for multi-family developments, SALTO is enriching our products for this important vertical and by working with Phunware we deliver a solution that is robust and efficient.”
“With the integration of SALTO’s mobile access control, our mobile solutions for residential and mixed-use real estate continue to set industry standards,” said Alan S. Knitowski, Phunware CEO and co-founder. “Transforming the user experience for residents, patients, shoppers, fans and all other mobile consumers is a key part of the mobile future we’ve envisioned at Phunware since 2009. We’re excited to begin working with SALTO to transform the resident experience for users across the country.”
Paxton Center for Technology & Product Innovation
Greenville, SC –Paxton Access, a global manufacturer of IP access control and door entry solutions, has opened a new state-of-the-art center for technology and innovation alongside its current UK Head Office in Brighton.
The 29,000-sq. ft. Paxton Technology Centre is now home to the company’s product Research and Development departments and means that it can continue to be at the cutting edge of design and technology within the global security industry.
Adam Stroud, Paxton’s Group Chief Executive says: “We are delighted with our new center and feel it’s a real statement of intent showing the direction the company is moving. For over 30 years, we have aimed for engineering excellence, designing and manufacturing intelligent and innovative security products. The investment we continue to make into product research and development, enables us to continue to drive innovation within the global security market.”
Paxton is now a key player in the US market with its range of security solutions. Products include Net2, its flagship networked access control system, and Paxton BLU, a cloud-based access control solution.
These products will continue to form part of Paxton’s ongoing product development process carried out at the new technology center. The company has seen its global turnover double every four years and its continued international growth was evidenced last year when it was named as one of Europe’s fastest growing companies, as part of a ranking published by the Financial Times. The list compiled companies with the highest percentage growth in revenues between 2012 and 2015.
“The new technology center is a demonstration of our commitment to moving forward, supporting both product development and innovation, enabling us to invest in the technologies we manufacture and export across the globe,” Stround adds.
Paxton has created a time-lapse video highlighting the construction and transformation of the new Paxton Technology Centre. To view the video, visit http://paxton.info/3035.
Bosch equips Cancun Airport with Video Security System
It is Mexico's second busiest airport, after Mexico City, but the biggest for international passengers: Cancun Airport, situated on the Caribbean coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, serving a growing number of visitors coming from all over the world to visit Cancun’s Maya heritage or to enjoy the beautiful beaches.
The number of passengers has been growing quickly, from 7 million in 1999 to approximately 23 million annually today. To handle the growing number of passengers, a fourth terminal has been put into operation this year, making it Mexico’s only airport with four terminals. With the number of visitors increasing sharply, passenger safety and security has become more demanding and has required a comprehensive new security solution.
That is why Airport Operator ASUR decided to redesign video security to have one system operating across all 4 terminals. Bosch was selected not only to equip the new Terminal 4 with video cameras but also to integrate the existing video security systems of Terminals 1, 2, and 3 into one comprehensive video surveillance solution which could be managed centrally from one unified platform.
In Terminal 4, nearly 600 cameras of different series and types have been installed to cover the specific needs of the different areas both inside and outside the terminal.
The cameras are used for a wide range of applications: inside the building they monitor the security and baggage check, the waiting areas, the offices and flight tower as well as the convenience stores; outside the terminals they check the airport perimeter areas and all access points to the airport as well as the airfield and runway.
Fulfilling a key requirement set by Airport Operator ASUR, all new cameras in Terminal 4 are integrated into one video security solution that includes the existing cameras of Terminals 1 to 3. The Bosch Video Management System (BVMS) serves as the joint platform to centrally manage a total of almost 1,800 cameras across the 4 terminals, including their recordings. The video streams of all cameras are safely stored on multiple Bosch DIVAR IP network video recording units with a total of 92 Terabyte of available storage capacity.
For reliable and easy management of the large data volumes, the video security solution includes four Video Recording Managers (VRM) from Bosch. The Video Recording Managers enable the cameras to stream relevant video data directly to the available DIVAR IP storage devices without the use of network servers. This saves costs and server maintenance while eliminating a possible single point of failure, thus increasing reliability. The available storage capacity is used most efficiently because the VRMs automatically balance the video stream load to the free storage volumes. Less redundant storage is required and it is easier to respect retention times with a minimal risk of overwriting.
Cancun Airport uses a central monitoring center, manned with 10 security managers around the clock. Every security manager has a screen that shows video captured by up to 25 cameras. To monitor the video cameras, security personnel can select camera positions manually, or they are automatically notified by alarms in the event of predefined alarm rules being breached based on the cameras’ built-in video analytics or motion detection.
Parsippany, N.J., Vanderbilt, a global leader providing state-of-the-art security systems, has expanded the capabilities of its sales team through the appointment of Alan Nydes as Northeast Director of Sales.
In his new position with Vanderbilt, Nydes will be in charge of implementing and managing the sales activities in his target region, identifying new market opportunities and defining the actions required to build revenue.
Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Nydes was Integration Sales Account Manager, Mid Atlantic Region, for Allegion. He is a 25-year veteran of the security technology industry.
“Alan’s industry experience and professional caliber were a natural fit for Vanderbilt as we look to expand our leadership role in emerging technology segments, such as cloud services and integrated platforms," said Eric Widlitz, Vice President - North America Sales, Vanderbilt. "We aim to stay at the forefront of market demands and I am confident Alan will play a significant role in helping us provide the solutions today's clients need.”
For more information, visit www.vanderbiltindustries.com.
Boulder, CO –ISONAS Inc., a leading Pure IP™ access control system manufacturer, continues to expand its team in 2018. Courtney Wentworth, Account Executive, will team up with Central Territory Regional Sales Manager Kimberly Hanold to build new relationships and nurture existing ones with customers across multiple industries. Courtney will work closely with ISONAS customers and partners to provide ongoing solutions and support; allowing partners to reap the many benefits of a Pure IP™ access control solution.
John Erario joins the ISONAS product team as the Technical Product Manager, responsible for facilitating the Agile software development process and working closely with the engineering team on a daily basis. The ISONAS engineering team is expanding with an additional software developer, John Kernagis.
“We are focused year after year to drive the user experience with our products and the company forward.” states Rob Mossman, CEO at ISONAS. “We continue to invest our resources in product development, customer support, and engineering demonstrating our dedication and commitment to our products and customers.” ISONAS has grown significantly year after year by consistently adding the right talent to its team. With record breaking success in 2017, the company continues to be at the top of its game and provides the simplest and most flexible solution in the access control market and looks forward to another great year pushing Pure IP™ access control to new heights in 2018.
For further information, visit www.isonas.com.
