Ultrak, MDI share 'vision' with dealers

May 1, 1998 12:00 PM, George Partington

Monitor Dynamics Inc. (MDI) held the first of what is expected to be a series of dealer conferences March 27, 1998, at the Alexis Park Resort in Las Vegas.

Harry Murray, president and CEO of MDI, welcomed some 47 dealers representing 27 companies to the inaugural MDI Dealer Conference. "We want to start genuine partnering with our dealers," he told the audience.

Murray reviewed the changes at MDI regarding its merger with Ultrak and its other manufacturing subsidiaries, which include Maxpro Systems (Australia), Diamond Electronics (Ohio), Philtech (South Africa) and Videv (Germany).

Murray introduced Ted Wlazlowski, who was recently hired as executive vice president of professional security to oversee worldwide operations of Ultrak. Wlazlowski said MDI will increasingly concentrate on marketing products in Asia, Europe, Canada, Australia and South America. He also stressed his intent to continually invest in training new people.

"The dealer is part of the organization, not the customer," Wlazlowski said. "The customer is the end-user." Customers want open standards in order to achieve interoperability of products, he said, and he pledged MDI would be on the forefront of this trend.

Products need to be compatible with environmental building controls and information systems, Wlazlowski noted. "I guarantee you, you will be talking more and more with IS directors who will want open standards."

John Carter, vice president of engineering, said he will head a product planning team that is market driven - "it has to be what the dealers and customers want and need," he said.

MDI has installed a new feature for dealers on its Web site: Dealers who are provided a password can access technical information on products and use a search engine to find answers to questions.

In breakout sessions, dealers also received an overview of MDI's product development process from Carter. Jeff Blum, Ultrak vice president of strategic development, and David McDonald, vice president of product development for Telexis Corp., an Ultrak strategic partner, reviewed the past of LAN/WAN communications and forecasted the technology's impact on integrated security systems.

Tom Verzuh, managing director of Ultrak's PSG Western Division, presented an overview of Ultrak's products and introduced dealers to Ultrak's product specification catalog on CD-ROM.

Richard Hennigan, Ultrak product manager, reviewed the Point Guard and SAFEnet access control systems for small- and medium-size companies, and Gary Clinard, vice president of Integrated Systems Research and Development for Ultrak, shared his vision for the future of the companies.

To conclude the conference, dealers were treated to cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, followed by dinner, which included a speech titled "Lessons from the Battlefield" by security industry consultant Alan Kruglak.

Security dealer Tony Green of Interface Security Systems said he appreciated the event and the honest and necessary exchange of information. "The team effort between Ultrak and MDI was apparent," he said.

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