EXECUTIVE INSIGHT LEADING THE PROFESSIONAL CHARGE
FALL 2023
ISSUE 53
Delivering Security for the
Future
Built on strong foundations, the company is this year celebrating its 60th anniversary, and is ready to embrace the future.
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT MAGAZINE
2
I FALL 2023
FALL 2023 I EXECUTIVE INSIGHT MAGAZINE
Delivering Security for the
Future
Silmar Electronics, one of the largest independent distributors of security technology in the United States, can rightly be proud of its achievements. Built on strong foundations, the company is this year celebrating its 60th anniversary, and is ready to embrace the future.
S
ilmar, headquartered in Florida, was founded in November 1963 by Jorge Martin Smith, an electronics engineer who together with his family migrated to Miami from Cuba in 1960. When he first established the business, his primary focus was the manufacturing of eavesdropping devices. When the privacy laws of 1968 were enacted, he changed the company’s direction and became a wholesale distributor and installer of low-voltage equipment. In 1974, the business switched exclusively to wholesale distribution.
3
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT MAGAZINE
I FALL 2023
Flair Electronics Flair Electronics has been in business since 1967. We are a US based manufacturer of electronic security equipment, including high security door position sensors, perimeter security, panic alarms, nurse call and more. Flair was founded by two engineers and we still have an engineering focus, designing our products from the ground up with attention to quality, reliability and cost. Many of our products have a lifetime warranty. And we are always willing to help our customers with custom applications. Twenty years ago Jorge Smith and Silmar Electronics switched from competitors to distribute our products to their large base of US and South American customers. We have been blessed to be partners ever since. Jorge’s leadership is exemplified by their team of kind, intelligent
people who are also fun to work with. Flair continues to be at the forefront of electronic security innovation with our new patent pending high security Levell II door position switch, fence vibration sensor used at our borders, and nurse call wireless multi-call station. With a great partner like Silmar helping us get these products to the market the future is bright. Thank you to Jorge and Silmar for their trust in Flair Electronics. We wish you health and prosperity.
Company contact: Morgan Morgan President of Flair Electronics
morgan@flairsecurity.com
Today, Silmar Electronics is one of the largest independent equipment distributors in the United States for security systems, fire alarms, CCTV, access control, home automation, and A/V systems, offering over 1,000 different integrated solutions. Silmar is headquartered in a 40,000 square foot building housing the company’s administration as well as being the inventory distribution hub for its 7 locations in Florida, 2 in South Carolina and its affiliate location in Bogota, Colombia. “We have the personnel, products and resources to meet the needs of clients
LEADER IN HIGH SECURITY SENSORS AND SYSTEMS Established in 1967, with manufacturing based in the United States, Flair Electronics is the premier supplier of high security sensors. Our door position and fence intrusion sensors are used by the highest security government, military and power facilities. At Flair we Care!! And it shows everyday in how we solve your specific security needs, respond to your technical questions immediately and manufacture quality long lasting products in a time sensitive manner. Call us today to discuss your security needs and we will provide you the best solution.
Perimeter Security
4
MARKETS
HIGHLIGHTS
COMMERCIAL
LIFETIME WARRANTY
RESIDENTIAL
MADE IN US
GOVERNMENT
WIRED OR WIRELESS
COURTS / JAILS SCHOOL HOTEL ASSISTED LIVING
Panic Alarms
WIDE VARIETY OF PRODUCTS FULL TIME LOCAL SUPPORT
Nurse Call
FALL 2023 I EXECUTIVE INSIGHT MAGAZINE
Nice North America Nice North America, a subsidiary of Nice, is one of the largest manufacturers of smart residential, commercial, and industrial solutions in the world, with seamless and easy-to-install technology for smart home control, security and automation, perimeter access, protection and control, sunshade solutions, power management, and whole home entertainment. The company is headquartered in Carlsbad, CA, with several R&D and manufacturing centers across the region. Professional integrators, dealers, and distribution partners grow their business with CEU training and education, technical and field support, and award-winning sales and marketing programs. The company is a proud national sponsor of the Gary Sinise Foundation R.I.S.E. program, supporting wounded veterans and their families with specially adapted smart homes. For further information, visit www.niceforyou.com.
