Edwards Equipment Co., 156 Church St, Black Mountain, NC 28711, US

Founded in 1936, Southern Alarm & Security is the oldest and largest locally-owned security alarm company in the Western North Carolina region. We are also the only locally-owned company that is UL-listed for commercial alarm systems installations and are the area's exclusive security alarm dealer for the First Alert Professional line of security products and services. We serve the entire region of Western North Carolina from our three offices located at 305 South King Street in Hendersonville, 311 Highlands Road in Franklin and 135 Sweeten Creek Road in Asheville. Our line of security services includes systems for Burglary, Fire, Personal Emergency, Environmental Conditions, Home Theater and Automation, Video Surveillance, and Keyless Entry/Access Control, for residential, commercial and industrial applications. In 1936, Thomas D. Clark of Hendersonville had a "burglar alarm system" installed in his grocery warehouse by Southern Burglar Alarm Company of Belton, SC. Intrigued by this new "gadget", Mr. Clark decided to explore the possibility of going into the business himself since there were no alarm companies in Western North Carolina at the time. After some friendly negotiations, Mr. Clark bought a franchise from the Belton company for $1.00, and Southern Burglar Alarm Company of Hendersonville, NC was born. For the next forty-one years, Mr. Clark ran the business from his home, with six employees at the most at any one time, including his wife, Emma, who did all the bookkeeping. They installed systems as far away as as RaleighNC, ColumbiaSC, Athens, GA and Johnson City, TN because there were few, if any, alarm companies at the time to serve those areas. In 1962, the business became incorporated in North Carolina. In 1990, we were chosen to be the exclusive security dealer in WNC for First Alert Professional Security Systems, one of the largest and most recognizable names in the security industry today. Since 1985, we have acquired five smaller alarm companies, including WNC Security in Brevard and Appalachian Security in Franklin, enhancing our ability to more effectively serve the resort/retirement communities of the beautiful Western North Carolina Mountains.