LOCAL FIRM JOINS CAROLINA COMPANY

Wolsey Investigative Service Inc. will grow after an agreement this month to become part of a 5,000-employee security firm in North Carolina.

Jerry Wolsey's 120-person firm in Cape Girardeau will become the base of operations in Missouri for Security Services of America, which has offices in nine states after three years in business.

Along with acquiring additional equipment and expertise for security and investigation, Wolsey said increased benefits for his employees was a factor in becoming part of the larger firm.

"All our security officers will now have needed health and other benefits," said Wolsey, whose 11-year-old company works in St. Louis and throughout Southeast Missouri. "It's very difficult for a small business to provide these things."

Wolsey's reputation motivated Security Services of America to contact him, said James Stevens, company president.

"We try to stay with firms in the upper end of the market," said Stevens, whose company has $52 million in annual sales.

Establishing operations in Missouri marks the firm's first venture into the Midwest. Its other offices are in Arizona, New Mexico, and six Southeast states.

Wolsey, who will be the company's director of operations in Missouri, has started negotiations with two other security firms in the state about joining SSA, Stevens said.

Initial expansion will be focused on areas around St. Louis and Springfield, Mo., Wolsey said.

Unlike law enforcement agencies nationally, private security firms look to expand their employee base over the next several years. Stevens has seen a client growth of 10 percent annually in his business since he started with two partners in Morehead City, N.C.