 Welcome to another episode of are you a door hardware nerd, so we've got a very special guest today Mike I got a question for you. Are you a door hardware nerd? I am a door hardware nerd Thank you for taking some time out of your day to chat with us and the other nerds Excited to have you here. Can you introduce yourself? Tell us a little bit about what you do. Yeah, I'd be happy to my name is Mike Keegan I'm the vice president of security products for Magnosphere Magnosphere has developed a more secure switch technology for door position switches What which is important, right? Which is important. It's the first line of defense for access control and security. So My presentation usually includes the opening joke of after 40 years in the security industry I've scratched my way to the bottom. I sell door contacts But it's such a crucial essential part to the overall security of your door I mean, yeah, I can't tell you how many times I've seen solid looking access control, but they're not monitoring it Right, they're not monitoring. What's the point of having access control? Exactly. You want to know a door position status for so many reasons I've been in so many facilities where somebody puts a magnet on top of a door and where it was supposed to be recording Egress and ingress and suddenly nothing's happening at the door because it's been open for four months And like wait, like wait, how long has that been right like you hear these stories all the time and that's that's scary Yeah, it is scary You know, it's the first line of defense the concentric circle of protection You want to protect your perimeter? You want to go to the interior and then maybe specific items throughout a facility So, you know, we do feel we're the first line of defense. Yeah. No, I agree It's it's it's up there with with some of the most important aspects of your security Yeah, and and what's unique and what I love about what I'm doing is we've got a story to tell You know, everyone else makes door sensors door position switches door contacts. They're referred to by many of those names But they all use the same technology the read switch, which is a 1937 technology If you look around the this DHI show connections, you don't see many 1937 technologies. No, no, I'm trying to think of what other technology came out in like 1937, but you don't you don't probably copper wire So Magnesphere about 20 years ago developed a more secure switch for door position switches So we we have this switch that's more robust. It doesn't fuse. It doesn't break and it's anti defeat So it's it's got a story to tell and that's what I love about what I do because you know I'll go into a high-rise and Penn Station for instance in New York City and sit at a board room with a table for 50 And I'm talking to architects and engineers and specifiers and they are actually interested in door position switches Because of the story. Yeah, no, especially if you yeah, you tell it like that like 1937 it's like hey, there's been little to no innovation in this product, right And it came back. It was dr. Randy Woods was Investigating this home security system in Arizona. There was a home invasion in his neighborhood And the security company came and installed a system and within moments of them leaving Randy took a refrigerator magnet off His refrigerator placed it on the wireless door sensor and opened the door and the sensor no longer chimed the system So so he thought wow, this isn't good. Yeah, it's this easy to defeat it and he refrigerator magnet Right, he called his his alarm company and said hey, I want something better and they said well, that's all we have So you and I would probably go, okay Randy went into his garage and came out about a year later and had this Magnus fear switch that now is anti-defeat So the first significant improvement to door sensor technology since the 30s Wow That's that's impressive. What good job for Randy. Yeah, yeah, Randy. That's yep, Randy The founder of Magnus fear. That's that's that's that's remarkable. Yeah, I had no idea. That's a great story Yeah, a little bit of history We're learning some stuff today and some of the things we're rolling out here at connections is we have now gone through The process with you well and had our door contacts tested for fire ratings So we now have ul 10c ratings on a number of our our fire door position switches Yeah, so it's important You know and this is something Benji that a lot of the integrators out there access control installers They see a door they drill their hole They put their sensor in without any regard for whether or not it's a fire door Yeah, and I've learned that you can't add fuel to a fire door. No, no, that's You shouldn't do that. No, that's it. Oh, no. Yeah, so so that's been a new product line for us So trying to spread the word out there to you integrators and professionals be aware fire doors Need to have ul 10c fire door sensors on them. No Yeah, no you think about it all the different installs that I've highlighted or posted about or we've talked about on the show Right a lot of those times they're fire rated openings and someone takes a drill to them And you know throws in a door position switch for the access control system because a lot of the times That's after the new construction job sure right. Yep, and that's scary That's really scary because you're compromising the integrity of that door exactly a lot of integrators just don't understand That's probably why I mean that's why we're doing the show is to educate sure Those are the things that sometimes don't come up while you're being an apprentice or you're working alongside a more seasoned Installer now these are important things as you progress through your career to be aware of yeah, okay What would you say you've already spoke a little bit to it? But like what would you say are you most passionate about in this industry gosh my first job? was 1981 as a central station operator monitoring alarm systems for sonatrol, okay Got into sales got into sales management general management own my own alarm company for 15 years that I built and sold And then didn't know what I was going to do the rest of my life and I met the people from Magna Sphere to trade show So I'm the type that loves what I do So if you love what you do and you really believe in your product it becomes just this lifelong fun Journey yeah, where you meet great people great friends And you enjoy what you do. Yeah, if you love what you do you never work a day in your life Exactly, so you know my message is find what you love do it. Well, enjoy it because it's really a journey of people Not products. Yeah, so when you go to a trade show and you see people that you have known for 30 