Posted by Manny Urbina on Fri, Aug 13, 2010
ORLANDO – NovaComm Inc., a leading manufacturer of security equipment for financial institutions, global corporations, retail outlets, the U.S. government and homeland security providers, recently entered a three year strategic partnership agreement with Pemica, CA, based in Caracas, Venezuela.
Nova Comm's John González said Pemica
is a leading provider of technology to airports and security and construction industries in South and Central America and the Caribbean.
“Pemica affords us the opportunity to introduce our products to a wide range of Latin American and Caribbean clients quickly and effectively,” González explained.
“Already, they have opened the doors for a major presentation to the entire membership of the Panamanian Bankers Association,” González said.
NovaComm Manufactures and maintains its patented Access Control Vestibule that can automatically deny entry to individuals carrying weapons, while protecting everyone inside the building.
NovaComm’s Access Control Vestibule can distinguish between magnetic, non-magnetic and mixed alloys weapons.
The Vestibule — built of specially treated glass and aluminum with doors at each end — ranks as the most technological advanced security access system on the market today and meets all U.S. fire codes and ADA design guidelines.
The NovaComm Access Control Vestibule is already in use in government and corporate facilities throughout the U.S.
NovaComm is a member of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program and based in Kissimmee.
* * *
About the UCF Incubation Program:
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 140 emerging companies (over 90 current clients) create over $800 million in annual revenue and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With eight facilities across the Greater Orlando community, the Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, The City of Sanford, Lake County, the City of Leesburg, Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee, City of St. Cloud and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. For more information, please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.
NovaComm, Inc.
www.novaacu.com
info@novaacu.com
Posted by Manny Urbina on Wed, Jan 21, 2009
Tellers trapped him at the scene of the crime
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Dayton Police arrested a bank robbery suspect after tellers managed to trap him at the scene of the crime.
Police said the man ran into nothing but trouble when he tried to rob the National City Bank on Troy Street about 9:30 Tuesday morning.
He handed a note to a teller who "read note and saw he was demanding money from her drawer and said you don't want to do this," said Dayton Police Sgt. Andrew Booher.
He started out of the bank without any money, but didn't know National City had a new weapon to fight crime.
"Once he got to double doors the teller has [an] activation switch. Because of her quick thinking, as soon as she hit [the] activation switch, as soon as he went into the double doors he was immediately locked and basically caged," Sgt. Booher explained. "There was nowhere he was going to go. He was trapped in there and nothing else for him to do than give himself up."
There were customers in the bank, but police said they were never in danger.
The man did not have a weapon, but even if he did, the glass doors trapping him were bulletproof.
The teller who was handed the note said she's been robbed 13 times before.
NovaComm, Inc.
www.novaacu.com
info@novaacu.com
Posted by Manny Urbina on Tue, Feb 12, 2008
Bill Diaz, CEO of the security equipment manufacturer Novacomm announced the release of a seismic sensor switch designed to send an instantaneous signal which shutdowns heavy machinery and security systems in the event of an earthquake or explosion. 
The tri-axial sensor system detects and identifies earthquake seismic patterns and/or explosions that occur in enclosed spaces. The sensing device serves multiple safety functions including shutting down machinery and heavy equipment such as elevators. The device also deactivates access control systems and delayed egress doors to allow people rapid exit from harms way.
Following successful product beta testing in Los Angeles, Novacomm plans to begin selling the company’s patented sensing devices this month. Beta testing allowed the company to calibrate the sensing device using a modified Mercalli scale rather than the Ritcher scale. The difference is that the Mercalli scale quantifies the effects of an earthquake on more than just the Earth's surface as does the Ritcher scale. More importantly, the Mercalli scale evaluates the impact on humans and man-made structures, which are the key areas of importance to businesses.
“Statistically speaking, each year more than 500 earthquakes claim lives and damage buildings,” says Urbina. “We hear from organizations about the increased worry about security and safety relating to natural disasters, accidental explosions and those caused by terrorism. These surprisingly low cost systems make it possible to immediately release people trapped by locked doors and assist with evacuation.”
The sensing device was developed to meet and integrate into existing National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and International Code Council guidelines.
Novacomm Inc., a security equipment manufacturing business, specializes in the design and production of modular high-security entry systems, known as Access Control Vestibules™. Since its inception in 1984 the company has grown to be the largest privately-owned manufacturer of security vestibules. Products are distributed through an international network of dealers including Diebold and ADT. The company is based in San Juan, Puerto Rico with US offices in Central Florida. For more information, visit www.novaacu.com or call (407) 932-4266.
Media Contact: Caroline Kempf
caroline@ckc411.com
800.594.3252
NovaComm, Inc.
