Page 71 - Security Today, July 2017

Dealer Strategies
tributed sweat equity to help build a company sponsored Habitat for Humanity home in South Florida. The company is contributing support and expertise for the creation of a national sport security laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi to address the evolving security concerns at U.S. spectator sports venues. Red Hawk teams from Massachusetts to Miami and Houston to Los An- geles collect and distribute food and clothing to those most in need in their communities.
“These efforts represent a cornerstone of the organization’s com- mitment to local communities that are growing along with Red Hawk’s business,” Lohr said.
These efforts represent a cornerstone of the organization’s com- mitment to local communities that are growing along with Red Hawk’s business.
“We look at growth inside our business and know it has to be multi-faceted. We plan to deliver for national accounts and make im- portant additions by acquiring some companies. We also expect to
Monitoring Matters
become, over the years, much larger in the security integrations busi- ness than fire, but service, maintenance and monitoring agreements remain an important part of the mix,” McWilliams said.
Finally, it’s the Red Hawk teams in the local district offices who are empowered to make decisions for their local markets without a lot of the red tape you might find at a larger company.
“Yes, our local Red Hawk leaders have certain rules, best practices and customer-established service requirements, but apart from some review and support from senior management our local managers and technicians know their markets and their customers and ultimately are the ones who deliver on our commitment to customers,” McWil- liams said.
It’s an entrepreneurial, grassroots approach to customer service and the formula for success as Red Hawk continues to nurture the kind of growth that keeps it the biggest small company in the business.
Ann B. O’Connor is president of Ann O’Connor Strategic Communications.
By Ralph C. Jensen
If you are not familiar with Red Hawk Fire & Security, that’s too bad. The security and fire integrator has 35 locations nationwide, and has recently partnered with Affiliated (central station) Monitoring. The technology merger allows Red Hawk technicians the ability to test security and fire systems on their phones, for instant results.
According to Michael B. Lohr, the senior director of marketing at Red Hawk, they now have access to monitoring management services that the company did not have before. Because of the partnership with Affiliated, Red Hawk is now able to offer customers such things as video alarm verification or a video guard tour.
“We were also able to help Affiliated Monitoring better understand the opportunities they were not using at the time,” said Rick Tampier, senior director of sales and product strategy at Red Hawk. “Technically, we are just one of many Affiliated Monitoring customers, but we’re employing all technology available to us and our customers.”
Red Hawk is immersed in the security industry as an integrator, but at the same time, they integrate an equal number of fire solutions. The trend is moving more toward security, said Michael McWilliams, president and CEO of Red Hawk. That doesn’t mean fire is going away any time soon, but he said the security industry is just a bigger portion of the pie these days.
Red Hawk, a spinoff from UTC, is a privately held company only five years old but with an abundance of industry knowledge from nu- merous industry veterans. The company employs about 1,200 people, the majority of their work on the East and West coasts, and along the southern Texas Gulf Coast. They also have a presence in the Chicagoland area.
The company keeps several topics top of mind, including Cybersecurity.
“We’re concerned about it,” Tampier said. “Nothing is fool-proof, but our first priority is to do no harm, to protect network servers and the
server rooms. We have to look at this from the manufacturer’s point of view in order to protect products. All equipment we use is vetted by our team before it goes into the field for installation.”
Red Hawk works with the architect and engineering community, and is quite aware of fire regulations. Their customers are the benefactors of their ongoing concerns. While they don’t talk specifically about their clients, growth is fueled by several key end users.
They also maintain critical agreements with well-funded manufacturers who also have the end user in mind. This is accomplished by due diligence, and offering a little bit of consulting to their customers. For instance, customers should always have a software support agreement in place and always maintain an honest and hard-working company reputation.
Sometimes, maintaining a flawless reputation comes by making sure that they understand and can meet the customer’s needs fully. While no one likes to pass on an opportunity, McWilliams said in the unlikely event Red Hawk is unable to provide the requested products or services, they will pass. He knows a customer relationship based on trust and professional performance is critical, but he also knows the Red Hawk staff offers the latest technology advancements as well as a team of experienced people who keep the commitments they make to customers.
Ralph C. Jensen is the editor-in-chief of Security Today magazine.
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