Technology spill-over cornerGlobal ePoint gambles on Tops

Published 31 March 2006

Here is another company taking a technology and know-how it developed for homeland security and using it in the civilian market; in this case, technology used to monitor airline passengers in the cabin may be used to monitor gamblers in a casino

City of Industry, California-based Global ePoint (Nasdaq: GEPT) manufactures security technologies for the aviation, law enforcement, and industrial markets. Cameras which keep an eye on airline passengers can also keep an eye on visitors to a casino. Global is acquiring the assets, including intellectual property and customer base, of Ontario, California-based Tops Digital Security, a privately held provider of video surveillance systems. Tops anticipates it will generate approximately $8 million in revenue during the next twelve months. Tops’ customers include casinos, museums, and entertainment establishments. Notable clients: J. Paul Getty Museum, Golden Nugget Casino, San Diego Seaworld Amusement Park, Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, and Casino Apache. Tops has additional customers in the law enforcement and education markets.

The Tops system is an integrated solution providing D1 CIF quality video recording capability along with the front-end surveillance cameras, fiber optic cabling, and the command center application to network and control hundreds of cameras.