Global Security Devices:Global Security Devices (GSD) is planning to make a name for itself as a developer and manufacturer of innovative access control equipment for the security industry.
The company was formed in March 2006 by Peter O'Connor, an electrical engineer and security systems expert, who saw a gap in the market for an access control system which could transfer data around a building without the expense of a wired network.
"We wanted to provide a solution that would deliver all the features that an end user or installer would require of such a system, yet be easy and cost-effective to install," says O'Connor, who is also managing director of the company. "Traditionally, installation has accounted for 60 per cent of the cost of access control systems. We think we can reduce the installation cost by 40 per cent, which will give us a competitive edge in the marketplace."
He is joined on the management team by Myles Glynn, a software systems engineer whom O'Connor has known since they studied together at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Galway in the early 1990s. Glynn is technical director of the new venture.
The access control market encompasses a broad spectrum of products and systems. They include stand-alone devices, card readers, controllers, PC software and high-end systems that include time and attendance and biometric technology.
The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region is estimated to be worth in excess of €315 million at manufacturing level in 2006 and growing rapidly. The target market for GSD's wireless system is private homes, commercial premises and financial institutions.
It has already developed and fully tested a prototype, where security and reliability have been key considerations in its design, says O'Connor. "It's based on a Zigbee network, a new technology with 32-bit to 128-bit AES encryption, so it's a very secure solution."
GSD does not plan to manufacture its own products, but have them contract manufactured by a third party. It is in advanced discussions with two potential manufacturing partners.
Ahead of the planned launch of its product portfolio in March, GSD will be appointing a network of distributors that has specialist knowledge of the security industry. "We'll appoint 10 distributors in EMEA including probably three in Ireland," says O'Connor. "We'll train them and get them fully familiar with the product and then move it out from there."
He adds that the distributors he has talked to have shown enthusiasm for the company's wireless technology, which he claims is unique in the access control industry.
GSD has raised €525,000 in start-up capital to date. O'Connor has put €150,000 of his own money into the business, with €375,000 coming from private investors through the Business Expansion Scheme and seed capital funding. The company has also been awarded a €34,000 technical feasibility grant by Enterprise Ireland, which it is in the process of drawing down.
He reckons that the current funding levels will see the company through to profitability, which is expected to be as early as the end of this year.
In terms of revenue projections, O'Connor expects that GSD will turn over €750,000 in year two, 65 per cent of which will be exports. This will increase to €2.6 million by 2009, 75 per cent of which will be exported. Staffing levels, currently at four, are expected to rise to 15 in 2008 and 25 in 2009.
GSD is located in serviced offices in Tallaght, but it would transfer to the Synergy Centre at IT Tallaght should it win the competition. The company has already forged links with the electronics department there and has used its telecoms lab to test and develop its radio frequency equipment. It is also in discussion with the institute about the possibility of establishing some joint projects.
O'Connor believes that GSD can make an important contribution to the entrepreneurial atmosphere at the centre. "GSD is a young company that believes that innovation and using the latest technologies are the keys to success. I believe this is the attitude companies need to have to make the Synergy Centre the vibrant, energetic, office-based environment it should be," he says.
