Sentinel Corporate History

Sentinel Security and Communications, Inc. was founded in 1974 and incorporated in October 1977 under the name Utica Sentinels of Security by Joseph J. Koury and George Abdoo. Working out of the basement of Mr. Koury's house, the initial focus of the business was to install single station smoke detectors and small residential security systems. Since Mr. Koury and Mr. Abdoo were employed full-time elsewhere, most of the company's initial sales and installations were done after normal working hours and on weekends.

Over the next few years, the business continued to grow rapidly. In August of 1979, Mr. Koury began to develop the business on a full-time basis, and a few months later the company's first full-time employee was hired.

Early in 1981, Utica Sentinels of Security expanded its business to include several new product lines that allowed the company to grow into the commercial and industrial sectors. This diversification accelerated the growth rate of the company and provided a strong platform for future growth.

In April of 1983, with the company experiencing tremendous growth in both sales and earnings, Utica Sentinels of Security incorporated in the state of New York as Sentinel Security & Communications, Inc. At that time the company relocated to a new office facility in New Hartford, NY, and more employees were hired to expand the company outside the greater Utica-Rome area.

Over the next 15 years the company saw a steady rate of growth in sales and earnings. As the company continued to grow during that period, Sentinel added a number of new employees and broadened its product line availability.