Demand for security equipment on the rise

Demand for security equipment on the rise

Arif T. Syam, Contributor, Jakarta

Not long ago, the Australian government of John Howard issued
another travel warning to its citizens, listing a number of
countries, including -- once again -- Indonesia, to be avoided.

With several bomb tragedies taking place in Indonesia during
the past several years, the recent travel warning was not a
surprise. The United States has frequently made similar appeals.

From the bombings in Bali in October 2002, the JW Marriott
Hotel in Jakarta in August, 2003, the Australian Embassy in
Jakarta in September last year, to the latest blasts in Bali,
foreigners, particularly Americans and Australians, were clearly
the prime target.

So it is quite understandable that the U.S. and Australian
governments were concerned about terrorist threats in Indonesia.

Nonetheless, Americans and Australians keep coming to
Indonesia, notably Bali. "Which country in the world is now safe
from threats or bombings by terrorists?," an Australian tourist
told a TV station recently when he was asked about the reasons
why many tourists ignored the travel warning.

It's logical, then. Even America, with its sophisticated
intelligence and security systems, could still be penetrated by
terrorists when both towers of the World Trade Center in
September 2001 were totally destroyed by terrorist attacks. If a
nation the caliber of America's cab be caught unaware, what
chance do countries like Indonesia have?

It does not mean that we have no way of preventing acts of
terror in Indonesia. Security equipment of every degree of
sophistication and from numerous countries can now be easily
found in the country's major security equipment stores.

Datascrip Indonesia and Axindo Humaperdana are among the
hundreds of companies operating as security apparatus
distributors in Indonesia.

Datascrip supplies CCTV equipment, fingerprint instruments and
lately, wireless alarms. Axindo is a provider of electronic
security system services with various devices that are imported
from all over the globe.

The series of terror attacks over the past several years has
contributed to a significant increase in the demand for security
tools, especially for office buildings, apartments, hotels and
shopping malls.

In addition to the growing concerns over the terrorist
threats, the surge in demand for security equipment has also been
due to the government's appeals.

No less than Jakarta governor Sutiyoso instructed that all
hotels and office buildings in the city equip their properties
with adequate security equipment, following the bomb attack in
front of the JW Hotel Marriott. He even issued specifications of
standard security gadgets that have to be provided by hotels and
office buildings.

The standard specifications concern metal detectors (mobile
and entrance sensors) and CCTV (for installation in strategic
places). And at present, almost no office buildings or hotels in
the city are without these security devices.

Marketing Manager of Secure Datascrip Indonesia Yenni
Suhartanto said that the demand for security equipment,
especially fingerprint, CCTV and wireless alarm equipment, had
showed a sharp growth in recent years.

Yenni even expressed optimism that in 2006, the growth of the
Datascrip's security tool sales would even bigger thanks to the
recent launching of a new wireless alarm system.

"I'm optimistic that the new wireless alarm system will sell
well and jack up the company's total sales," she added.

Like Yenni, operations manager of Axindo Humaperdana,
Christian Tarigan, acknowledged that there had been a significant
increase in the sales of his company's security equipment in the
past few years.

Christian explained that most business establishments were now
already aware of the need for security devices. Both Christian
and Yenni recognized the need to educate society on the
importance of security equipment to support security conditions
as a whole.

Both Yenni and Christian noted that although there was an
improvement in people's awareness to the need for security
protection, most Indonesians still regarded security tools as
second priority.

"Generally, Indonesians will think of the importance of
security equipment only after a disaster has happened," Yenni
said.

The Indonesian public is indeed accustomed to anything instant
or quick yielding. Therefore, for security equipment
distributors, educating the public on the importance of security
devices would play an important factor for their future growth.