Saratoga Business Journal
By Susan Elise Campbell
As technology improves how a business is run, installing cable to connect the new technologies improves with it. One local company at the forefront of that is Adirondack Cabling and Security, providing clients with innovative cabling solutions for the best of 40 years.
“In 1982 when my dad and uncle started the company, the big thing was the PDX telephone system so a business with one phone number could have an extension on every desk,” said Dave Womer.
Dave is the son of Jack Womer who, along with his brother Bob, operated Adirondack Cabling until 2017 when Dave and his cousin Bob Jr. purchased the business from their retiring fathers. Dave is president and Bob Jr. is vice president of operations.
“My father and uncle saw there were many companies manufacturing the latest phone systems, but no one to install them,” Womer said. They formulated a business plan to meet that demand.
By the 1990s there were computers in every office that needed to be networked and Adirondack Cabling transitioned into another new market, he said.
“When fiber optics were the new technology, they took that on, too,” said Womer. “The company became highly specialized in installing a very different kind of cable for high-speed networks, and there is probably not a large building in Albany that we have not been in.”
Today the company’s security division is busier than ever. Started in 2010, its technicians run cable and install mounts for internal and external cameras, card readers, and other equipment, he said.
“The need for security in the workplace and in schools has increased,” Womer said. “So we have tailored our solutions for different environments.”
The company deploys video surveillance around an entire university campus. For a small retail store, they mount equipment to monitor its counters.
Businesses and schools have them install keyless access systems for employees and students to enter buildings and dormitories with a card, fob, or cell phone, disabling access with a simple program. Other enterprises have burglar systems installed.
Womer said much of their work is through national security companies such as ADT, as well as IT companies or departments with peripheral equipment such as projectors to install. Other business comes from new construction projects.
“There is craftsmanship involved in hiding cables and mounting a device on a wall somewhere,” he said. “People don’t want cables hanging loosely or cameras falling off ceiling tiles.”
There is also the software side of their responsibilities. Some staff are technology focused to “take the installed devices and cables and make them work together so customers get what they are looking for,” Womer said.
At times customers may know what they want, but perhaps not fully know what they need.
“They may want a card reader system and have one exterior door to control,” Womer said. “What they don’t know is the variety of functionality these readers have to make security more effective.”
Adirondack Cabling can now educate clients on enhanced features “that can make their lives easier,” he said. For example, a company with a key fob to open a main door during normal business hours can be programmed to do much more.
“Maybe a HVAC tech is scheduled to come in after hours, in which case you text him a temporary badge to his cell phone that gives access only during designated hours,” he said.
The software allows the business to see when that person entered and left the building, he said. And if the tech went into an area they were not supposed to, the owner will know that, too.
One of the newest features that Womer said the company is educating customers about is the ability to open doors with a cell phone even if it is not in hand. As long as the phone is on his person, an employee can simply wave his hand in front of the reader to unlock access, he said.
What Adirondack Cabling offers is not cyber security, but it is related.
“Security does not have to be only a risk averse application, but can become an integral part of the business,” he said. “We partner with IT companies doing the network security aspect because physical security goes hand in hand with data security.”
“You have to have sensitive areas such as your IT closet and file closets protected as well as monitor who is going and out of the building,” he said.
Technology evolves quickly, and Womer said the company has been ahead of the curve since its beginnings.
When fiber optics were introduced and Jack and Bob Womer were going to be working with fragile glass filaments instead of pliable copper, they attended first-hand training from Corning Glass.
“I remember my father flying out to Chicago for a class on glass,” he said. “He said to me, you won’t believe what you’re going to be able to do in the future.”
“It all happened,” Womer said. “Playing computer games with people globally and video conference calls where you see attendees in person, things no one was talking about back in the day.”
“I have a strong feeling that conversation led me to a path in computer engineering and software development,” he said. “And that eventually led me to where I am today.”
The Womer brothers foresaw the future of network cabling, fiber optics and security. Now Dave and Bob Jr. are carrying on their legacy for the next technological generation.
Adirondack Cabling and Security is a family business with a culture of “treating one another like family,” Womer said. “We try to do what is right by our employees and make sure customers are treated like friends and family, too.”
Learn more at www.adirondacksecurity.com.