Developers want Rockford to be center of security boom

By Alex Gary

BusinessRockford.com

More than 100 area businessmen, police officials and public officials watched on a video screen as an angry gunman marched into a Rock Valley College building today, fired a gun at the ceiling and waved it menacingly at several students.

But the gunshot triggered the college’s decibel sensor, which in turn enabled a monitoring system developed by Boeing Co. Local police were alerted instantly, while a student lockdown alert was transmitted to Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, PDAs and iPhones all over campus.

Within minutes, Winnebago County sheriff’s deputies were on the scene and, with the help of Boeing’s video system that allows deputies to see inside the classroom, were able to storm the room and disable the gunman.

The simulation was meant to show the potential of software being developed by a Rockford startup company that would bundle existing security systems into one package to give police departments “situational awareness” and students instant alerts.

Today’s demonstration essentially was an effort to convince police departments, cities and large businesses to become part of a beta site for M.A.S.C. Technologies, the three-person startup based at EIGERlab. Once the company perfects the system, it will then market it to cities, universities and major businesses nationwide.

The effort is a collaboration among M.A.S.C.; Balanced IT Solutions, another EIGERlab-based company; Boeing; Bluecasting of the United Kingdom; and Canada-based BelAir Networks.

Micah Anderson, a 23-year-old former fireman from South Beloit who started M.A.S.C., said he thinks he can grow the company to “hundreds” of software developers and salesmen.

Anderson wouldn’t talk about revenue projections or costs, although a Boeing official said a stripped-down version of its system alone would cost about $200,000.

Kerry Frank of Balanced IT Solutions said her company would grow along with M.A.S.C. and be more than a jobs generator.

“When this system is ready and we’re bringing in people from cities in Mississippi for a demonstration, they’ll stay at local hotels and eat at local restaurants,” Frank said.

Of course, the key is being able to sell the system, although Boeing’s involvement lends the project some credibility. Known for aviation manufacturing, Boeing also develops security systems, including creating the aviation security systems used by the Transportation Security Administration at airports nationwide and the SBInet, which is used to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Boeing has the contacts, and they’ve already told us they have customers interested in the product,” Frank said.

Dale Falconer, president of the Stateline Angels, which invests in startup companies, as well as chairman of Seward Screw, said he has been talking with Anderson for a year about his plans and said the company “has come a long way.”

“They need to get a little more business-savvy. I think the product is fine,” Falconer said. “They may need to be willing to hand off the management reins to a more experienced team.”

Reach Assistant Business Editor Alex Gary at agary@rrstar.com or at 815-987-1339.