Hanwha Techwin (formerly Samsung Techwin) held its annual STEP (Samsung Techwin Eco Partnership) Conference last month at the El Conquistador, a Waldorf-Astoria resort in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with presentations, demonstrations, news, and continuing education. The theme for this year’s conference was “Stepping Forward,” with an emphasis on the recent company name change to Hanwha Techwin.

The event was very well attended by STEP partners consisting of systems integrators from across the U.S. Tom Cook, vice president of sales, kicked off the event with a welcome speech and stressed to the attendees that Hanwha Techwin still owns the Samsung brand in the security space and that both R&D and engineering will not change. In fact, the cameras themselves will still carry the Samsung name.

Cook’s welcome address was followed by presentations from Soon Hong Ahn, president, Hanwha Techwin America, and David Kim, general manager of Hanwha Techwin America. These presentations provided the partners in the audience with background on Hanwha including its size (1,900 employees worldwide), annual revenues ($56 billion globally), and a historical perspective on the company from 1952 to present day.

As part of its aggressive growth strategy for 2016 and beyond, Cook informed the audience of key initiatives that are taking place that will benefit its partners, which include:

• the launch of a Priority Technical Support Line that allows quick lookup via case number;
• an inside sales force to ensure proper communication with STEP partners;
• a Project Registration Program designed to protect integrators bringing Hanwha into projects with end users; and
• the launch of the WiseNet 5 Chip, the latest upgrade to Hanwha’s core technology, which will arrive later this year.

Janet Fenner, director of marketing North America, gave a presentation on the company’s marketing strategy demonstrating how their message has evolved over the past year from “Everything’s About to Change” to “We’ve Got the Future Right,” which aligns with the company message over the past year and bridges the gap from Samsung Techwin to Hanwha Techwin. Fenner also announced marketing initiatives from Hanwha that include a LinkedIn campaign thru Hanwha in Korea, a new robust website due to launch in 2016 and “clinical trials,” a new program that offers marketing services to its channel partners.

Throughout the conference there were informative panels, including a STEP Dealer panel, moderated by Sean Grimm, Hanwha Techwin’s national account manager, consisting of Tony Varco of Convergint Technologies, Gannon Switzer of KST, Timothy Lyvers of ADS, Dan Cogan of Access Security Group, and Todd Cabot of Vector USA.

The conference also had several breakout sessions with presentations from Hanwha Techwin staff as well as executives from the company’s technology and distribution partners, including the likes of Altronix, Genetec, Milestone, OnSSI, Synnex Corp. and ScanSource Security, to name a few.

The STEP Partner conference culminated in a farewell/awards dinner, at which Hanwha Techwin recognized every level of partner, from manufacturer to employee. The 2016 winners are:

• Partner of the Year – OnSSI
• Integration Partner of the Year – Veracity
• Open Platform Partner of the Year – Arteco
• Distributor of the Year – ScanSource
• Outstanding Growth – In2Gro; Argyle Security
• National Account Integrator of the Year – Convergint Technologies
• Dealer of the Year USA – SSD
• Dealer of the Year Canada – Securium
• Rep of the Year – Legacy

For more information about the name change, see related article, “Samsung Techwin America Changes Name to Hanwha Techwin America” on page 17.