Staying In Line

Company stays ahead of the curve by employing secure ID access control solutions

• By Beth Wegener
• Jun 21, 2007

BEING ahead of the curve is important to the people at Alticor. That’s why they use state-of-the art technology to provide secure access control at the company’s headquarters and distribution centers.

Alticor manufactures and sells personal care products for more than 3 million independent business owners around the world. It also has a number of subsidiaries, including Amway, the widely known direct sales organization; Quixtar, an Internet ordering business; and Access Business Group, a manufacturing, distribution and warehousing organization that makes products for Amway and companies needing extra capacity. Although Alticor has not experienced any contamination of products through security breaches, internal experts recognize that a breach could be devastating. That’s why officials have put security measures in place to control access throughout its facilities.

Based in Ada, Mich., Alticor’s world headquarters spans more than 1 million square feet and houses nearly 4,500 employees. In addition, there are satellite warehouse and distribution centers in Georgia, Texas, Washington and California.

A One-Card System
“Our vision is to be a one-card system with HID iCLASS cards,” said Harold Crawford, Alticor’s protection services special projects manager. “Right now, we are using these cards in all locations, except those in California, which had its own legacy ID card system. We hope to convert all of our U.S. facilities to iCLASS by the end of 2008. We try to be ahead of the curve. Many companies come to us to benchmark their internal security operations.”

Alticor was an early adopter of ID card security more than 10 years, using Fargo Persona® card printers. In 2000, Crawford purchased three Fargo direct-to-card printer/encoders for access control and one DTC720 printer to produce a special application lockout card. The OSHA-required safety tag is an oversized, double-sided card that includes a person’s photo and warns people to avoid areas where employees are working under dangerous conditions. In many cases, the lives of those workers might be on the line.

In 2005, Alticor began another major card change project. Facing price increases by as much as 100 percent in three years for its existing access control cards, and recognizing technology had advanced significantly, security managers added new card access panel controllers with HID card readers and began producing iCLASS cards with five new Fargo high-definition card printer/encoders.

High Definition Printing™ technology prints an image onto a special film, which is then fused to the card, forming a virtually tamper-proof bond. This process also enables printing on cards with irregular surfaces such as smart cards with embedded electronics. iCLASS contactless proximity cards provide a high degree of data integrity and the ability to add features such as magnetic stripes, bar codes and anti-counterfeiting elements. Data is encrypted, reducing the risk of compromised security. Access control is not only more versatile, but also more secure. It is especially useful for companies with users needing access to more than one site, as data can be verified at multiple locations.

“We thought if we were going to move ahead with technology, we should get a system that would be good for the future,” Crawford said.

Future Flexibility
Kier Breckon of Richardson Business Machines in Grand Rapids, Mich., a Fargo solutions and service provider, helped Crawford make an informed decision.

“I give Alticor a lot of credit for a very meticulous planning and evaluation process,” Breckon said. “The company was very organized, which isn’t typical of many organizations. Alticor wanted a solution that provided flexibility for future projects and processes. There was good leadership and a defined goal. That’s why Alticor is ahead of the game.”

Crawford also said his department’s 10-member management team consists of proactive thinkers.

“We meet twice a month to discuss and make decisions regarding security issues. We’ve been doing this since 1994. We are a well-oiled security machine and believe we are ahead of the competition in this regard. Many companies benchmark against our operations,” Crawford said.

Integrated IDs
At Alticor, all employees are required to use ID cards to enter the facilities. In addition, there is a company store at which employees, spouses and dependents who meet certain criteria can shop, and an on-site fitness facility. Special cards are issued to spouses and dependents for special purposes.

Separate ID cards also are issued for contractors and contain a person’s name, their contact within the company and the expiration date of the contract. A duplicate card of a different color is issued for a contractor’s dashboard to use as a parking pass.

“This way, we can tell who’s coming in our gates,” Crawford said.

Temporary employees who require card access also receive a reusable provisional badge tracked with an internal numbering system.

Since 9/11, Alticor has added card access readers in the lobbies of its buildings, not just at exterior doors. Crawford admits, however, that Alticor’s biggest threats are probably not from terrorists, but rather from terminated employees who return with a lost ID badge. In the past, such cards were difficult for security personnel to visually identify as no longer valid. Now, lobby card access readers can identify cards that were previously voided, preventing security breaches.

“We are just trying to make things a little tighter,” Crawford said.

Today, Alticor provides secure access control in a variety of locations. The most important facility, where it all began in 1993, is the three-story research and development building, which houses 600 employees.

“This is what started us down the card access road, along with the data center,” Crawford said.

Now, there is a second research and development building, a back-up data center and a large warehouse that houses catalog products and the Quixtar corporate offices. The entire facility is access controlled at the gate and perimeter doors. In addition, telephone switch rooms are all access controlled, as is an aviation department at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich. This three-building complex is controlled at its perimeter, as well as at its interior doors.

Crawford said he is proud of the security advancements made by the company.

“We benchmark against other companies, comparing technology and price, and thus are able to justify any new requests,” he said. “Planning ahead is the biggest challenge. It can cost a company big money if its ducks aren’t in a row.”

This article originally appeared in the issue of .