PHILADELPHIA—In contrast to the sleepy and slow International Security Conference (ISC) that took place only a month before in Orlando, Fla., the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) show, which was held Sept. 10-12 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, was bustling with activity.

According to show officials, the convention was ASIS’ largest ever with 725 exhibitors and more than 17,000 attendees. These numbers are even more impressive when considering the fact that the anniversary of Sept. 11 occurred on the second day of the event.

Because of the anniversary, as well as its accompanying heightened security alert, many upper echelon security directors had to leave the convention early. Others were prevented from coming at all. Still, there was an abundance of corporate and government end users as well as a good number of dealers and integrators. Some dealers who were attending ASIS for the first time commented that they were impressed by the quality of attention and professionalism they received from exhibitors.

In a marked departure from previous years where exhibitors unveiled their new products at ISC East, this year many companies waited until ASIS to make their big announcements or unveil their new products. In addition to product launches and seminars, two major announcements were made.

First, Detection Systems (DS) and Radionics announced that they are uniting under a new name as Bosch Security Systems. At a reception the night before ASIS opened, Bosch Security Systems President and CEO Peter Ribinski explained that the company will manufacture products under both the Bosch and DS brands. The merchandise will then be distributed through a network of qualified security providers known as the Bosch Certified Security Dealer program. (For an exclusive interview of Ribinski, see “Bosch Revs Up Its Security Engine” on page 44 of the October 2002 issue.)

Not to be outdone, Ademco Systems announced that it too is being renamed. Ademco System’s new moniker is Honeywell Access Systems, and it will be joining the newly created Honeywell Fire and Access Solutions division. This division will be lead by Dennis Raefield and will report through the same leadership as Notifier, Fire•Lite, Silent Knight and System Sensor.

According to Raefield, “This is a major change for us. We are doing what we have to do to avoid any channel conflicts. In addition, we believe the Honeywell name better connects with the high-end market.”

Next year’s ASIS show is scheduled to take place in New Orleans Sept. 15-18.  According to event organizers, 86-percent of the exhibit space is already reserved. It remains to be seen, however, if this southern city will have as large a draw.

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