Founder of The Protection Bureau lauded for life’s work in security
Exton, Pa.-In their 40th year in business, Keith Ladd, the late founder of The Protection Bureau, was a humanitarian and driven innovator who embraced all with kindness and generosity and worked tirelessly toward the betterment of the security alarm industry. The culmination of his life’s work and aspirations will be posthumously honored as he is inducted into the prestigious Security Sales & Integration (SSI) magazine 2015 Hall of Fame.
SSI’s Hall of Fame honors those who have had a dramatic impact on the security alarm industry. Keith Ladd spent some 35 years running The Protection Bureau, an award-winning, highly recognized super-regional systems integration company he launched with a small bank loan in 1975. He was a founder of the Pennsylvania Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (PBFAA), now a chartered chapter of the Electronic Security Industry Association, formerly the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association. Keith Ladd’s son, J. Matthew Ladd, who is Chief Executive Officer of The Protection Bureau, will accept the induction at SSI’s Sammy Awards on April 14 during the International Security Conference & Exposition West in Las Vegas.
“I’m extremely honored and humbled as my father’s lifelong achievements are recognized by the industry through this award. He was a progressive security dealer who started his own central monitoring station before many others. But most of all, his greatest joy was to give back to his family, employees, the community and the security industry,” Ladd says.
Keith Ladd opened The Protection Bureau in Uwchlan, Pa., near Philadelphia, and continually brought leading innovation in security products and services to his customers. He embraced new technology, such as contactless RFID access control cards, asset tracking and the early onset of computer and IT networking, opening a central monitoring station in 1983. The company began offering managed access control in the late 1990s and video monitoring in early 2000. Now operating in 35 states and with $15+ million in annual revenue, The Protection Bureau is one of the top 10 security integrators in the country, with headquarters and a central monitoring station in Exton, Pa., and an office in South Plainfield, N.J.
In addition to his work on behalf of NBFAA and PBFAA, Keith Ladd was active in PSA Security Network, ASIS International and the National Systems Contractors Association, as well as other associations and philanthropic organizations. He also served on SSI’s Editorial Advisory Board.
The Protection Bureau celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and since its founding has grown into one of the leading security services providers in the country, offering the latest interactive services, video verification, hosted and managed access control, virtual guard and doormen services and cloud-based security. The company is a Central Station Alarm Association Five-Diamond central station and a member of Security-Net, a network of some 19 independent professional companies across the country formed to develop a strong and robust national account base from coast to coast.
