Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Vector Security continued its “migration” southward last week, acquiring Certified Security Systems. Founded in 1999, the Jacksonville, Fla. security dealer, which has garnered numerous awards, including Honeywell’s 2006 National Dealer of the Year, services residential and commercial customers in Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Coast.

 

“This strategic alignment with Certified Security Systems enabled Vector to gain a well trained and highly tenured senior management, sales, technical operations and administrative staff as well as additional customer base and office locations,” said John Murphy, president and CEO of Vector Security.

 

Vector, SDM’s 2003 Dealer of the Year, will maintain Certified Security Systems’ staff of 80, who will handle the company’s new Southern District. Vector entered the Southeast market last year when it opened a branch office in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., a move made in conjunction with expanding opportunities in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

 

According to Murphy, the similarity of the two dealers’ customer bases was attractive to Vector, particularly in the area of niche customers. Certified’s customer base includes more than 17,000 monitored customers in gated residential communities, regionally based multi-site retailers, home builders and educational facilities, he said.

 

“That’s the type of synergy we’re attracted to when considering an acquisition. It allows us to efficiently build future business opportunities on the complementary customer bases with which we are highly familiar and successful,” Murphy said.

 

 “We are extremely privileged and humbled with the level of success Certified has achieved in its 10-year existence while installing almost 30,000 systems,” Joe Hassan and John Sheridan, co-founders of Certified, said in a statement.

 

“Vector was the perfect match,” Hassan and Sheridan continued. “Their commitment to excellence in customer service is obvious with the many industry recognitions they receive.”