A fledgling business - the formation
The idea of Crosby Intruder Alarms was developed in the early nineteen eighties when two friends, both television engineers, where told that the owner of the company that they worked for was going to retire, and because he could not negotiate the sale of the company, it was to close with the loss of all jobs.
The television industry was going through massive changes at this time. Products had become much more reliable and all the rental companies had begun to feel the squeeze. It was decided at this time that we would like a second string to our bows, so to speak. Another engineer had gone to work for a friend of his as general manager of a security control panel manufacturer, and it was he who suggested that we form a security alarm company.
Providing a quality service
After extensive research in the market it was clear that there were two defined sales areas. The budget, lower end of the market, usually consisting of systems that are non British Standard, and are fitted purely to a low cost, and systems that are custom designed to give maximum protection, possibly as an insurance requirement, where only the best quality equipment was used, and the system is installed to comply with the requirements of BS4737.
As firm believers in quality, it was decided that the former option was not the direction that we wanted to pursue, and we undertook to install quality systems that complied with the British Standard.
Building the business
As both my partner and I were offered jobs within the television industry, it was decided that we would use our spare time to build up a reputation for the company, prior to taking the plunge full time. Over the next two years, working evenings and weekends we built up a good customer base of quality installations that people could rely on. A good deal of those customers, over the years, have now had two or three installations from us, and have recommended us to friends and relatives.
