American Alarm and Communications announced it has completed the acquisition of Phoenix Security Systems Inc. of Wilmington, Mass., which provided security, access control, fire alarm, and video surveillance systems and services for more than 800 businesses and homes, primarily in the metropolitan Boston and south shore areas of Massachusetts.

“We’ve been friendly competitors for a long time, and we believe that uniting our two companies is a great step forward for both, and more importantly, for the customers we serve,” said Louis Sampson, chief operating officer and co-owner of American Alarm.

Phoenix Security Systems was established in 2007 by Brad White, who built a portfolio of residential and commercial customers including several multi-site corporate accounts. Phoenix grew primarily through referrals.

“Our mission at Phoenix has always been to do our best for our customers,” White said. “After considerable thought, I knew the time had come to add the resources we need to keep serving customers at the levels they deserve. That’s why American Alarm is the right partner for our future.”

All Phoenix employees, including White, are now full-time American Alarm employees and will continue their efforts serving customers. The monitoring of former Phoenix Security customer locations has been transferred to American Alarm’s company-owned and operated UL listed and TMA Five Diamond-Certified 24/7 security monitoring center located in Arlington, Mass.

“Brad is certainly no stranger to our team,” said Wells Sampson, president and co-owner of American Alarm. “In fact, he’s helped train many of our technicians over the years. So, we know this is going to be a great fit and we look forward to working together to serve Phoenix customers with the technologies, services, and 24/7 support they need for many years to come.”

Earlier in their security careers, soon after each earned their Systems Technician License in Massachusetts, White and Sampson (together with a couple of other industry colleagues) co-founded a training program through the Massachusetts Systems Contractors Association (MSCA), the state’s trade group for electronic systems including security, life-safety communications, and automation. At that time, both Sampson and White knew there was a shortage of licensed systems technicians in Massachusetts, which was a barrier to growth for the industry. 

Furthermore, low-voltage systems work was not as well-known as a potential career path for many people, even though it is a fast-growing field with exciting technology. They hoped a new training program with a best-in-class curriculum would help to attract more people to consider the field and also help MSCA companies to develop their apprentices into productive licensed technicians.

The MSCA’s two-year training program they developed prepares people for the state licensure exam. The program has expanded to include curriculum for the Systems Contractors License, and for continuing education, which is required for technicians to maintain their licenses. Several hundred people have completed the MSCA training programs to date.White was the director of the MSCA training program for some 10 years, and was a preferred instructor for the continuing education courses offered for company technicians at American Alarm.