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Stallion Security Group

The Stallion Security Group began its corporate life as a guarding company in Johannesburg in 1991. From its inception, with a guard force comprised of 10 highly trained individuals, the Group has grown in size and scope to become the preferred employer of over 4000 people. Though its current national footprint which extends to the most remote corners of the country is light years away from its humble beginnings, the Group's original objective of providing its clients with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that they have entrusted their security to a company that is relentlessly committed to delivering on its promises - and surpassing them, has remained unchanged.

Amabubesi, Stallion's BEE partner, reflects transformation in the truest sense. In recognising that real change is generated from within, the company provides open end opportunities for its people, irrespective of colour or creed, to develop their competencies and rise to positions which enable them to occupy essential roles as meaningful players in the economic mainstream of the security industry.

The Group's growth has been driven by the changing needs of its ever expanding client base. Escalating criminal activity in South Africa has created a unique and daunting set of challenges for the security industry as a whole. Although at first glance it would seem that most companies offer seemingly identical portfolios of services, the Stallion business model has differentiated itself, by transforming eight specific portfolios into individual businesses dedicated to fulfilling a specialised niche function. At the helm of each business is a managing director with a substantial shareholding, which has resulted in the delivery of service excellence. Individually and in combination, each business forms part of Stallion's broader holistic mission to ensure that clients derive maximum returns on their security investments.

Given that a company is only as strong as its people, the Stallion Group's Learning Centre is the undoubted nucleus of its operations. With training facilities nationwide, the Group provides Grade E to A SIRA accredited instruction for retail security, armed reaction and various other specialised security functions. In addition to the training and ongoing development of the high calibre Stallion corps, the Group has become the preferred training provider for other security companies around the country. While other companies tend to comply with the minimum mandatory SIRA requirements laid down by the Security Officers Act, the Stallion Group upholds a firm policy of post-qualification training which focuses on honing existing competencies and expanding upon them to ensure that security personnel remain at the leading edge of their field. The Group is additionally way ahead of legislative requirements in terms of firearm training. Though the law requires security officers who are licensed to carry firearms to undergo re-training every two years, armed reaction officers at Stallion are subject to re-training every three months. In recognising that the illegal, unlicensed use of weapons in South Africa is often the result of firearm theft, the Group maintains a rigid, high-tech, internal system of gun control. Aside from recording the performance of an individual reaction officer at his three-monthly re-training session, his respective weapon is bar coded with both a number and a biometric fingerprint to ensure that guns are only issued to those to whom they have been specifically assigned, and that the authorised person is fully competent when it comes to using the weapon.

There is no doubt that escalating crime in South Africa provides numerous commercial opportunities for private security companies. In recent times this has led to a trend amongst local firms to sell a portion of their operations to foreign investors looking for quick and easy returns. In recognising that the unique aspects of our country's security situation require an informed response, the Stallion Group has chosen to remain a wholly and proudly South African, owner-managed operation. Through various social responsibility programmes the Group ensures that money earned and spent in our country is effectively ploughed back into growing the initiative and skills of its people and the communities in which it operates.

Chief executive Clive Zulberg attributes his organisation's dominant position as a quality leader with a prestigious ISO 9001:2000 accreditation to a steadfast commitment to retaining its identity as a private owner-managed operation. "The fact that we are able to take immediate strategic decisions has enabled us to deliver our services throughout South Africa and Lesotho, without compromising on the overall levels of excellence that have led to our reputation as a preferred security partner," he says.

The Group's financial results certainly endorse this philosophy. More than simply being the service provider of choice for security conscious clients, it seems that the Stallion Group with its internal culture of promotion from within is also a preferred employer in the security industry.

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