Hola! From Mexico City

When I think of Mexico, I surely do think of security. Here is a country with more challenges than you can imagine and where security plays a vital role in day-to-day life.

Expo Seguridad, a tradeshow held in Mexico City, launched nine years ago, thanks to Andrea Ferrando and George Fletcher, Lucy Rivero and GVI Security. Of course there were others who participated in getting this off the ground, but the key players are those mentioned.

This year’s version of Expo Seguridad was stunning as support from the security community in Mexico and Central America was held at a heightened pace. A crucial difference between tradeshows in the United States and Mexico is that Expo Seguridad is held from 2 to 8 p.m. One thing I thought curious is that at 6 p.m., a fresh batch of attendees are showing up at Centro Banamex to register and attend. You see, these people have been at work all day and are now attending the show.

“There is a lot of buzz in Mexico and Latin America about security,” said Steve Walin, president and CEO of GVI Security, based in Carrollton, Texas. “The security market is less mature in Mexico and Latin America, and there are fewer major players, but the talk of security is very strong here.”

GVI Security is one of the major players in the Mexican and Latin American markets with offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Mexico City and Bogata, Columbia.

“In the past years, we took Samsung to the No. 2 or No. 3 product in the Latin American market,” Walin said. “We fully expect to do the same with LG Security products going forward. Expo Seguridad is an important show for us to impress our customers and prospects without having to travel thousands of miles. We’ve been very busy.”

Busy is the name of the game at Expo Seguridad, and that’s especially so for Lucy Rivero, president of Inalarm. Her company is well known for its distribution channels but more recently for implementing a certification and education for installers.

“We see the education model working in the United States, so we implement that here,” Rivero said. “We’re the No. 1 pioneer of distribution in Mexico, and we’re successful because we bring the installer to this tradeshow. We also are pleased to announce our partnership with Axis Communications and Beldon products. We strongly believe in partnerships.”

For first timers at the tradeshow in Mexico City, the work can be a little overwhelming, but not for L-1/Bioscrypt, who is a first-timer.

“We have seen the demand increase for biometrics in Latin America,” said Shiraz Kapadia, COO of L-1 Identity Solutions. “Biometrics is used more for convenience in Latin America, and the top vertical seems to be the government.”

L-1 does have exclusive products for the Mexican and Latin American market, including 3-D facial recognition systems. Kapadia said that Expo Seguridad was an excellent experience for them and the company plans to return.

About the Author

Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher/Editor in chief of Security Today magazine.

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