From safecrackers to eyes in the sky

The same security company that donated the webcam for ARRMC’s new pavilion also employs some of the most talented safecrackers in the country.

Cook Solutions Group (formerly Cook Security Group) delivers electronic and physical security, access control, alarm systems and interactive ATMs to banks, credit unions, hospitals and some of the biggest data centers in the world (though Cook can’t name them for security reasons, you likely use their websites daily).

Headquartered in Portland with two locations in Southern Oregon, Cook employs 400 people and services customers in 13 states, including the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sonics.

Cook donated the webcam atop ARRMC’s bed tower that allows a bird’s-eye view of the pavilion construction.

Servicing banks means CSG must have top-notch, old-school technicians it can deploy to crack open safes when employees accidentally overdial the sophisticated time locks on the vaults. One mistake can lock down the vault from 12 to 36 hours.

“Our guys have the stethoscopes and know the drill points. We come in ‘Oceans 11’ style to get inside and get the vault back open for customers,” says Levi Daily, chief technology officer. “It’s an art.”

CGS responded in the wake of the Sept. 8 wildfires that came so close to its Phoenix location it burned the bushes next to the building. When longtime client Umpqua Bank lost its Phoenix branch, the only thing left standing was the vault.

“That door was glowing red for days,” Daily says. “We had people on site, full time, drilling into the safe deposit boxes to get access for their customers.”

Daily, who grew up in Rogue River and helped start the company that eventually became Core Business Services, has his office in the same north Medford building as partner Guru Innovations, a marketing firm that counts Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and John McEnroe among its clients.

“We’re excited to partner with Asante,” Daily says. “This livestream camera was a fun project. Every few weeks we’re taking the recorded footage and provide Asante with a time-lapse video. When the pavilion is done, there will be a five-minute video where you can watch the entire construction.”