throughout the domestic markets we serve, as well as the international markets throughout the Caribbean, Central and Latin America,” says Jorge Smith, the company CEO. The products are sold to professional security dealers, installers, electricians, home and system integrators as well as to institutions, universities and hospitals. The human factor In 2023, the company commemorates 60 years of successful operation and growth, a milestone celebrated companywide with vendors and customers at each of the company’s branches throughout the year. Jorge Smith affirms that Silmar continues to be a family-owned business. As the son of the founder, he started to work part-time in the company when still in school and joined full-time after graduating from university in 1976. The family legacy continues. Two of his sons work at Silmar - Jorge Jr has worked there
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
5
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT MAGAZINE
6
I FALL 2023
FALL 2023 I EXECUTIVE INSIGHT MAGAZINE
since the late 1990’s and son Carlos, who joined Silmar in 2013, is the company’s COO. In 2017 a team of professionals were chosen from within the organisation to form a leadership committee to aid in steering the company into the future. With one exception, all have been with Silmar for 12 or more years. “All of these individuals clearly understand and share the company’s values of doing the right thing for our customers, for our company, the importance of mutual respect and to effectively manage growth,” says Jorge. He adds: “This leadership team knows how
we do business, and the how we do business is just as important as doing business. I think that is one of the numerous things that makes us stands out. Our highly trained sales professionals and Total Solutions Team are unmatched in the industry. We offer complete system support, integrated solutions, and technical training.” Speaking about Silmar’s anniversary, he reflects on countless strong relations with suppliers, customers and employees, all of which have contributed to the company’s success. “Some of our people have been with us since the mid1980s. This long ten-
®
Congratulations to Silmar Electronics for celebrating 60 Years in the security industry! Speco Technologies is proud to be your partner. Together we offer solutions that are pivotal to the security industry and keeping the public safe. These solutions include Advanced Analytics. Being notified on analytic events and storing a database of faces or license plates can make for concise law enforcement action
Intensifier® Low Light Technology, allows for a full color video in dimly lit applications.
Digital Deterrent®, is a solution that is designed to stop the crime before it occurs with bright lights and an audible warning message.
www.specotech.com
7
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT MAGAZINE
I FALL 2023
Our ultimate commitment is to the customer, as it has been since 1963 when we first opened our doors.
8
ure demonstrates that people enjoy working for Silmar, they like coming to work here; long tenure creates stability. Everybody gets along very well, and all are respectful to each other, a must at Silmar” adds Jorge. Performance improvement Long-term relationships with business partners have also been fostered since the company’s beginnings, in some cases going back as far as the 1970s. “The portfolio of our vendors enables us to offer only stateof-the-art equipment. There are not only the major brands that we
distribute but also a lot of small manufacturers based in the US.” He further affirms that Silmar strives to maintain a strong leadership position in its industry by exceeding its customer’s expectations, developing long-term relationships, and delivering quality security products with cutting-edge technology and value-added service. “Our ultimate commitment is to the customer, as it has been since 1963 when we first opened our doors.” With a view to promoting further improvement, the company moved to a new cloudbased ERP system in 2019 – a master stroke
FALL 2023 I EXECUTIVE INSIGHT MAGAZINE
9
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT MAGAZINE
I FALL 2023
accomplished at just the right time, at the onset of the global pandemic. “Although we were still in the middle of learning to work under a new system, it was a great help as many of our people were able to work from home and business continued.” “Now we are installing a new CRM system that integrates perfectly with Cloud Suite, our ERP system. This new CRM will enhance our communication among ourselves and with our customers. That is extremely important to us. Unlike most of our competitors, our salespeople do a very good job in visiting customers, seeking new business but also trying to meet our customers’ specific needs. We’ll never walk away from a customer – if they are not happy with something we’ll never walk away until they are fully satisfied.” Responsible business He reflects that any investment is done with a view to further promoting the idea of a responsible business. “We don’t manufacture anything, so we don’t have a negative environmental footprint from operations. As far as the recycling portion of our activity is concerned, we do it diligently – we recycle all cardboard and pallets and even plastics and batteries are now being handled through certified recycling specialists.” Jorge Smith affirms that going forward, the com10
pany will continue to invest in its employees as well as in technology to support that human talent. “We already have certified trainers at Silmar to certify some of our customers who are interested in our product lines. And we are adding another engineer/ technician to the team to further improve the technical support,” he says, adding that Silmar is also aware of its wider, social role for the community and supports a facility for lone children and one of the Miami shelters for the homeless. In concluding, he reflects that over the decades of its existence, Silmar has differentiated itself from other distributors by going beyond what other wholesalers typically provide, able to provide teams with resources such as technical training and complete system support, whether they are looking for full integrated solutions or specific products. He will make sure that this commitment, embedded into the company’s approach since 1963, continues. “I’ve stepped back some, allowing Carlos and the leadership team to run the day-to-day operations and develop plans on future direction. When at home, I still go to the company each morning, speak with the staff, primarily those on the leadership committee - they mostly bounce thoughts and ideas they may have and it’s important we all stay informed. Silmar is still my passion, I enjoy going to work. And I will for the foreseeable future.”
