Peace, love and CIA
It all started back in the ’60s when Barrie Christie decided to go into partnership with his wife, Janet. In 1970 they registered the name Christie Intruder Alarms Ltd and Janet designed the “crooked man” logo which is so widely recognised today. In 1971, they moved into their first office which was not much bigger than a cupboard.
In 1983, the company commissioned purpose-built offices in Waterlooville and in 1985, another office block was built on the site for sister company –Southern Monitoring Services Ltd – now the third largest Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) in the UK, and the largest independent ARC in Europe. Together, the two companies currently employ over 300 staff.
No one cares more for customer service and quality of engineering than Barrie Christie. His favourite saying is “Never worry if someone is cheaper than us. Worry if someone is better.” The company’s philosophy has always been forward thinking and bold. CIA prides itself on innovation, staying ahead of the current trends in technology, and places great emphasis on apprenticeship, training and staff development.
In 2010, Capital Security Systems, Gardner Security and State Digital Security, the three subsidiaries which had been acquired during the previous decade, were amalgamated with Christie Intruder Alarms Ltd, making CIA the largest privately owned security company in the UK.
On 1st October 2012 Colin Langdown was appointed as Managing Director of CIA (read full story here). Colin has nearly 30 years’ experience in the security and fire alarm industry, originally coming to CIA in 1987 as a trainee installation engineer. He helps to shape the industry through his active involvement in many organisations separate to his day-to-day duties listed in his profile (here).
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