Once A Champion...Always
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Nov 01, 2016
There is something to be said about a close family business. There
can be trying times, but by and large there are close ties not
only to business projects, but for family matters as well. Let’s
take, for instance, The Champion Group of Companies, based
in Farmingdale, N.Y. The Champion Group of Companies is comprised of
two distinct companies that includes Champion Systems Integration and
Champion Alarm Systems with Champion Electrical Maintenance and
Communications recently consolidated under Champion Alarm Systems.
Champion’s work doesn’t stray too far from its local office, but rest assured,
they stay plenty busy in New York City and its five boroughs. This is
the kind of company where the top brass aren’t the first ones out the door
and 5 p.m. doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the end of the work day.
Champion was founded in 1992 as small commercial and home alarm
business. John DiStefano joined in 1995 to grow the company. In 2008,
John DiStefano bought out his previous partner to assume 100 percent
ownership of Champion Alarm System, LTD. Kevin Tomlinson joined the ownership team as the CFO in
2010. Between the years of 1995
to 1998, John DiStefano launched
an aggressive marketing campaign
helped the company migrate to a
systems integrator, focusing primarily
on the public sector.
In 1996, Champion enjoyed a
breakout year when they partnered
with Vicon Industries and became
the top dealers for the U.S. Postal
Service. This partnership lasted
seven years, and when the well went
dry, it was time to expand into different
areas of business, including
data voice and fiber connectivity.
“When we migrated to systems
integration, Champion also began
building projects and doing many
more exciting things,” DiStefano
said. “Our technicians became fully
certified with several manufacturers’
products, and before long we
were a top tier integrator, and found
exciting work within completely
different markets.
“When we lost our service contract
with USPS, it was really an opportunity
for us to expand into other
areas of expertise, and increase our
proficiency with data, voice and a
migration to fiber work. With fiber
proficiency, we began investing our
talents in the school system,” he said.
Champion has been helping
New York area schools with their
IPDVS camera system deployment
since 2004, and has been the lead
authorized Installer for the IPDVS
program ever since. They have
experienced steady growth in the
education market throughout all
Low Voltage systems, which DiStefano
expresses has proven to be a
recession-proof sector.
It is difficult to tell that Champion
has a monkey on its back because
when they win a contract,
they design the system, develop the
programs and calibrate the camera
systems. Before they put anything
in place, the entire system
is checked out at the Farmingdale
office. Then it goes on its way to
the site. The schools learned very
quickly that while they initially
brought Champion in for expert
advice, the company quickly transitioned
into school business for fire
systems, sound systems in auditoriums
and reselling security product
from other systems integrators. The
list of new work grew to include intrusion
devices and access control.
The company also provides several
thousand synchronized clocks each
year in the New York area and has
provided more than 10,000 in total
thus far.
“With a multitude of growing
school contracts, we’ve experienced
30 percent growth year over year,
Tomlinson said. “And once we started
offering complete system Integration services for all 11 Low Voltage
systems in a school several years ago,
it allowed us to provide our clients
with a one stop shop to get a complete
LV solution on their projects
from one integrator, which has certainly
helped our steady growth.”
“We quickly became very comfortable
in the education vertical,”
DiStefano said. “We found it to be
a comfortable market for us, and
profitable. We’re very active in all
five NYC Boroughs and in the city
itself. This meant schools from Pre-
K to the high school level. It is our
attention to detail and customer
service that brings us work and
helps us keep the work we have with
various electrical contractors.”
The integration team is busy all
year long. Champion has ongoing
work in 100-plus schools in the NY
area per year. These various work
projects can mean single system
installations or multi-system site
installations.
Champion also pays particular
attention to city and local security
opportunities as well as state and
federal government work. For instance,
Champion has been awarded
a significant portion of connectivity
refresh in the NY area. It is a
five–year contract with extension
options. The Champion team also
provided the fiber connectivity,
including terminations and testing,
for the Queens Midtown Tunnel
rehabilitation project which
is enhancing the communication
systems for all three ventilation
buildings controlling the Tunnel.
