About Our Company

Home

Customer Requests

Hartford, Connecticut, July 31, 2002 - Deep in the recesses of 100 Constitution Plaza in Hartford lies a control center that looks like it should be in a Hollywood movie. Operators sit behind imposing black work stations with lights flashing around them. They sit intently listening for the slightest sound of trouble to arise from the speakers on their console because those speakers are tied in to hundreds of microphones placed in buildings throughout the Hartford/Springfield area. The operators only need to hear the slightest noise and they spring to action.

Expertly deciphering the difference between a mouse scurrying across the floor and a criminal trying to sneak through an office, the operators contact the police when they hear trouble and within minutes, a criminal is apprehended. All the while, the operator listens to the unfolding drama like a fly on the wall. Even though this may sound like science fiction, this is an every day occurrence for the employees of Sonitrol in Hartford. For the past 30 years, the company has been working around the clock and has seen this story play out thousands of times.

The Sonitrol company was started in 1960 in Anderson, Indiana, by a man named Robert Baxter who created it to incorporate his various electronic inventions. In 1963, Baxter met Al Cronk, who owned a Silent Century security franchise. Cronk hired Baxter to develop innovations in security equipment and monitoring. His inventions proved so successful that eventually all Silent Century equipment was replaced with his new Sonitrol equipment. Thus the first Sonitrol franchise was born.

The Connecticut connection to Sonitrol began in 1970, when Douglas Curtiss, graduated from Williams College and decided to take a summer job working with his college roommate. Doug was hired to help his roommate's father open a new business franchise in Stamford, called Sonitrol. Doug's summer job turned into an opportunity to learn the business from the ground up. In 1972, at the age of 24, Doug incorporated Sonitrol of Hartford.

"Doug decided to establish the company on Constitution Plaza, as it was the hub of the downtown business district at the time," says Sonitrol Chief Operating Officer, Gary LaPlant. "And we're still here at Constitution Plaza. While there have been times when it seemed like WFSB-TV and we were the only tenants left on the Plaza, we've stuck by our decision and grown to occupy two locations in the #100 building. But people don't realize we're here, probably because it wasn't until last year that we actually had street-level exposure. Most of our offices hide in the basement. Even my office doesn't have any windows!"

From its hidden, basement headquarters below Hartford's streets, Sonitrol has grown to become the generic word for security in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The company is the Wonder Bread or Scotch Tape of security, but very few are aware of how the company does what it does or how advanced their monitoring technology is.

"Say 'security system' and most people think a loud, blaring alarm that causes a criminal to flee the scene of a crime. That's not the case at Sonitrol," says LaPlant. "Our systems range from basic alarms to high tech video surveillance, but our typical system works quietly and monitors the noise in an empty building. When your office closes, we start listening to make sure nothing goes wrong. Seven days a week, 365 days a year our operators listen in for the first noise of a break-in or suspicious activity. When something triggers our alarm, our operators in Hartford get authorities in action."

And in the 30 years that Sonitrol has been monitoring buildings in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, it has caught a lot of people in the act. LaPlant says a conservative estimate is more than 2,000 people have been apprehended by authorities and countless lives have been saved. And LaPlant isn't just blowing hot air, he has the tapes to prove it. Listeners can actually hear the sounds of breaking glass, feet shuffling on the floor, police arriving and yelling to the intruder to surrender. They can hear tapes of juveniles being caught breaking into their schools at night to create mischief. They can even hear the gastly screams of a woman being raped outside one of the buildings they were monitoring or the sound of gunfire. The microphones are that sensitive.

"Our operators are so skilled that they not only catch criminals breaking into buildings, but also have alert authorities other non-criminal acts, like leaking roofs, furnace explosions and fires," says LaPlant. "We actually were the first people to notify police when the Hartford Civic Center roof collapsed back in 1978. One of our operators heard a huge crashing sound and immediately called police saying, 'it sounded like the roof just collapsed' and it did!"

In order for Sonitrol's system to work, its U-L listed central station is staffed around the clock, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. If you do the math, it means Sonitrol has been operating for almost 263,000 hours non-stop since opening it's doors in 1972.

"One of the key components of our success is the fact that we have local people doing the monitoring in Hartford," says LaPlant. "Most security companies rely on huge national centers to handle alarm signals. But when it comes time to talk with the police about the situation and answer geographic questions, a person in Kentucky doesn't know Hartford or Springfield. We have built great relationships with local police and fire departments over the years and they trust us because of our local presence."

Like any successful company, Sonitrol has diversified over the years. In 1982, Sonitrol of Hartford branched out into the telecommunications industry, providing NEC, 3Com and Nortel Networks telephone and data solutions to companies throughout Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.

"We've been very successful with the telecommunications end of the business and provided telecommunications and voice mail systems to many state agencies and many area commercial businesses," says LaPlant. "People think of Sonitrol as just a security company, but we've grown into more than that. We have many clients who started with us as their security provider and now also use us for telephone systems."

Since opening its doors, Sonitrol of Hartford has grown to become the 47th largest security company in the country according to the most recent survey but Security Distribution Magazine. The company has also created hundreds of local jobs and has been a firm believer in Hartford, staying in the city when most other companies fled to the suburbs.

"I know we're unique in the fact that we have stayed on Constitution Plaza for so long, but we really believe Hartford is a great place to do business," says LaPlant. "Hundreds of businesses, homes, schools and government offices rely on us to keep their places safe when people are away and we meet that mission with a very talented staff and fantastic technology. And now with the increased attention put on security following the terrorist events of last year, I think we're poised to grow even more. Companies and homeowners are looking for local service and quick response times. Our dedication to services is one of the things that has allowed us to grow. Every one of our employees knows that our company's mission is to catch criminals and save lives. We fulfill that mission by walking the same streets and talking the same talk as our client, day after day for 30 years. I look forward to Sonitrol being in Hartford for another 30 years."