When copper prices peaked in 2008, a billion-dollar power company serving nearly 500,000 customers in the western United States installed SmarterFence, from Smarter Security Systems, at a substation to protect itself against copper theft. After a successful evaluation of the fiber optic system, the utility recently ordered more SmarterFence to secure two additional substations. SmarterFence is a cost-effective intrusion detection system that provides early warning of intruders with minimal false alarms. Its extensive field-proven reliability, ease of installation, and maintenance-free design make it a compelling choice to help secure a perimeter and protect revenue-generating assets, the company said. For information visit www.smartersecurity.com.

IQinVision announced that IQeye HD megapixel cameras are being deployed in an innovative Swedish project to cut down on costly gas station “drive-aways.” The expanding project is being implemented in cooperation with Milestone Systems and Niscayah. The Swedish Fuel Traders Association reports the industry loses more than SEK 50 million (approximately $7 million) every year from people driving off without paying for their fuel purchases. The anti-theft system is comprised of a Milestone XProtect Corporate video surveillance management platform running Milestone XProtect LPR Analytics, with at least two IQinVision IQeye megapixel cameras per station deployed to record the gas pump areas. All customer license plate data is captured and fed to a Niscayah Customer Service Center, where the license plate data is stored in a database. Should a customer forget to pay a fuel bill or simply drive off without paying, this event data is registered in the system. The next time a car with an offending license plate comes into the station, or any filling station in the country connected to the Niscayah system, the Milestone system sends an alert locally to the station and remotely to the Niscayah Customer Service Center, and the pump is automatically locked. “Of course our aim is to have as many filling stations as possible, which will boost the efficiency of the system. We count on getting around 100 filling stations by mid-year,” said Hans Molin, business unit manager at Niscayah Retail. For information visit www.iqeye.com.

Alvarado Manufacturing kept things rolling smoothly at the February Chicago Auto Show, and celebrated a 10-year milestone as the “provider of choice” for the event. The system implemented at this year’s Auto Show featured Alvarado’s handheld PocketGate scanners and GateLink Validation software designed to quickly process attendee tickets for the event. Each handheld scanner communicates wirelessly with GateLink Validation — one of several software solutions that Alvarado has developed for entry validation. The system can also validate print-at-home tickets and tickets purchased over a cell phone. “Alvarado is a great partner and the GateLink system worked flawlessly for us,” said Jerry Cizek, general manager of the Chicago Auto Show, the second largest auto show in the nation. “Alvarado’s system tells us the type of ticket scanned, where the ticket was purchased and the time of entry to the show. This is very valuable information for both our partners and the show managers. Best of all, the GateLink system keeps people moving through the entry process very rapidly, which is key for such a large event.” For information visit www.alvaradomfg.com.