Securing America's last frontier

Aug 1, 1999 12:00 PM, Dave Harbour

The 26,000-square-foot Alaska Native Heritage Center's welcome house blends nicely with its 26-acre parcel of forested land. The center is just 12 minutes from downtown Anchorage, Alaska's transportation, economic and social hub with a population of about 300,000, including more than 20,000 native Alaskans.

Attendees at the grand opening of the center last May saw stunning architecture and heard native music. Some may have even noticed window and entryway decals announcing the center's use of CCTV and alarm services from Action Security Inc., Anchorage, Alaska.

Action Security has a proud northern heritage of its own. Founded in 1963 by security pioneers Robert and Charlotte Henke, the company is a reflection of Alaskans' determination to survive and even prosper in some of the world's most challenging geography.

Muddy roads outnumbered the few paved streets in Bob Henke's boyhood town of Anchorage, which then had a population of less than 75,000. "There was little airline traffic connecting the Territory of Alaska to the 'lower 48.' Most of our supplies came here by barges and ships," Henke recalls. He worked in a locksmith shop during his school days, interspersed with an occassional hunting or fishing trip.

In 1959, Alaska became America's 49th state, two years following the discovery of oil on the Kenai Peninsula, near Anchorage. In 1963, Henke founded his own locksmith operation, at a time when most Alaskans didn't even lock their doors at night. Since he was one of a few security pros in the state, he easily picked up direct buying distributorships with manufacturers. Master Lock was one of the first, followed later by Schlage, Weiser, Ingersoll Rand, Marks, Kwikset, Hadrian and Ceco. But, since security wasn't at the top of everyone's list, he filled his time sharpening knives and lawnmower blades and working with Browning and Amsec to become the state's largest safe dealer. Henke learned that diversification was key to survival in a sparsely populated area. "Just like a small town general store owner, you needed a broad array of products and services to supply the needs of your diverse market," he says.

With manufacturer-direct buying power, Henke decided to experiment in distributing security products to others, and a wholesale division was established, complete with a hollow-metal door and frame fabrication shop. Slowly, Henke and his life partner, Charlotte, were becoming respected as the state's leading security providers. Their employees began to service accounts throughout Alaska, from Fairbanks and Nome to Juneau in the south. To get an idea of the enormous challenge, visualize a state with: * land mass 20 percent the size of the lower 48. * 3 million lakes, compared to Minnesota's 10,000. * three fourths of America's coastline. * cities and villages reached only by plane or boat. * a population of less than 700,000.

The pipeline brings growth. In the 1970s, Alaska began to mature as a modern state. Prudhoe Bay's oil had been discovered in 1969, and the pipeline was constructed in the mid-70s, following enactment in 1971 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The excitement of the pipeline, rising economic power and new technology combined to electrify the spirit of the young state.

With the advance in technology and demand for commercial/residential security products, Henke opened two more retail stores, one in Anchorage and the other in Fairbanks, closer to the Prudhoe Bay action.

In the 1980s, he considered the bank security business. "National bank equipment manufacturers dominated the landscape," Henke recalls, "and I knew that most of Alaska's banks would welcome locally owned competition." He created the Financial Security Services division and within a decade had captured half of that market through competitive pricing and local service. The division offered pneumatic tube drive-ups, vaults, alarms, surveillance cameras, cash dispatch machines and ATMs. Action Security's suppliers were LeFebure, Mosler, Diebold, Hamilton, ComCo and others. The company has service technicians in Anchorage, Fairbanks andJuneau, including the only fully accredited safe/vault technician in the state.

Embracing electronic security. As electronic security became a powerful force in the lower 48 states, Henke created the Electronic Security Services division by purchasing a Sensormatic Electronics Corp. franchise. As Sensormatic of Alaska, Action Security supplies commercial customers with state-of-art video surveillance products, electronic article surveillance products and point of sale exception monitoring products.

The evolving company became a member of the Professional Security Associates (PSA) network, a $9 million international security systems company with operations in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom and other locations, including 200 offices in more than 35 countries. PSA specializes in the design and installation of CCTV, access control and integrated systems for security, management control and communications. PSA's primary goal is to partner with integrators to provide quality products and reliable, proficient service from one source.

Last year, Action Security's 50 employees opened an office in Juneau, the capital, and created a new division: Action Security Contract Hardware. A year ago, the contract unit had zero contracts in its pipeline, and by January 1, 1999 had $1 million in awarded contracts for some of Alaska's premier projects: Alaska Seafood International, schools, health facilities, government offices and more.

What does the future hold for this small business on the edge of the map? "Unlimited opportunity," answers Henke. His employees have established business relationships in the Russian Far East, principally with international oil and service companies. "As depressed as Russia currently is, the Russian people are indefatigable and the resource potential is huge," Henke observes.

For two years, Action Security has been providing electronic business services to its customers, enlarging its market outside the artificial barrier of the Alaska state line. With other businesses, it has created a selling cooperative (AkRA, Alaska Resource Alliance), on much the same model as PSA operates its buying co-op. Action is also excited with its networking of other bank/credit union service companies through its membership in National Independent Bank Equipment and Supply Association. It provides security products to the federal government, worldwide, and is considering acquisitions, strategic alliances and growth in other parts of Alaska and the lower 48.

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