www.novaacu.com
info@novaacu.com
Posted by Manny Urbina on Sat, Dec 01, 2007
The increase in the number of robberies of financial institutions is driving an increased demand for better security. For NovaComm that's meant a growing demand for its access control entrances. NovaComm plans to open a manufacturing facility in Poinciana, Fla. That will be the firm's second plant, joining the current one in Puerto Rico. What makes the access control entrances so popular among financials? The entrances basically form a vestibule with interlocking doors, one from the outside and another into the building itself. Both doors cannot open at the same time. The glass in the vestibules is bullet-resistant. A metal detector in the unit is designed to look for weapons and stop an armed intruder from entering the building. When metal that might be a weapon is detected, an alert is sounded and an employee can then use an intercom to ask the person to identify himself and put any metal objects on a tray in the vestibule. Another option is for the visitor to step outside to his car, leave any metal there, then come back to the credit union. Financial institutions are key customers of the access control units. President/CEO Bill Diaz says more than 500 units are currently installed. He adds sales to credit unions are up significantly from five years ago, now accounting for 30 to 40% of orders. "Up to now—knock on wood—there's been zero penetration of someone carrying a weapon into a financial institution," Diaz says. "They've been 100% effective. These units have saved lives." While NovaComm is the manufacturer, the units are actually installed by firms such as Diebold and ADT. Cost ranges from $35,000 to $45,000, depending on whether the installation is a retrofit or is going into a new building, and on the number of units purchased. A couple new features are in the works. One is a high-speed scanner particularly intended for places such as federal buildings with large numbers of employees and visitors arriving. The second is a proximity card that would identify a member or employee and allow them entrance. It can be combined with another card, such as an ATM card, and is expected to be especially helpful to credit unions serving a large number of law enforcement personnel who may be required to carry guns even off-duty. The card feeds data to a computer which can tell the credit union which members are visiting the branch and when. Do members balk at all this security? "The majority of people go right through, and it only stops them for a second. Let's say someone is carrying an umbrella or wheeling a shopping cart. All an employee has to do is push a button and it allows the member in," Diaz notes. "Neither banks or credit unions are interested in loss of money. What they're interested in is the safety of their employees and their customers or members. We have found employees where these systems are in place feel a lot better. There is nothing more horrible than going to work when every day you don't know if you're going to be held up or not." Even so, Diaz acknowledges new technology can be viewed by many people as secretaries at first did the switch from typewriters to computers. Something new can seem threatening. He underscores the fact such entrances must be part of an overall security plan. Diaz recalls visiting a credit union where access control was being installed in front. When he walked around to the rear there was a glass door that someone could break to gain entrance in a very secluded area. He also advises credit unions considering a security entrance to make certain the units are approved by local fire and building codes.
ecour58516@aol.com
NovaComm, Inc.
www.novaacu.com
info@novaacu.com
Posted by Manny Urbina on Tue, Nov 06, 2007
Branch held up twice this year
By Bill Wolfe
bwolfe@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
A Chase bank branch that was robbed twice this year hopes to slam the door on armed robbers with a weapons-detecting entrance that scans customers with a metal detector and automatically locks out anyone carrying a gun.
Chase began work on the new vestibule Saturday at its 4038 Poplar Level Road branch, where two employees were shot in August during a robbery.
Carlos Ordway, 27, of Louisville, was indicted last month on two counts of assault, a count of robbery and a count of being a persistent felony offender in connection with the robbery.
The same branch was robbed April 10, with no injuries. Tshepo Tsambo of Middletown was charged in August with that and several other area bank robberies.
The maker of the new security device says another bank in the Louisville area has bought several units, but declined to identify it.
Fifth Third Bank spokeswoman Gail Lyttle said that company is considering installing the security entrances. National City Bank, Louisville's largest, would not discuss security measures. PNC and Republic Bank said they have no plans at present to use the devices.
The entrances are widely used in larger cities such as Chicago and Detroit, according to Chase spokeswoman Nancy Norris. Her bank has 29 in place nationwide, including in Indianapolis and Dayton, Ohio.
The Poplar Level Road installation is Chase's first in Louisville, Norris said. "It's not something we do in every branch. We make our decisions based on the history at the bank and other risk factors," such as the area's crime statistics.
So far this year, there have been 36 bank robberies in Louisville, compared with 38 at this time a year ago, said Officer Phil Russell, a Louisville Metro Police spokesman.
Construction at Chase's Poplar Level branch will take about two weeks, and the system will be activated two or three weeks later, once Chase explains it to customers, Norris said.
Customers will be required to enter the vestibule one at a time—though a child may enter with an adult—and shut the outside door before opening the interior door. Norris said the enclosure also "acts as a metal detector. If you are carrying heavy metal, the second door will not open. And in fact, the first door won't open to let you back out again, either."
Chase policy prohibits unauthorized weapons, so customers carrying guns will not be allowed in, even if they hold a gun permit, Norris said. Police officers would be admitted after showing identification.
The mechanism shouldn't be triggered by cell phones, loose change or even rolls of coins, she said. Items such as a large pocket knife or metal containers of breath mints could set off the system.
Bank workers can override the system and open the door for customers who show that a harmless object has set off the device. Otherwise, "we have the option of not letting you in, and instead, just simply letting you out," Norris said.
The trapping function is "all part of the safety and security. If a real bank robber carrying a gun cannot get in, we don't want them taking out their frustrations in the parking lot," Norris said.
Randy Thompson, who owns CT Haircutters at 4200 Poplar Level Road across from the Chase branch, said he visits the bank daily and welcomes the innovation.
"The more safety, the better," he said, adding that while going through the security doors may not be as convenient as open access, "I'd rather be safe than sorry."
In other cities where Chase has used the security entrances, "they reduce crime, most importantly violent bank robberies," Norris said, although she could not provide any numbers.
She noted that the devices only go at branches where there have been problems, "and at those branches it has helped tremendously to make our employees and customers safe."
Louisville Metro Police could not comment on the effectiveness of the entrances, Russell said. "We do not discuss bank security procedure. We feel it's a safety issue, where we just do not release information."
The security entrances originated in Europe and have been appearing more in the United States, said Manuel Urbina, president of NovaComm of Kissimmee, Fla., which makes some of the entrances used at Chase branches.
"We have over 600 units already installed in U.S. and Puerto Rico," Urbina said. The company began production in 1995, but the market began growing rapidly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, he said.
The systems typically cost from about $50,000 to $100,000 to buy and install, Urbina said, and are sold through distributors such as Diebold, which handles the Chase purchases.
Reporter Bill Wolfe can be reached at (502) 582-4248.
NovaComm, Inc.
www.novaacu.com
info@novaacu.com