In The News

In The News

SAFE ID CARD SYSTEMS, INC.

BE SAFE

BE SECURE

In a post-9/11 era, company sees market for better identification

Volunteer firefighters from Manalapan get business idea at convention

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/5/06

BY DAVID P. WILLIS
BUSINESS WRITER

Until last week, identification cards at the Manalapan police department weren't very hightech.

"We cut out a picture, typed the information on there and put them in a lamination machine," Capt. Chris Marsala said. No more. The new ID cards, handed out to the department's officers, dispatchers and civilian personnel, were created by a Manalapan company, Safe ID Card Systems Inc. The company was founded in 2004 by Manalapan residents Steve Ross, 46, and Larry Kole, 47, who are friends and firefighters with the Gordons Corner Fire Co. in Manalapan. Safe ID makes identification cards for emergency services and municipal governments as well as businesses. The company was started after Ross and Kole, who are also emergency medical technicians, attended a firefighting convention in 2003. During the trade show, they saw a company selling equipment to make ID cards. The machines had a hefty price tag. The printers cost $10,000. When other items were included, such as a camera and software, the price was up to $20,000. Typically, agencies such as rescue squads and fire departments can't afford the equipment to make official-looking ID cards.

Opportunity found

The two men saw the possibility of a business. After looking at different systems and equipment, Ross and Kole decided to use their savings and start the company. "We figured we would give it a shot," said Ross, who owns a family business, Coney Island Bialys and Bagels in Brooklyn. "Worst case, we would lose $25,000." With increased security awareness after the Sept. 11 attacks, they felt there was a way to service the needs of emergency responders as well as businesses, Kole said. Those in emergency services, as well as town employees such as inspectors, need credible identification cards, said Kole, who left his job as a full-time EMT but still works part-time in Tinton Falls. "Everyone is looking for a better way to identify people so they (residents and authorities) know the people are legitimate." Marsala, the police captain in Manalapan, said the new, professional-looking, ID cards are an improvement over the old cards made in-house. "We actually had officers at the airport who got a hard time about their police IDs. They didn't believe they were real," Marsala said. "We are trying to catch up."

Not just a picture

The cards are more than just a picture ID. The plastic cards use digital pictures and a hologram for authenticity. A bar code, the same as on the New Jersey driver's license, can contain important information, such as medical allergies. The two men demonstrated their product at a first aid convention in October 2004. They got a lot of questions — and their first customer, a rescue squad in Edison. They have since been making the rounds at other conventions where they are likely to meet emergency personnel and municipal officials. They take the pictures and collect the information for the cards themselves. For now, they make the cards at a home office, but are looking to move out into office space. So far, the company has made ID cards for more than 50 government agencies. Sales last year, the company's first full year of business, were about $15,000, Ross said. The business is growing. "Everything we sell goes back in the business," Kole said. Now Safe ID Card Systems is targeting retirement communities. Rescue squads can use the ID cards as fund-raisers, with a portion of the proceeds from sales going to the squads, Kole said. Meanwhile, seniors would get ID cards with a bar code containing basic medical information, similar to medical alert bracelets, Kole said. These could be read by a small device carried by emergency responders, he said. The company also is looking to expand its customer base by providing cards to parents containing a picture and a description of their child, Kole said. "We are always thinking, "What else can we do?' " he said.