Training, Tech Support Help Tri-Ed/Northern Video Triumph

The distribution firm has aggressively expanded its market share and footprint since being acquired from Tyco Int’l in 2005. Helping its staunchly analog-centric dealer clientele transition to IP-based products is chief among its growth strategies.

<p>Tri-Ed/Northern Video Distribution operates 47 branch locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Each site carries a wide array of low-voltage products, including brands for intrusion, CCTV, access control, fire/life safety, datacomm, sound and more.</p>The toughest part was we had some redundancy. We had to consolidate the corporate office. It’s never easy to let people go who have been successful in helping you grow your business. Transitioning the [Northern Video Systems] corporate office from California to New York presented a difficult time from an emotional standpoint. 

Is the Tri-Ed/Northern Video management team able to run the company independent from Brazos’ decision makers?

Comunale: Brazos has been an incredible partner. The day-to-day operation of the business is totally reliant on us. We run the business. We have quarterly business meetings to keep them up to speed, but the value they provide is that they own several businesses.

We grew up in the security distribution space, so having their knowledge of other businesses is a tremendous asset to us. We only go to them to really seek advice, mostly on the financial end of the business. For instance, how do you leverage banking relationships? They have also shared bigger picture legal advice and things like that. We have actually taken a lot of their suggestions and incorporated them into Tri-Ed/Northern Video.

What acquisitions has Tri-Ed made? Is remaining acquisitive necessary to support the strategic plans of the company going forward?

Comunale: We have completed three acquisitions already and they have all been a little bit strategic in nature. We acquired a smaller distributor, Martin Security Depot in Northern California. That was a single-location distributor. From a strategic standpoint, an opportunity came available to acquire Security Data & Cable, which got us into Houston, a market we needed to be in. We tried for a while to open a location in Houston but we just couldn’t get the right people. And then most recently we acquired Video Security Specialists in Southern California, which was a great fit for us because that was a business which was solely video products. It was a seamless i
ntegration that consolidated right into our Southern California operation.

Our most recent greenfield [new] locations would be Elmsford, N.Y.; Plainview [Long Island]; and Atlanta, which has been a market we have tried to get into for a very long time. If it fits our footprint, we are certainly looking for acquisitions. It is a large part of our growth plan for 2012 and beyond. But if we can’t find the right acquisition we are not opposed to opening new locations as well. Overall since 2005 we have opened up 14 branches.

What currently excites you about the products that are being produced for today’s marketplaces?

Comunale: The industry is at a great point right now, both on the commercial and the residential side. For the first time in a while technology is driving a lot of the growth in the industry, especially with wireless technology and IP-based products. On the residential side you are looking at lifestyle enhancement features, such as streaming video of your children coming into the home. Touchscreen keypads are another important offering. For the first time in a while it’s nice to see that the manufacturers have quality products that are really being driven on the technology side. It’s also nice that they are higher end products, which as a distributor we like to see.

Generally how did the recession affect your dealer clientele?

Comunale: Our industry is similar to others in that Nevada, Arizona and Florida were the places hardest hit by the housing crisis. However, if you looked at our business, we were probably less impacted overall because a lot of our business wasn’t new construction related. The fact is Tri-Ed, for all intents and purposes, started in the U.S. in 2005. It was mostly a Canadian-based distribution company; 80% of the business was in Canada and very little was in the U.S. We really only had one place to go but up.

Part of our growth could have been disguised by the opening of new locations, but we also did an excellent job of acquiring new customers. We probably fared a lot better than established distribution companies that resided in the U.S.

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About the Author

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Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.

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