Long-term relationships key to Per Mar's success

Feb 1, 1999 12:00 PM, ROXANNA GUILFORD

Ask Tom Lundy, Per Mar Security Services vice president for integrated systems, what accounts for Per Mar's success, and he doesn't miss a beat: "customer loyalty."

Some clients have been with the Davenport, Iowa-based company for more than two decades.

Per Mar, one of the Midwest's largest security dealers, has been family owned since it opened in 1953. And while Lundy stresses that the company has "no typical installations," it does have a standard approach to cultivating clients: customer service.

"For the most part, we win our customers for life," explains Lundy. "We accentuate customer service. Many of our customers are on their third generation of equipment, and we have always been there to service them." Generally, Per Mar provides installation, monitoring and support, and currently monitors about 30,000 customers from its UL-listed central monitoring facility in Davenport.

"Several of these customers use remote video," Lundy says, which is monitored from the same central location. Per Mar will also handle security-related administrative duties if needed.

Savvy consumers Identifying and meeting the customer's needs has become more of a team effort in recent years, Lundy explains. Many customers have clear ideas about what they want and need.

"It keeps dealers and contractors on their toes," he says.

For these clients, state-of-the-art installations are not shrouded in mystery. "You have a generation of people today who have been trained on computers all their lives," he explains. "They want systems and technology consistent with what they are already familiar with."

The result? A move away from proprietary systems and toward recognized name brands - including names customer do not always associate with security systems. "They want to see something like Microsoft or Dell on the system they buy," Lundy says.

Such sophistication means the learning curve for potential clients is less steep. "The more sophisticated they are, the more apt they are to see the value of what we have to offer," he says. "We use that to our advantage, and we try to bring in more than just the security component."

The result is a truly integrated approach - Per Mar often includes representatives from a client's human resources and IT or IS departments in the decision-making process. "From the human resources side, they want more secure facilities; the information technologydepartment wants to see security purchase something they are familiar with."

As companies become more aware of the need for high-level security, they are more willing to consider higher-end products and services. Part of that shift, says Lundy, is related to increased concerns about workplace security.

Security: a hedge against litigation "Security is something that, historically, firms don't like to spend money on," Lundy explains. "In their eyes, it doesn't make them money, and it doesn't save them money."

But he sees the attitude gradually changing. All it takes is a few well-publicized cases to get the attention of those watching the bottom line.

"The bean counters in organizations recognize that without adequate security, they are exposing their firm to a great deal of heartache, " he says. "There have been a lot of lawsuits over security in the last several years."

Workplace violence may be the most obvious liability issue.

"If someone comes into a workplace and beats up his ex-wife or shoots a coworker, there will be litigation, and the employer will have to answer tough questions as to what preventive steps he took to keep a hostile individual from harming an employee."

Year 2000 challenges Per Mar is working to bring its systems into Y2K compliance.

"We still have a ways to go, but pretty much have that under control. For the last three years, we have been aggressively replacing non-Y2K-compliant systems," Lundy explains.

Per Mar's longevity makes the task formidable. "We've been in the access control business for more than 25 years - we had a lot of older systems," he explains. "The field hardware was non-compliant, so we've been aggressively changing that out."

Even here, Per Mar's customer relationships and ongoing services pay dividends; they make identifying non-compliant systems relatively easy.

Despite the hassles of compliance, the Y2K threat actually benefits dealers.

"Y2K has opened the purse strings for security directors and facility managers," Lundy says. "I hate to describe this as a boon for our industry, but it should be perceived as such."

For once, facility managers and security directors can purchase the upgrades they may have needed for years. The top brass, formerly reluctant to spend money on security systems, does not have a choice.

"The guy who has lived with the limitations of a 10-year-old access control system can go to the top brass and say, 'Hey, this system isn't going to work on Jan. 1, 2000. I need to spend $75,000 to replace it.' "

Without Y2K, similar requests have been laughed out of the room. Not anymore. The corporate world is having to step up to the plate and spend money for Y2K compliance. As a result, more security systems are being replaced.

The business of security: staffing issues Technological advances, the new millennium and a changing marketplace drive firms like Per Mar. But one business factor has not changed. It is the same one companies faced 10, 30, even 100 years ago: finding the right people.

"The low unemployment rate is a real killer," Lundy says. "We have offices in cities that have virtually zero unemployment."

A heartland location makes this an even bigger issue, he says. While more companies are relocating to the Midwest, workers are not. "People aren't interested in coming to the Midwest," he explains. "It's a real hardship."

To address the problem, Per Mar has implemented a manager-training program for individuals straight out of college. And it identifies key resource people and makes them available company-wide. The UNIX expert may be in Des Moines, but he is available to all the branches.

Ongoing relationships Lundy attributes much of Per Mar's success to tailoring its services to the client's needs.

Some access control firms focus on bids for big jobs, installing systems and moving on to the next project. Lundy likens these firms to general contractors.

"The other type is our type - the relationship-oriented service enterprise that usually negotiates its services and the costs with end-users and maintains long-term relationships with those end-users," he explains. "Our revenues are derived from that on-going relationship [rather] than from the profit of a single project."

What lessons can he impart? "Work hard to identify the prospective customer's needs and come up with a solution addressing those needs with more than hardware and brand-name equipment," he advises. "Focus on the value-added nature of the sale rather than on the equipment."

Per Mar fact sheet

Headquarters: Per Mar Centre 1910 East Kimberly Road Davenport, Iowa 52807 (800) 4PERMAR (319) 359-3200 www.permarsecurity.com

Founded: 1953

Other locations: -Des Moines -Cedar Rapids, Iowa -Madison, Wis. -LaCrosse, Wis. -Eau Claire, Wis. -Janseville, Wis. -Rockford, Ill. (electronic security headquarters)

Territory: Per Mar's business is focused in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, and according to Tom Lundy, vice president for integrated systems, the firm has no plans to expand beyond the Midwest. "Further expansion would dilute out capabilities," he says.

However, Per Mar has several customers with branches throughout the country, and it handles security for all those sites.

Officers: -Michael Duffy, president -Paul Parr, executive VP/COO -Blake Finch, VP -Michael Simpson, VP/CFO -Dean Guyette, VP -Tom Lundy, VP integrated systems -Kevin Gerrard, VP physical security (Per Mar is privately held, with no immediate plans to go public.)

Employees: 2,000 (about 300 of them work for the electronic security division)

Clientele: mid-size corporate industrial

Annual revenue: more than $30 million

Recent installation: One recent installation was designed for the headquarters of a large insurance underwriter. The base project was completed in 90 days. The specs: -Software House C*CURE 800 -64 readers -64 cameras with p/t/z -cameras brought to head-end over customized fiber-optic cable - multiplexer -integrated ID badging -personnel database downloaded from HR files

The business: Per Mar provides a variety of residential and commercial security-related services. Its primary commercial services include:

Event security -Professional and college sports (Per Mar provides event security for Green Bay Packers home games as well as the University of Iowa, Iowa State and the University of Wisconsin.) -Concerts -Festivals and fairs -Arena events

Access control The firm's access-control service range from building security to record management.

Fire protection Per Mar has a division that offers commercial alarm and fire-suppression systems, and its Fire Protection Unit will come on-site to monitor extinguishers and other fire-prevention equipment. The fire-protection service can, of course, be integrated with any other Per Mar security package.

Investigations Per Mar offers both technical and human investigative resources. It will design hidden surveillance systems tailored for individual applications and provide undercover investigators to detect drug use and safety violations. Per Mar's main investigative areas are: -Workers' compensation fraud -Undercover investigations -Attorney services -Backgrounds and screenings

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