All In The Family
From lamination to multi-layer authentication, the Schonzeit family has set the bar as both innovators and trusted authorities in the security industry
- By Monique Merhige
- Apr 01, 2017
Located in the heart of New York
City, Idesco Corp. and IDSecurityOnline.
com LLC, offer a physical
presence in Manhattan that
stock inventory, maintain a staff
of trained technicians and have a showroom
open to the public to educate and inform customers
as well as perform free on site security
consultations. Both companies represent the
family tradition of innovating, while maintaining
the trusted brand we all know today.
Keeping a family business going strong is
no easy task and takes determination, perseverance
and a commitment to a customercentric
philosophy that spans decades. What
sets apart a family business from any other
company is the sheer fact that each generation
wants to make improvements and continue
the momentum that the generation
before has built. Having the entrepreneurial
landscape in your family DNA is an added
bonus and can create the path of success for
any type of business with the proper management
and forward-thinking approach.
It all started in 1943 when Hyman
Schonzeit founded Identification Service
Corp. in the heart of New York City as a
manufacturer of laminated credentials and
safety tags. With its own design staff, printing
presses and lamination equipment, Hyman
quickly grew the business by winning
large corporate and governmental contracts
that included providing the War Department
with ID cards. The system involved
taking a person’s photo, developing Kodak
film, cutting the picture out, and laminating
it to a card-sized piece of paper. This manual
method of ID card manufacturing was the
standard in the industry until the late 1980s,
when the first card printers and digital identification
systems were introduced into the
marketplace. Idesco extensively tested numerous
manufacturers’ systems and aligned
with those that delivered the most solid
platforms. With the advent of the PVC card
and their associated printers, Idesco moved
quickly to upgrade its offerings. This early
adoption of new and better technology enabled
Idesco to not merely maintain its market
presence, but to expand upon it.
The Schonzeit family business continued
to evolve when Hyman passed down the
business to his son, Jack Schonzeit in 1975.
Identification Service Corp. grew into Idesco
Corp. and Jack continued to build upon the
momentum that his father Hyman created.
The company was known to provide quality
products and services in the ID market,
and Jack continued to deliver and exceed
his customers’ expectations. Keeping true to
the motto “All In The Family” Jack brought
his son, Andrew Schonzeit into the family
business and in 1980 offered him a variety
of jobs in the company while he was attending
college at NYU. In 1984, Andrew became
president of Idesco after the untimely passing
of his father. Under his supervision, the
company emerged as not only an ID badging
company; but a premier security systems integrator.
Andrew is a game changer; a true
visionary who saw the security industry
evolving and jumped on board without looking
back. As the security industry started
changing to open platforms and IP solutions,
Idesco was ready to take the business
yet again to the next level. Under Andrew’s
direction, Idesco successfully added security
products and services to their repertoire and
quickly became an industry leader in digital
ID badging systems, access control, biometrics,
turnstiles, visitor management and digital
video surveillance.
As a true pioneer in ID Badging, the last seven decades have been
an evolution for Idesco to turn into a full-service security systems
integrator, designing and managing high-scale system installations in
multiple vertical markets. Idesco has a large footprint in the education
market and works with some of the top universities in NYC and
Long Island such as NYU, Pace University, Adelphi University, School
of Visual Arts, and CUNY. Within each generation, there were fundamental
changes that took place, but the one thing that remained
constant was being able to separate family from business.
Family came first and foremost in the world of the Schonzeit family
and knowing when and where to discuss business was a cardinal
family rule. They were similar in so many aspects; yet different in the
way they approached daily business and company culture.
“Both my father and grandfather insisted that everyone call them
‘Mr. Schonzeit’ where most people in the office refer to me as ‘Andy,’
he said. “Our employees are part of the Idesco family and have shown
us a level of loyalty that has spanned decades. They have been with
us through thick and thin and continue to show their support and
dedication to Idesco and our customers on a daily basis.”
Idesco prides itself on having industry and product knowledge
that is second to none. With technicians and service professionals on
staff 24/7 to assist customers, a state-of-the-art NYC showroom, large
product inventory, and an online portal to schedule same day service;
Idesco has it “All”....and continues to keep it “All In The Family.”
THE FOURTH GENERATION
Gabriel M. Schonzeit began his career working at Idesco’s factory. Gabriel
worked his way up and streamlined Idesco’s marketing efforts.
“My father treated me like every other employee,” said Gabriel M.
Schonzeit, president of IDSecurityOnline.com. “I was both complemented
and critiqued for my work. His knowledge of the ID industry
is unparalleled and I am very lucky to have him as my mentor.”
In 2009, Gabriel and Andrew launched IDSecurityOnline.com
LLC. The goal was to provide affordable, durable and easy-to-use ID
card solutions for companies and organizations of all industries and
sizes nationwide. Today, IDSecurityOnline.com is a leading supplier of
ID card solutions that offers high quality ID card printers, photo ID
systems, ID card software, card printer supplies, ID cameras and badge
accessories. In just eight years, Gabriel and Andrew have created the
largest privately held secure issuance company in North America.
Gabriel built the business based on a commitment to excellence
and delivering exceptional customer service and support. His mission
statement has always been clear: Keeping every company and
individual safe and secure. “Security is based on trust. Trust is paramount
in adoption of new technology that saves lives.”
Gabriel is not one to react to markets, but instead creates them.
Similar to his father and the generations before him, Gabriel has built
a level of trust in the industry that cannot be replicated. “Protecting
physical assets with unique encryption as well as strong outlined
learning, and deployment guides can add a layer of security. “Educate
and inform” that is what I do all day and will continue to do in the
years to come,” Gabriel said. “If a company can educate and inform
and also be innovative, they will be successful,”
ALWAYS AT THE FOREFRONT OF INNOVATION
The needs of customers have changed drastically throughout the
years and customers have become more tech savvy. Both Andrew and
Gabriel are already ahead of the market and bring “swag” to an industry
filled with individuals who have reacted to the changing market.
“It is not an easy task to keep up with what customers truly need but
as an integrator, we have to be ready to meet all their requirements,”
Andrew said. “At the end of the day, it is all about offering solutions
that bring true value to our customers.”
One of the unique solutions that Idesco brings to the table is a
line of ID card printers for oversized badges, including the XXL 2.0
ID card printer which has quickly become a top seller. These printers
are designed to personalize oversized ID cards on demand. Widely
adopted by event managers, the XXL printer is used to secure major
venues, concerts, award ceremonies, tradeshows, and other corporate
functions. “Idesco has always been at the forefront of innovation and
technology,” Andrew said. “We wanted to offer a solution that would
help event managers issue oversized badges on demand easily and
affordably and that’s what we did with the XXL printer.”
For more than seven decades, the Idesco family has been protecting
New York and will continue to do so in the years to come
by providing innovative solutions and deploying them to American
companies who need them. The key to effecting nationwide change
is to offer proactive innovation combined with a solution built on
a foundation of trust. Hyman, Jack, Andrew and Gabriel Schonzeit
have each individually accomplished this. Keeping it “All In The Family”
has been the cornerstone of success for the family and can be the
motivation for other family businesses around the world to continue
building upon the successes of each generation.
This article originally appeared in the April 2017 issue of Security Today.