American Alarm and Communications, ranked No. 27 on the SDM 100, acquired Security Design Consultants (SDC) of Westwood, Mass., further solidifying American Alarm’s security and life-safety customer coverage in eastern Massachusetts, the company reported.

A family-owned security systems company for more than 40 years, SDC served 1,800 customers primarily in Boston and the metro-west suburbs, along with a concentration on Cape Cod and the islands. SDC also served several municipal clients including security for the Weston Public Schools. All former SDC employees have transitioned to American Alarm.

“This is a great fit for our company, because the culture at SDC and the quality of their work is aligned with our approach to customer service,” said Louis Sampson, COO and co-owner of American Alarm. “We look forward to serving SDC customers for many years to come.”

SDC’s affiliated company, Audio Video Design, is not part of the acquisition and will operate independently from Westwood and Osterville, Mass. They will continue providing advanced integrated home entertainment and automation systems under the direction of its owner and president Brad Smith. “Looking to the future, I decided that my security customers needed the services of a company with more resources, one that can provide the very best service at a competitive price,” said Smith, former president of SDC. “American Alarm is the hands-down leading regional security company in New England. It is the model of the phrase ‘Big enough to serve you, but small enough to know you.’”

The SDC deal is the third acquisition in Massachusetts for American Alarm in the past year. In September 2016, the company acquired Electralarm Security Systems which served 500 residential and commercial customers in the greater Abington area. In January 2017, American Alarm announced the acquisition of Atlas Alarm of Weymouth, a major regional provider of commercial fire systems and services for more than 3,000 customers in eastern Massachusetts.

Barry Epstein, president of Vertex Capital, advised SDC on the transaction.