Tri-S Security Corp. (NASDAQ: TRIS), a provider of security services and equipment for federal government and private entities, today announced that its commercial security subsidiary, doing business as Vanguard Security, has taken two important steps to increase revenues and gross margins. First, Vanguard has hired Sean Flynn as the new vice president of sales and marketing. Mr. Flynn will be responsible for growing both the market awareness of Vanguard's brand and the overall sales generation for the Miami tri-county area. Secondly, effective January 1, 2007, Vanguard raised its current billing rates by up to 5% for all current customers.
Both of these measures have been taken in order to further improve the overall financial results of Vanguard. Mr. Flynn has a strong background in sales and marketing with more than 20 years of industry experience including his most recent stint at Linc Services LLC, where he was responsible for sales and operations for clients such as Delta, AATC, General Mills, FedEx and Army/Air Force Exchange. Linc Services is a services provider for government and commercial buildings; of these services, security outsourcing played a key role in Mr. Flynn's direct operations. During his tenure here, he increased new account development by 50% in six months in the company's multiple key markets. Prior to Linc Services, Mr. Flynn's revenue-generating abilities were highlighted at Hitachi Consulting Inc. where he successfully generated more than $30 million in new revenues and increased its new client base by 25%. He also increased existing client business by 17%. Before joining Hitachi, Mr. Flynn was the Regional Director of Sales and Operations for ARAMARK Corporation (NYSE: RMK), an $11 billion provider of outsourced services to business, educational, healthcare, government and entertainment facilities. In this role, he was responsible for developing and expanding sales performance across the United States and growing the overall sales results in multiple geographic regions simultaneously.
In the same spirit of strengthening Vanguard's revenues, the company has increased its current billing rates by up to 5% in order to uphold the growing cost of employees and the typical annual increase of the cost of materials and personnel. All current clients have been notified. Vanguard prides itself on providing the best personnel and technology necessary for each client. As the cost of these human and raw materials rises with the economy, Vanguard must align itself with these industry cost factors.
"We are committed to maintaining the high level of security service our customers have come to expect, said Alfredo Gasteazoro, president of Vanguard Security. "The addition of Mr. Flynn and the rate increase are necessary steps in order to ensure Vanguard continues to offer the best quality security for our customers' and future customers' needs.
"As we continue to grow Vanguard Security into the company it is well positioned to be, we must take such necessary steps to stay ahead of the competition, said Ronald Farrell, Chairman and CEO of Tri-S Security Corp. "Our goal has been and continues to be to provide the best security service available in the Miami tri-county area. Our customers have come to rely on us for exactly that and we will do what is necessary to preserve the quality of our work.
About Tri-S Security Corp.
Based in Atlanta, GA, Tri-S Security Corp. (NASDAQ: TRIS) is a provider of security services and equipment for government and private entities spanning a wide range of industries. Security services include uniformed guards, electronic monitoring systems, personnel protection, access control, crowd control and the prevention of sabotage, terrorist and criminal activities. As a leading aggregator of elite security companies, Tri-S Security is designed to build a strong enterprise in which to service a unique customer base that ensures America's safety at home and work. Tri-S Security assumes responsibility for the marketing, infrastructure and overall operational performance for its subsidiaries. Tri-S Security's management leverages highly trained government officers, experienced industry leaders, proven financial executives and infrastructure experts to consolidate the fragmented security industry into one efficient and effective security force.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are commonly identified by such terms and phrases as "should,"expects, "plans,"anticipates, "believes,"estimates, "projects and other terms with similar meaning indicating potential impact on our business. Although we believe that the assumptions upon which such forward looking statements are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our projections and expectations are disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors section set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2006 and June 30, 2006. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to their underlying assumptions. We do not undertake to publicly update the forward-looking statements contained herein to conform to actual results or changes in our expectations, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You may obtain and review our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commissions by visiting http://www.sec.gov.