years 20 years 10 years And you enjoy their company and you get you look forward to not only Presenting your product. Yeah, you enjoy spending time with your friends. Yeah, and what I think is Sometimes overlooked in our industry is the products that we are using you like supporting and selling and and promoting our Important like their life safety. That's security like it's these are important products that we're able to Connect our careers to and that makes such a big difference Especially if you know that you're making a difference out there in the world Oh, yeah, and from personal experience when you get the call the next day and they say your fire alarm saved my family's life Wow, you know those are powerful things. I just got chills You know those are the things you look back on and say wow, I really have made an impact Yeah, so yeah, you know, we often get caught up in the rat race of things, right? Yeah, we lose loose that and another great I guess Position in this industry is to Your competitors aren't your enemies. No, no, so get to know your competitors. Yeah, they're fun, too You can go out and have a beer and joy people's company But you know, we're all in this to try to provide a service of life safety and security But it's as an industry not as individuals or individual companies Yeah, no, you know reach out across the aisle sort of speak. Yeah, no, I think that's really important and You know and the the good old boy a age of the the door hardware and security there was a lot of Competition clashing. Yeah, I feel like that's you can't do business that way. No more when what's the saying when? When the tides rise all boats rise with it, right? Exactly. Yeah We're in this to help the industry become better overall, right? Exactly couldn't agree more awesome How long have you been a door hard runner? Do you remember was there like a particular? Moment when you thought like hmm, you know, it was probably being Being in the alarm industry and having product knowledge about you know, the everything from the panels to the hardware to the sensors when I sold my alarm company in 2009 I had an agreement for six months to stay with the buyer and I Went to a trade show and I walked down the aisles like I normally do and I said wow Magnosphere never heard of you guys. What do you do? Yeah, and he showed me their product and I thought wow This is like an industry changer Yeah, and I think at that point there was there were angels singing lights and suddenly I became a door hardware nerd Because ever since here is what I do I sell door hardware and I love it. Yeah, no That's that's you had the the angel moment. I think I've been there right like Awesome What is and you already spoke a little bit about this? But what is one piece of advice you would give the nerds that are just joining the industry, you know Really dive into the product Understand what it is that your product does and you know sales people tend to you know tell a good story But then have to turn to the engineers For the real answers early on I would say If you have you know, that's a good question Let me get the answer for you and I turn to the engineers Well, I've found it the the deeper I could dig into the product to really understand What's happening below the surface? Yeah It just made me more more valuable to my customers. So really dig into your product knowledge Understand the nuances and then understand what your competitors do Yeah, so when you start, you know, sometimes you say well, you'd probably be better off with xyz. Yeah I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. It's being a good partner in this industry understanding where your solutions can meet your clients Needs but then also understanding where they they have limitations sure what's best for that. Yeah your customer And ultimately that's going to build more trust with you as a exactly security consultant or professional that's with them and consultive selling Which many of us do You know there you go out there and you you teach the architects and specifiers and engineers what your product does They're not going to go. Gee. Let me get out my checkbook. You know, you're educating them Yeah, so that eventually when there's that opportunity they remember gee might came by that Magnosphere sensor probably makes a whole lot of sense on this application. So it's just being a resource for those people Yeah, and when they're ready to buy you can be there and take the order But I'm certainly you know, we're not in a in an industry where you know People are walking up to the counter and buying your your stuff. Not really, right? Yeah What would you say is the nerdiest thing you've done? Oh My goodness, you know like most door hardware nerds, you know My wife will say, what are you looking at? So that's probably I think that's kind of in all of our blood you get somewhere And you know, you see now people are posting the pictures like the horrors of door hardware But you know, that's one of those things I'm doing which kind of I think kind of seals the the door hardware Stamp on my forehead. Oh, what's that doing in there? You know, oh the day that doesn't look like it fit Well, you can't turn it off. You can't turn it off, right? Yeah, it's in our blood And I'm sure your wife like mine is very a very patient woman Yep, well, I think that comes with the industry and you know, if I'm doing a good job I get good eye rolls like oh Wonderful, okay, I've got one last question for you and then we'll wrap this up I want you to fill in the blank. You might be a door hardware nerd if you Think the most fun you can have is looking at doors You might be a door hardware nerd if you're looking at doors, right? Like you're exactly around looking at doors I mean like you see it in movies. You see it in Television series like you see it all around us, right? It's it's doors are everywhere and they're so important And it's part of your education too because you can look at different things and go. Oh, that's a unique application So, yeah, I mean, that's how the whole door door series started was I Would see something that just didn't look right I'd take a picture of it and then send it to people that I knew knew the answer to it I had learned so much from these Sure veterans that have been in the industry and most importantly, I'll end with this If it weren't for door hardware We wouldn't have knock knock jokes Because you just push your way through the door you wouldn't have to knock you wouldn't have to knock Yeah, so yeah, you got a good point there. You got a good point There you go. So on that note Mike Benji pleasure time. Thank you so much. Thank you Welcome to the door hardware nerds. Thank you. It's an honor