Integration News
Falcon Security strikes partnership with Alarm Systems and T.A.S Communications

That’s not to say there haven’t been offers. According to Russell
Chartier, owner of the Brockville- and Kingston-based company they have
had many offers over the years from the likes of ADT, Chubb and
Microtec.

“It seems to be the natural trend for little companies to be
swallowed up,” says Chris Izatt, general manager at Falcon. “We have
often been approached by large businesses.” But Chartier says being
bought by a large company was not the way he wanted to go, “I want
there to be personal service,” he says.

Instead, Falcon
recently announced it is partnering with Alarm Systems, a T.A.S.
Communications company with a similar history. Both have always been
family-operated businesses, and have been in business for about the
same length of time with similar mindsets. “It is a good match, the way
we came together,” says Kristin Crowe, CEO of Alarm Systems and T.A.S. Communications. “It worked out well for all concerned.”

The
merger expands on the territories of both companies, and accessibility
to staff says Chartier. The estimated 3,000 clients Falcon currently
has will now have access to Alarm Systems 75 employees in addition to
Falcon’s 23 staff members. “We now cover the area from Kingston to
Quebec and all of Eastern Ontario,” he adds.

 Izatt explains the
partnership with Alarm Systems will also help with Falcon’s plan to
develop the Kingston market, and their customer base. “We have more
shared resources now, an increased buying power, and are still able to
continue local monitoring,” says Izatt. “We think it’s exciting to work
with Alarm Systems. They have access to more products and services.”

Falcon
Security had its beginnings in 1976 when Chartier was installing and
servicing security systems in Eastern Ontario. Since that time,
Chartier says the main thing he has seen change is the stability of the
equipment. “It has greatly improved since we started, it is very solid
compared to 35 years ago,” he says.

Chartier says Falcon and the
industry as a whole are working to improve on false alarms but not
everyone is to blame for the issue. “Small companies that don’t follow
up after they install the system make everyone look bad,” he says.
“Good companies know how to handle false alarms, they follow-up with
their customers.”
Izatt says the biggest change he has seen over the
years is the attitude the general public has towards the security
industry. “They are more serious about it now, they treat security as
more of a need- a true service that you need to have,” he says. “It is
more common, businesses and homes are seeing it as being necessary.”

As
for what customers are looking for in today’s market, Chartier says it
“runs the gamet,” but Izatt and Chartier agree that the emphasis is on
card access systems and control access with photo ID for businesses.
“We offer and manage the service for customers with multiple sites,”
says Izatt. “For customers with one site they can handle it themselves,
with more than one it gets more difficult to manage — that’s where we
come in.”

One of the largest clients Falcon has ever won was in
2006 when it landed a 10-year contract to provide the Canadian Armed
Forces with fire detection systems.

As part of the agreement,
Falcon is to install, maintain and provide training services for fire
detection systems at Canadian Forces bases across the country. “It is
going well,” says Izatt. “We have completed a project in Kingston, and
one in Borden with a handful of other projects going on.”