How did you like our first event? Roy Cooper asked in his May 2013 gossip.
I am talking of course about Security TWENTY 13, which I have to say was a fantastic success, but only thanks to an awful lot of people that helped us along the way, I mean thank you to our sponsors, Videcon and Vivotek, and thanks to all our exhibitors, not to mention our speakers which were all well received. One of our visitors asked me how were we able to get such a high calibre of speakers. Also thank you to all of those companies that marketed the event via their Twitter feeds, direct mailers and press releases. Thank you also to all my staff, Liz Lloyd in particular that organised a great event but the biggest thanks has to go to all of you that took the time out of your busy days to come along. My aim was for everyone to leave with some information that they never knew before, to see some products they have never seen, and to see applications of products they had never thought about. I am proud to say that we achieved all of these things and had a great time as well. At the networking dinner we raised £2143 for a 12-year-old boy called Joshua, suffering from leukaemia for a second time. Thanks to Andy Perry for pointing this worthy cause out to us. You can see photos over the page and from page 112 and read more about the event itself. And if you were there maybe we have caught you on camera? Take a look at our gallery page on our website. So where do we go from here? We plan to repeat the event on July 2 and 3 in London, dinner on the Tuesday evening and the conference and exhibition on the Wednesday. We have booked the Novotel in Hammersmith so come along, remember that if you’re an end user, a consultant, installer, integrator a specifier of security products or have been invited by an exhibitor, you get to come as a VIP, that means it’s completely free to you and lunch is on us. We have already got a fabulous line up of speakers and the event is starting to sell out with exhibitors. But if you can’t do London, on September 23 and 24 we are taking the event north to Newcastle. Likewise we have already reserved the Forest Of Arden for the same time next year. Hopefully no snow next March!?
May is here already and we are starting to fill our dance cards for IFSEC, so if you want me to visit you then you had better get in quick. But before then let’s catch up with that gossip you so love to read about. Let’s start with Kelly Bard, you may recall I mentioned last month she had moved to Siemens, well it seems that was not for her and she is now the international sales manager for Pyronix. Export is where Kelly is most comfortable so we wish her well.
Peter Swain from Defense Security who was at Security TWENTY 13 told me that he has recruited Mark Westhead as the COO (chief operating officer). It seems he is going to be responsible for Peter’s ambitious growth strategy. Allcooper, the Gloucester based fire and security installer, have recruited Peter Brimmell, who has taken on the role of Sales Service Surveyor. Wow, I was one of them once; I did not realise the title was still used in our industry. Having spent the early part of his career specialising in vehicle security products and tracking systems, Peter has a diverse background within the security industry. In 2008, he was an area sales executive for Chubb Fire & Security, before being promoted to key account executive in 2010. Funny that sounds a bit like my CV, hey Peter you could end up being the MD of a publication.
CMS plc has added to its field sales team; Adam Beresford is covering the Midlands and Wales. Adam joins from Comms Group, a Northampton-based communications service provider and earlier worked for Fibre Fab.
A few companies have moved offices this month. One is Samsung Techwin’s professional security division which re-located to Weybridge in Surrey on March 18. Samsung’s new offices are in the Heights Brooklands, riverside commercial offices where each building has views overlooking the River Wey. Nice!
Ruben Scetbon of Aasset Security UK has told me he is going back to France, though he will probably be at IFSEC. Paul Dodds is Aasset’s UK sales manager, reporting to HQ.
Motorola Solutions has led a $6.5 million investment in the Israeli company BriefCam. They offer the Video Synopsis product for condensed review of captured video – with an index to the original source, whether video feed or archive.
Charity
It seems that Rob Evans can’t stay out of the water. This time he is doing a bigger swim – namely 33 miles at 12 venues to raise money for Education for the Children, as last year. Then he raised £5310. This summer he starts with a ten kilometre swim at Eton. He’s going as far as Windermere, Cornwall and Ireland and he needs your help. Look him up at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com
