EDC Corporate Employer of the Year!

ReachONE Internet
Owner: Bob Helstrom
Location: 4550 3rd Ave. SE
                Lacey, WA 98503
Website: www.reachone.com

In 1972, a friend asked Custom Security founder Bob Helstrom if he knew anyone who could install an alarm system. Bob said, "I can," and over a thousand alarm systems later, Custom Security is the largest privately owned alarm company in Washington State. Custom Security has been in business at 3rd Avenue and College Street in Lacey for over 30 years and is the 49th largest of its kind in the U.S. with 120 full-time, well paid, employees.

For the first eight years, Custom Security only installed, but after a public 9-1-1 center decided to discontinue alarm monitoring, Custom Security began monitoring the alarm systems they installed.  Their Alarm Center, Inc. located in Lacey, Washington, now does third party monitoring for over 90 alarm dealers.

With future in mind, Custom Security expanded into "Call Center," a professional 24/7 answering service, which can handle after business hours calls with a personal touch.  The Call Center is the only answering service located in Thurston County. The Call Center helps many businesses and  alarm dealers with the very "valuable" feature of helping keep their customers satisfied.

In 1997, Helstrom started ReachONE Internet. Initial benefits included dealers having access to their own accounts and making it possible for the Alarm Center to instantly communicate with them.  ReachONE Internet is housed in a U.L. listed and F.M.  approved Alarm Monitoring Center, which takes advantage of the triple redundant power supplies and generators and gives ReachONE Internet a much more secure and reliable connection to the Internet than most Internet companies.

ReachONE services, now include connections, web developers, and will soon include wireless Internet.  Through recent acquisitions, the company now has local access numbers for most of Western Washington.

ReachONE Internet, recently acquired World Star/ NW Rain Net, headquartered in University Place.  This is ReachONE Internet's seventh acquisition in two years. Prior acquisitions include Turbo Tek, Connect Corp., SPSO, Connect Del Sol, Orca Link/ NW Tekk, and OlyNet.

A percentage of the company's profits go to The  Helstrom foundation, which helps fund Community Christian Academy, a private Christian school-serving children from preschool through high school.  The Helstrom Foundation also helps in multiple projects around the world.  Here is a partial list - JESUS Film showings in Fiji and Ethiopia, grain project in Vietnam , children's home dormitory in Thailand, school building project in Cambodia, hospital equipment in China, scholarship support in Haiti, Bible school buildings in Mozambique, Christian school bus project in  Jordan, Africa Nazarene  University in Kenya, church plant  support in Spain, drug  rehabilitation project in Portugal, church plant in France, agricultural projects in Albania, prison ministry and senior citizen food bank in Russia, chapel and health education in Bangladesh.

"We just keep trying to  be the best by providing better service than anyone else in our region," says Helstrom. "Our entire management team has been here fifteen years or more. That kind of stability is priceless."