How Securadyne Is Building a Security Dynasty

Learn how Securadyne Systems went from zero to $70 million in two years in this exclusive interview.

How have your projections held up thus far when measured against actual growth, and how is 2014 shaping up?

Boethel: Our growth has been aggressive, largely in line with expectations. As mentioned, when we looked at the marketplace and developed the business plan, we identified a segment that was underserved so we’ve been focusing our business and growth in those areas. If you look back at what those numbers have looked like, on Jan. 1, 2012, we had zero revenues. At the end of 2012, we had approximately $33 million in revenues after having completed two acquisitions. At the end of 2013, we finished about $69 million in revenues, which was about 109% year-over-year growth. That’s an aggressive track in line with what we had planned.

We believe 2014 will be a continuation of that trend, perhaps not quite as aggressive, but nevertheless very healthy in terms of expecting strong double-digit growth. That will come primarily from three sources.

< p>One of those is integrating the two acquisitions we made last year, Advanced Control Concepts and Intelligent Access Systems. Both bring a lot of opportunities to expand relationships beyond the existing footprint of those businesses. Intelligent Access has a lot of customers, for example in the energy vertical market, with operations outside their footprint but inside the footprint of Securadyne. So part of 2014’s growth will be about finding those opportunities and ways to service those existing customers in a bigger way, given our broadened footprint.

Securadyne Systems Fast Facts

  • Founded September 2011, with operations launched February 2012
  • Headquartered in Addison, Texas
  • Regional hubs in Dallas; Pensacola; Fla.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Boston
  • Approximately 300 employees
  • Full-service solutions provider focusing on electronic security and life-safety solutions
  • Strong emphasis on enterprise-class and mission-critical applications
  • Robust cloud-based service offerings

The second area where we anticipate growth would be in our national accounts portfolio. We formed about six months ago a Program Management Office designed to manage national initiatives. We’re focusing not only on cross-selling across regions, but also in bringing those initiatives together under a single point of national leadership.

Lastly, we’re going to expand into some new geographic markets this year where we’ve not operated traditionally and where we believe there’s incremental growth possibilities.


Let’s talk competitive landscape. What pops into your mind when considering big national players like Diebold, Stanley, JCI, TycoIS and Siemens, or some of the better-known regional competitors? Are you concerned about them?

Boethel: There are a lot of good companies in this space. Some excel in certain areas like footprint and scale, while others excel in creating a more intimate customer experience. We’re positioning ourselves in the marketplace to do both. As a result we are very comfortable in competing with some of the names you mentioned. I believe our value proposition is unique. We don’t compete to be the best; we compete to be unique. We have formidable large competitors and formidable small competitors. We win when we do an effective job of differentiating ourselves from either one or both.

Are there ways some of those competitors are leaving money on the table for you to take advantage of?

Boethel: I would say in some instances, with companies in our space having a keen interest in project pursuit. Our interest is less about the initial project and more about the long-term lifecycle that can be developed with a customer. In as much as some companies go out and try to acquire projects and then move on to the next project, perhaps there is some money left on the table. That’s not our approach, and we just see the world very differently than that.

“One of the things we continually run up against is the security integrator that has not kept up with technology and how we can use technology now to optimize business. We sell that.” – Ron Oetjen

Oetjen: Our industry has changed a lot the past five years, and there are some that have been left behind. One of the things we continually run up against is the security integrator that has not kept up with technology and how we can use technology now to optimize business. We sell that. For example, if you’re selling to a power company and you’re talking about thermal cameras and their ability to look at the heat signature of a transformer, that helps optimize a business because someone has to go out and look at those transformers. If you’re looking at a retail application, you’re talking to a customer about the traffic patterns in their store, where people are stopping. There’s a lot of people that have stayed behind and they’re still selling video cameras and card readers. Technology and solutions are one the best ways that you can bring more value to the customer.

Looking at your mix, what portion of the business is installation-based as opposed to services and recurring revenue?

Boethel: Approximately 80% of what we do is installation-oriented work, and about 20% is either repeat or recurring business with a service platform, be it traditional service and maintenance or hosted services.

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About the Author

Contact:

Scott Goldfine is the marketing director for Elite Interactive Solutions. He is the former editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He can be reached at [email protected].

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