Complete security coverage requires a range of specialized services

Visteon Corporation designs, manufactures and supplies the automotive industry with innovative components – such as climate control, interiors, electronics and lighting – that help make driving comfortable, safe and fun. The most recent Corvette, for example, sports sleek new headlights from Visteon.

Formed in 1997 as an auto parts supplier for Ford Motor Company, Visteon is now a Fortune 500 company with a diversified customer base, facilities in 26 countries and approximately 40,000 employees. 

Just one of those employees, however, is a security professional.  So Brian King, the company’s Global Director of Security and Fire, relies on Securitas to provide complete coverage for Visteon’s employees as well the company’s physical and intellectual property.   “The officers work, of course, for Securitas, but I look at them as Visteon employees,” he says.  Securitas is the corporation’s largest security supplier and covers all facilities in North America, Mexico and Europe.

Given the broad scope of activities in a variety of locations, Visteon requires a range of specialized services that go beyond core security services.   At the corporate offices in Van Buren Township, Michigan, teams of specially trained Securitas officers cover specific needs related to site and personnel protection.  Another expert team mans the global command staff, which monitors world events with an eye toward business continuity.

At plant locations, officers help protect the integrity of the shipping process by monitoring – and sometimes directing – truck traffic and double-checking each load’s paperwork.  These facilities also require additional safety precautions. “Depending on the plant, there are a lot of different situations we need to focus on, such as a confined space rescue,” says King.   Securitas officers at these facilities are first responders to medical emergencies and receive specialized training courses covering safety awareness, CPR and workplace violence. 

Another custom service performed company-wide is the protection of proprietary information.  According to King, Securitas officers perform random audits of Visteon’s offices and facilities to make sure that sensitive information is kept secure and the design process is protected.  Likewise, officers oversee and audit a log, which documents all prototypes and parts leaving Visteon’s premises.

The contract with Securitas is now in its final year of an initial three-year term; a subsequent longer-term contract is under discussion. “The keys to success are the clear lines of communication and the great people that help support us and the relationship,” King said. “We are able to have an open dialog about our concerns and we receive good and rational improvement suggestions from Securitas.”

King also complimented the company’s Securitas global account manager. “Whenever I have a problem, he works as my designee to follow up on issues.  He reports directly to Securitas’ Chief Operations Officer and so can navigate globally on our behalf.” 

Currently, Visteon is in the midst of transferring its Argentina facilities over to Securitas’ care.  “This is a challenging transition,” notes King.   “We are moving three facilities in one day, but I’ve developed such a comfort level with Securitas’ techniques, that I know it will be successful.”

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