Champion has security integration
contracts for the NYC Housing Authority
Sector, as well.
The sweet spot for Champion
is clearly bringing all the systems
together. That includes IP cameras
over the network, engineered
sound, fire alarm, and then when
finished with one task, starting all
over again. Champion staff has several
interesting relationships that
are a boom to their own business
model, redefining what a system
integrator is all about. They call it
a value-add campaign where they
pair with an electrical contractor
and complete specific portions of a
job. This saves the contractor money,
and is a booming business for
Champion. Champion usually does
all the fiber termination and fiber
testing and when they sell the connectivity.
They also have found that
when they become a dealer for various
product lines, their own profitability
increases.
Perhaps one of the most recent
and high-profile security installations
is with the JFK Air Train,
at the JFK International Airport.
Champion has installed video, access
control and wireless backhaul on the airport trains while they are traveling within the secured area of the
airport, and they provide all emergency communications for the JFK Air
Train services.
“Everyone on the staff sells and manages the JFK Air Train system,” said
Robert Alleva, director of engineering at Champion. “The project was developed
from the ground up, including a brief safety training for the Rail
king, twin turbo diesel maintenance train. Fluidmesh set up the radio system,
did the trial run, and we found the ability to provide 30 frames per
second, sending that information to the central terminal for processing.”
The project is not quite complete and is ongoing for about another year.
There is rolling out the balance of the lines, testing and troubleshooting and
then, the final deployment. What Champion’s staff found was that the JFK
Air Train terminals and the old access control system were installed many
years ago, but was done haphazardly. Today, the system is under complete
protection, including 200 card readers, and every electrical room is secured.
“The key to an engineered solution for the JFK Air Train was the wireless
backbone,” Alleva said. “This is not something you buy out of the box.
This entire system had to be completely tuned and custom built. This is a
true engineered solution that took two years to complete.”
Speaking of engineering solutions, The Champion offices located in
Farmingdale, New York are finely tuned to get every ounce of productivity
in its space. The office area is similar to any office, but there is a “family”
dining area with New York bagels in the morning for those involved in
morning meetings and an assembly area where every part and every component
is tested prior to installation.
Champion also plays well in the transportation sector with Port Authority
of New York/New Jersey, where wireless signaling is part of the systems
integration. This integration also creates a multi-port switching circuit for
the computer network, digital signage on the train, which brings content to
the train and its riders and all applicable flight schedules.
Planning for the future, Champion acquired North American Video’s
(NAV’s) Commercial Integration Business in New York, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania in July 2015. With a second office in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
and the right team of professionals under their belt, Champion continues
to design, install, and support sophisticated security solutions for a widearray
of customers, and operates as part of a consolidated group of experts
from several key companies within the Champion Group portfolio. This
business unit is led by Kevin Myren and known as Champion Systems Integration,
LLC. With 35 years of experience dedicated to the security industry,
Myren managed NAV’s NE commercial security business and led the
management buy-out of NAV’s NE commercial business—creating Champion’s
systems integration division.
“I’m really proud of the people around me, and what has been accomplished
here,” DiStefano said. “The productivity of the people around me is
a great story that needs to me told. Something that we take very seriously is
addressing the risks around us, we sell value and more importantly, we treat
our customers with respect.”
Today’s Champion business model is focused on the end user and their
specific needs and desires to security.
“A customer to us, is a customer for life. We have an awesome group of
clients,” Tomlinson said. “When John and I came together and ‘re-started’
this business venture in 2010, there were five people working in one room.
Since then, with year after year growth and a staff of 30 employees now, we
have had to build out a brand new office and warehouse location to accommodate
our staff and our clients.”
Like many businesses nationwide today, at about 5 p.m. work winds
down for another day, but at Champion family and staff begin to filter out,
but that doesn’t mean the day is done. Chances are you’ll find the team talking
business at a favorite watering hole, or team dinner at nearby Vittorios
in Amityville, N.Y. Talk around the table quickly turns from work, to the
menu and finally back to family.
This article originally appeared in the November 2016 issue of Security Today.