From the Employees... Marcel Van Brackel – Intl General Manager I started with the company in 2006 as an engineer for everything related to Internet Protocol or IP. From the very getgo, the company has let me do things my way without ever trying to micromanage how I went about doing my job. This is something that has really helped me grow into the job and make it my own. As someone who moved here from Colombia, I received a lot of support from Silmar to help me settle into my new life here in the U.S. Jorge is an amazingly supportive boss and he treats everyone with respect. My relationship with him is not just related to work, he has given me a lot of advice about many different aspects of life, and even helped me out during the housing crisis. Jorge is also just so fun to talk to, because he knows a lot about so many different things. It reminds me a lot about Colombia, where it’s very common to discuss a lot of historical and political and other different issues with your friends and family. Since Carlos started with the company, he has brought a lot of fresh ideas into the company, and he has a very different way of doing things, which I think is great. Both he and Jorge are extremely considerate people, and go out of their way to understand and help us on a human level. It’s because of this that I have always felt that working at Silmar is like working for your family and that’s why every year on the anniversary of me joining Silmar, I go up to Jorge and thank him for letting me be a part of this. Janet Duenas – Assistant Sales Manager My story with Silmar begins in the year 1986. I was working for a manufacturer that Silmar now distributes. A sudden opportunity came about and looking back, I am so glad I took this opportunity. Jorge took a lot of time to train me regarding the right values with how to approach the job. Over the years I have seen Silmar grow from one store to the 9 stores and 1 international hub that we now have. So, I have seen the whole journey. My time here has taught me that you are constantly learning, given technology changes all the time so you are learning something new about the products all the time. All these years later, I still love this business because Jorge and the family have created a family environment that makes it easy for people to stay on for so long. It’s no surprise that more than half the people have been here for 10 years or longer. You are not just a cog in the machine here, you are treated like an extremely valued member of the people, and that’s because Jorge has been a very fair person. Carlos is also following suit, always team-oriented, always promoting the family culture. I don’t think you see a work culture like that in most places. Watching the growth of the company has been fantastic, at the beginning I handled a lot of the international customers myself until the company grew to the point that we added an international division entirely. Throughout this whole period, Jorge has been an extremely fair, even keel person and Carlos has taken after that as well. This has translated onto all of the staff, and as a result everyone makes everyone else feel valued, and you really enjoy coming to work. I also had the privilege of meeting Jorge’s mom, and she was an inspirational lady, so I know where these values come from. Moving forward, I plan to stick around with Silmar for as long as possible. I was very young when I joined, and I have gotten to grow with the company. It has been a great experience. Vince Henderson - Sales Associate I started with Silmar in 1991 but even before that I knew Jorge, because I lived in Miami and bought equipment from him when he worked the counter. Since then, I have worked in a number of branches and worked in different roles, including managerial ones at different branches, so this company means a lot to me. Even when I was sick for a prolonged period, Silmar took care of me and stood by my side. I’m not even the only person they have helped, they have helped so many people with so many different problems. It is really a family, and I am thankful to God for giving me a chance to work here for so long. It has always been a learning experience, especially when we were building new branches. I got to be very involved when we set up branches in places like Clearwater and Jacksonville. It really has been a family ethos and much like a family, when there is a problem, everyone jumps in to help solve it and get it done. The family environment also fosters a certain sense of confidence. I remember in the early days when Janet taught me a lot about certain products, and this was at a time when women participated in the trades in much lower numbers. So, the company has always been ahead of its time and created an environment that lets everyone shine.
www.silmarelectronics.com
Ambersarmy.org.uk
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT LEADING THE PROFESSIONAL CHARGE
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MAGAZINE Executive Insight Magazine published by J S International Media ©2023