Back in 1980, Mr. Alan Higgins (now sales manager for ADI – Florida and points south) and I were a two-man operation running an alarm equipment distribution outlet in beautiful Cincinnati, Ohio. Because we were new in the market and up against major competition, it was often difficult to meet our monthly sales goals. As each month approached its end date, I would often wish for lightning storms to strike our immediate area to boost our sales totals.
In those days most burglar and fire alarm controls had little or no built-in protection against the power surges that often accompany local lightning strikes. Suffice it to say that a good lightning storm would wipe out a number of alarm controls, and I would happily greet the five to eight installation trucks inevitably waiting in our parking lot the morning after a major storm. Lightning may not have been good for alarm installation companies and their end-users, but on the control panel selling side of the equation it meant business.