Carey Boethel, president and CEO, Securadyne Systems

With its second acquisition since its founding in February, Carrollton, Texas-based Securadyne Systems instantly gained a strong foothold in the Northeast, which was an area where Securadyne had no real presence. Not satisfied with a simple foothold, the company plans to make systems integration firm Surveillance Specialties Ltd. (SURV), based in Wilmington, Mass., the centerpiece of its Northeast growth, whether through acquisition or otherwise.

“We view SURV as a platform for regional growth in the Northeast,” says Carey Boethel, Securadyne’s president and CEO. “We will leverage their dominant market position and vertical market expertise as we expand our presence in the region. We may entertain additional acquisitions, but our primary focus is on organic growth.”

Securadyne and partner Palmlico Capital looked at SURV as a potential acquisition target based on the strength of the company, its ownership and deep relationships and experience in healthcare, biopharma, education and high-tech — all markets Securadyne serves.

“SURV exemplifies what we look for in a partnership.  They invest heavily in training and certifying their personnel, they’re committed to world-class customer service and they have developed very strong, long-standing customer relationships in the vertical markets we serve,” Boethel describes.  All of these things and more have made SURV the top systems integrator in New England.”

Founded in 1986 as a covert surveillance company by Arthur and Joan Bourque, SURV morphed into a full-service systems integrator in 1999. Since then, the company has grown consistently, according to Securadyne. Arthur Bourque, SURV’s president and CEO, will join Securadyne’s board of directors and remain active in setting the company’s strategic direction, including helping with future mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, SURV’s chief operating officer, Justin Davis, will join Securadyne’s executive team and will be responsible for leading the company’s Northeast region.

After evaluating their options when it came time to sell their company, the Bourques took their time before choosing Securadyne, which Arthur Bourque says was the right decision.

“We were fortunate to have a number of viable strategic alternatives for our business, but it was clear that Securadyne represents the future of our industry and is the best possible fit for SURV’s employees, customers and shareholders,” he says. “We’re very excited about joining the Securadyne team and the opportunities for growth that will be created by this partnership.”

As Securadyne scans the landscape for potential acquisition targets — should it move in that direction — Boethel says the company has a number of specific criteria it is looking for, starting with the people behind the business.

“What’s most important to us is a leadership team with a track record of success and investing back in the business,” he says. “Of course there are other criteria as well, like profitability and market position, but these are secondary to leadership’s track record.  The kind of sustainable success we look for typically comes from longstanding customer relationships where the target company has achieved ‘trusted advisor’ status with their top customers.  Lastly, we look for a company culture that embraces change and progressive thinking.  A group of smart people who have a track record of success and reinventing themselves is likely to be a terrific fit with Securadyne.”

So what’s next for Securadyne as it approaches its first birthday?

“At the core of our strategy is hosted and managed services in the enterprise-class segment of the marketplace.  There is much work to be done here, educating large sophisticated users on the virtues of cloud-enabled solutions,” Boethel says. “The small and medium-size business market segment is aggressively adopting the cloud given its compelling economic value proposition, but the enterprise-class segment is a long way from mainstream adoption.  We’ve got a lot of educating to do.”