December 1, 1980…
that was the day that David Blatter’s dream came true at the youthful age of 57 with the birth of Security Armored Express, Inc. The company was started with one armored car and two employees in Missoula, Montana. David, who was one of the original two employees, had been in the armored car business 22 years working for national companies and felt that the customers needed more local attention than was being offered. Today, the company operates branch offices in eighteen cities throughout Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Washington, and Nevada with a fleet in excess of 130 vehicles…all of them bearing the name Security Armored Express or SAExpress. “Incidentally…,” says Terri Blatter (Chairman), “I want to take this opportunity to mention that the other original employee was Paul Willard…we are definitely proud of the fact that Paul is still with us today.”
Security Armored Express is a family owned and operated Montana business! David Blatter, the founder, was until recently the Chairman of the Board and before his passing in 2002 acted primarily as the company advisor, not to mention overall handyman and janitor. Terri Blatter, who previously was the Vice President in charge of the First Bank Helena Operations Center, was brought into the company in 1992 as the President and has been the guiding force behind the evolution of the company into a total quality service provider. She is now the company Chairman.
Unlike many family-owned businesses that simply dry up and blow away when the founder moves on, David and Terri Blatter are proud to have their sons working for Security Armored Express who have also committed their lives to the business. Bryan Sandrock, President of Security Armored Express, works out of the corporate office in Helena, Montana. Chris Sandrock, Vice President of National Sales, works out of our Regional Office in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to knowledgeable and committed family members, the business has been fortunate enough to find skilled and dedicated upper management.
LeRoy Murphy has been with the company since 1987. He started his career with SAE as a salesman and after over a decade of service, loyalty, and friendship has come to his current position of Vice President of Operations and Quality Control. “I am not only proud to know Murph, I am thrilled to have him on our team” says Bryan. Adding to the management team are Jon Largis, Vice President of Fleet and Saftey, and Rich Todorovich, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Jon is responsible for the company fleet and safety program. Rich has considerable experience in sales. “And, no matter what all of the senior management say or do, none of it would work without the hard work and dedication of our local management staff,” expressed Bryan.
Armored Car Service Security Armored Express’s armored transportation division uses over 40 armored vehicles and 80 armed guards to provide secure and insured transportation of currency, coin, securities and other valuables. The company provides vault storage and armored transportation for approximately 400 financial institutions, large and small retail customers, gold mines, casinos and more. A specialty line of work that continues to grow is ATM servicing. The company handles all aspects of ATM cash replenishment and servicing…when asked about the number of machines that Security Armored Express services, Terri Blatter said “our current installed base is in excess of 300 machines.”
Of paramount importance in the armored car business is all risk insurance. “The customer simply must understand that there is absolutely no ‘all risk, no warranty’ insurance available in today’s marketplace that will pay out if their property is not regularly transported in fully armored vehicles,” says Bryan. He goes on to say “we continually educate our customers about all risk insurance and the pitfalls of using uninsured vendors.” As recently as five years ago, several financial institutions on the east coast, including the Federal Reserve Bank, lost a combined total in excess of thirty-eight million dollars to a carrier who was for all intents and purposes uninsured. And, just recently, Lloyds of London won a lawsuit relieving them of any responsibility to pay losses exceeding eight million dollars because the carrier misrepresented their operation to the British insurance giant.
The company uses only state-licensed guards and has taken the state licensing requirements a step further by requiring all armed employees to undergo further extensive handgun and scenario training. Our security programs are enhanced by a continual branch audit process that is implemented by a full-time training team. Our fleet and safety programs are administered and monitored by a full-time Vice President of Fleet and Safety, Jon Largis. Our fleet of vehicles is represented by a large number of one and two-year old vehicles. Just this year, Security Armored Express purchased 15 new armored vehicles to enhance safety and security. To ensure customers with timely services, we have made the ongoing commitment to keep the vehicle fleet at peak operating efficiency. Also, our drivers undergo safe driving and defensive driving courses endorsed by the National Safety Council.
Courier Security Armored Express’s courier division, known as SAExpress was added in 1988 with the purchase of the Pony Express operation in Montana. At that time, the courier division focused primarily on time-critical movements of non-negotiable items for the banking industry and several other large Montana customers, such as Montana Power Company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, and Anderson-Zurmuehlen. “In 1995, when the transportation industry was for the most part de-regulated, our express delivery system as we know it today was born…we use cars, trucks, tractors, and airplanes to meet our service objective of same-day and overnight delivery to all major markets by 9:00 am,” says Terri Blatter. From their major distribution centers in Billings, Helena, Butte, Boise, and Salt Lake City the company services seven states, which include Nevada and Oregon.
SAExpress believes that the keys to success are the commitment brought forth by the family and the fact that, with one exception, absolutely no work is sub-contracted. “We are accountable for the package from ‘door to door’…it costs us more to provide that edge but it is worth it to our customers,” says Bryan. Where do they plan to go from here? “It depends on the customers…we only want to be where the customers want us to be, but there has been some discussion on Colorado, Oregon, and Minnesota” says Terri Blatter.
Air Charter Security Armored Express’s air charter division functions primarily as a complement to the ground courier division. Using the highest quality aircraft and pilots that we believe are the best in the area, we proudly boast 100% dispatch ratings and 100% on-time performance. As the company continues to grow, the family always remembers it all started with David’s dream. But, David was quick to point out that he would never have made it all happen if he hadn’t written his dream on paper, thereby making it a goal! David, who is a strong believer in setting goals, constantly reminds the family “If you have an idea or dream, it will never develop until you write it down and read it out loud to yourself. If the idea or dream stays in your mind it is like a ship at sea without a rudder. Writing that thought down to make it a goal is like adding the rudder to the ship…once done, you can go anywhere and your dreams will come true.”