Industry Pulse In Depth: From the East to the Virgin Islands, Security Industry Comes Together

The months of October and November were spent in suitcases for many in the security industry, as a slew of expositions and events dominated the industry calendar. Events ranged from the return of the ISC show to New York, to the annual meeting of central station managers, to the gathering of Honeywell Security dealers at the annual First Alert conference.

The following are highlights from the major security industry stops during the fall show season.

ISC East
International Security Conference (ISC) East had a better-than-expected welcome back to New York since its last visit in 2001. More than 8,578 security professionals visited this year’s show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center from Nov. 2 to 4 — an 82-percent increase from the previous year’s event.

The keynote speech, co-sponsored by Security Sales & Integration, was given by Richard Picciotto, former battalion commander for the New York Fire Department and author of “Last Man Down.” Picciotto, who was interviewed by SSI in its October 2004 issue, talked about the last few hours before and after the World Trade Center towers fell in the 9/11 attacks.

Picciotto said there were four lessons learned from that fateful day in American History: Americans must care more about others; they need to reunite in their thinking, ideals and what they believe matters to the nation; they must work harder to provide for better protection for all Americans; and they need to have faith in God, their country and in one another as a people.

CSAA Annual Meeting
The blue skies and the blue coastal waters of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands would seem to be enough to draw Central Station Alarm Association members to the CSAA Annual Meeting. However, CSAA Executive Vice President Steve Doyle says not only was a great deal accomplished in the Oct. 22 to 27 meeting, the content of the program was as big a draw to the record 350 who attended.

“We had a fun time, but they wouldn’t be coming if the program wasn’t that good,” says Doyle. “The program content was really remarkable this year.”

The effects of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) were a prime topic at the meeting, as CSAA’s leadership announced it will meet in February to discuss how the CSAA will respond to VoIP’s growth. “There was recognition that there’s a real problem here,” Doyle says.

As for the CSAA itself, it was revealed at the meeting that the association is as financially sound as ever and it is considering building its own headquarters building. “The CSAA is back and in good financial shape,” Doyle says. “People were feeling we have our financial strength back.”

Securing New Ground
For the ninth time, security industry executives networked with investors for the annual Securing New Ground Conference Oct. 13 and 14 at the Roosevelt Hotel on New York City’s Madison Avenue.

Speakers at the event — organized by Sandra Jones and Co., ProFinance Associates Inc. and Lehman Brothers Inc. — included GE Infrastructure President and CEO Bill Woodburn, as well as Stanley Security Solutions President Justin Boswell, ASSA ABLOY executive Joe Grillo and Tyco Fire and Security Vice President Donald Lyman. Included were presentations on making money in the security industry, biometrics going mainstream and market trends.

First Alert Professional Conference
The First Alert Professional Conference, held Oct. 14-16, drew more than 800 members of Honeywell Security’s dealer program to the Lowes Miami Beach Hotel in Florida.

The theme of the main presentation, as well as the ensuing discussion by Joe Sausa, president of First Alert Professional, was “Turn Up The Heat!” Sausa spoke of his vision for the future where Honeywell provides the First Alert network not only a growing list of innovative, high-tech products, but also a caldron of value-added services designed to help member installers grow their businesses.

Dave Cote, CEO of Honeywell, talked about the many benefits that Honeywell brings to the First Alert Professional program. “First Alert is an important part of Honeywell. It success as a premier professional security brand is key to our long-term strategy,” Cote said, adding that he believed wireless will continue to foster new and exciting products in the years to come.

 

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