SIA New Member Profile: Flash Security Integrators

New Security Industry Association (SIA) member Flash Security Integrators Inc. offers home security, commercial security and multitenant solutions. The company is headquartered in Hazlet, New Jersey.

SIA spoke with Michael Laterza, president/co-founder/owner at Flash Security Integrators, about the company, the security industry and working with SIA.

Tell us the story of your company.

Michael Laterza: I graduated high school in 2005 and was pressed by counselors at school and family members to continue my education and move on to college under the soccer scholarship I was granted. Following both my intuition and my passion, I decided that Lincoln Tech was the right choice for my future – it offers a wide range of courses,  and while I knew I wanted to do something in electric it was at Lincoln Tech where I took to the security integration field. Upon graduating I began working for a rather large security integration company. I worked extremely hard, working overtime, nights and weekends to show to my boss the dedication I had to his company and this field of work. Climbing the ladder, I eventually became project manager for this company. It was when I was promoted I was able to see the breakdown and flaws with the particular company I was with, leading me to think about what I would do differently if I had my own company. I would see unhappy customers and coworkers due to poor management, communication and general lack of organization.  

After much consideration and with support from my wife, I rolled the device and decided to open Flash Security Integrators in 2016. The day I completed my company’s paperwork with the state of New Jersey, my wife and I found out we were going to be blessed with our first daughter, so stakes and emotions were high!

My vision was to change the way security companies are managed from the top down – to make sure each of my employees knows they are part of the bigger picture, to treat them with respect and make them feel part of a family. Our team can now see that this is not a dictatorship, and if you feel as an employee that something needs to be changed or done differently, we pivot as a team to better grow the company. This helps keep overall morale high, because for an employee the worst feeling is not being heard. I wanted to bring to the industry a company that brought to each install the ultimate customer experience. I felt we would best be able to serve our customers and our community if the overall company morale was high! We would do this through solid leadership and respect, which impacts all technicians and in-house support staff in a positive manner.

In 2019 as my family anxiously awaited the birth of our second daughter, our Flash family continued to grow in a big way, adding numerous technicians as well as partnering with Nate Cabral, a friend and colleague from the industry for several years. Nate and I just clicked! With his positive energy, a work ethic to match mine and a clear vision of how we together would be able to bring Flash to the next level, I knew he would be the right fit not only for me but for my current team. Nate now serves as vice president and co-owner at Flash Security Integrators.

What solutions and services does your business offer in the security industry – and what makes your offerings or company unique?

ML: Flash Security Integrators offers burglar alarm, fire alarm, CCTV video, intercoms, locks, nurse-call stations systems, control 4 automation, lighting control, phone systems, access control, locks and turnstiles all under one roof – we are a full turnkey solution. We are always looking for the most talented techs in the field, and we look to continue to educate them in all of the newest security integration training. 

One thing that our company has learned that we do differently than others is we started out having a monthly meeting with our heads of our departments. That monthly meeting is now a weekly meeting every Thursday, and it’s where we work on making improvements and plans to expand every week . Nate and I are very hands-on bosses, and we treat our staff like family. As my family at home has grown from when I started, I now have been growing my Flash family with Nate. An integral part of the growth of our Flash family was bringing in Jim Segreto as a project manager. Bringing Jim in to manage gave Nate and myself more time to work on the growth of our company and launch our plan of expanding and evolving while maintaining the same philosophy.

What is something we might not know about your company – or something new you are doing in security?

ML: We are a full-service security integration company with our home based out of Hazlet, New Jersey.  Flash Security was built off of a platform I have created with my team over the past few years to make the customer experience as exceptional as possible. We have the belief that if you start with putting the best team together, you will be able to achieve that exceptional experience for the customer. Following my vision to treat the employees like family, Nate and I always start with ourselves as the owners and leaders. Each Thursday before each of our team meetings that we run out of our headquarters, we ask ourselves what we can do better. It is important to be honest with yourself to continue to see growth as a person and as a company. 

Being hands on with our staff, especially in the field, is something we feel is important. Both Nate and I continue to visit each job site to ensure each project is going smoothly, assisting our team with installs, programming and overall project management. We feel it is important for us to stay active in open projects to continue to have solid relationships with our employees and our customers. 

Our work culture is different here at Flash Security Integrators.  about this a lot. The biggest thing our company does is make our employees want to come to work. We believe family comes first here, and every employee becomes part of our family. We never give our staff a hard time about leaving to see a kid’s ball game or get home off of a road trip to make it on time for a father-daughter dance. Nate and I as dads know this is important to us, and we want our employees to know we value you them as not only employees within our company, but also people with lives and families of their own.

What do you enjoy most about being at your company?

ML: I learned from a very young age from my years of playing soccer the importance of a great team. Today, I get up each morning knowing that I’m creating a growing team here at Flash Security Integrators. When walking into my office or to a job site, it feels great to have a staff excited to help share in our vison to grow our company.

My team at home my wife and children continue to keep me motivated and grounded to be the best employer that I can be.

What does SIA offer that is most important to you/your company? And what do you most hope to get out of your membership with SIA?

ML: Flash Security Integrators finds it is important to learn from SIA about the latest technology that is out there, and I hope to network more with the top experienced leaders in the industry. I hope to attend more networking events this upcoming year to help expand our company.

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association.