If there’s one thing you should know about access control, it’s that Memphis-based MedixSafe brings to market a “key” component that no access control system should be without — a key cabinet.

It sounds simple enough, but adequately securing critical keys is often overlooked and can compromise the overall integrity of an otherwise well-thought-out access control solution.

MedixSafe was created in 2009 by Electronic Security Specialists (ESSC Inc.), a Memphis-based electronic security/network cabling company established in 1987 by its founder and sole owner, Jim Turner.

Although MedixSafe now serves roughly 600 customers worldwide, the company actually came into being in 2009 to meet the needs of just one. The first MedixSafe narcotics cabinet was created to meet the needs of the Jericho, N.Y., Fire Department. Its commissioner, Ted Kets, had a challenge that demanded a dependable solution; he was responsible for securing and accounting for all the narcotics purchased by the department and used on their ambulances. Uncomfortable with other cabinets on the market because they used a single PIN code for user verification which, inevitably, could be seen and used by someone else, Commissioner Kets turned to ESSC Inc. to build a small narcotics cabinet to meet his requirements.

It was then that MedixSafe took ESSC Inc.’s access control expertise and applied it to valuable asset management, primarily narcotics security and accountability. This enabled their offerings to control and secure valuable assets, as well as narcotics and keys.

Kets and his coworkers provided ESSC the dimensions needed so the cabinet would be big enough to house the narcotics carried, yet small enough to mount easily into an ambulance or fire truck. This cabinet required dual credentials, decreasing its ability to be compromised. The cabinet was named MedixSafe, because it keeps meds and medics safe.

From there, MedixSafe products, along with the demand for them, grew. As Turner explained, “Customers bought our MedixSafe products to secure their keys because of our multi-credential capabilities. We knew we could give them something even better, so we developed the key care cabinet as a self-contained solution. From there, we expanded the offerings and constructed KARE, a key access ready enclosure key cabinet that could be connected directly to an access control system.”

The key cabinet provides more secure access than low-end cabinets because dual, triple or biometric authentication credentials are required before access is granted and it connects directly to an access control system via a card reader.

Since 2009, MedixSafe’s product line has evolved and grown to include six different sizes, three keypad/reader selections, and optional wireless communications. All of its products have been created and customized to meet specific customer requests. MedixSafe’s reach continues to broaden, and it now serves the asset protection needs of people in the security industry, as well as veterinarians, doctors, dentists, pain clinics, hospitals, universities, the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Canadian Armed Forces, veterinary colleges, gold mines, and the U.S. Wild Life Management Service.

Under Turner’s continued leadership, MedixSafe maintains the same close-knit, family-like corporate environment as ESSC Inc., which currently employs 20 team members, six of which comprise MedixSafe.

Turner explained, “We are intentionally smaller, intentionally less expensive, and intentionally don’t manufacture high-end key cabinets. Our product is smaller and less expensive so that people can now afford to have one on every floor of their building or in every department or every office and still have centralized key control.”

For information, visit www.medixsafe.com.