Joe Pfefer is an old hand at getting awakened in the middle of the night to start his workday. He’s been at it for 50 years.
Pfefer owns Jade Alarm Co., based in Kansas City, Missouri. As told on the company’s website (jadealarm.com), he started Jade Alarm in 1969 in the basement of the home of his late parents, David and Lillian Pfefer. His parents owned a parking lot at 2201 Brooklyn, near the old Municipal Stadium. One night, soon after they returned home after operating their parking lot while a game was played in the stadium, a would-be intruder tried but failed to force open their front door.
The incident got Pfefer thinking about how to improve his parents’ home security. Electronics was his hobby, and through trial and error he designed and installed, with his three brothers’ help, a security system in his parents’ home.
“Primitive though it was, it worked,” according to the website.
That first successful security system led Pfefer to start Jade Alarm. This year marks its 50th anniversary.
He moved the company to its current location, 7636 Troost Ave., in 1981 and now has about 40 employees. Over the years, several characteristics have set Jade Alarm apart from its competition, Pfefer said.
“We are the only UL (Underwriters Laboratories) certified central monitoring and installation company in this area,” he told The Chronicle. “We are one of two (companies) that have had their own automation system certified to the new UL and (National Fire Protection Association) standards.”
The company’s monthly fee includes full, round the clock service at competitive rates, he said. It offers burglar alarms, fire alarms and sprinkler monitoring, access control using cards and biometrics, and video surveillance camera systems.
Pfefer has weathered some significant hardships over the years, personally and professionally. Tragedy struck when his father was murdered in October 1987. His mother died in 2003.
“The guiding hand (Pfefer’s father), the rock and anchor of Jade Alarm Co., was gone in an instant, but the continuation and success of the company is testament to his wisdom and way of life,” according to the website.
In November 1988, one side of the company’s building, which housed another tenant, caught fire. A firewall prevented Jade Alarm’s half of the building from being destroyed, and the company’s control center continued to function normally. Jade Alarm recovered through “the support and faith of its employees and customers.”
The company’s customer base hasn’t changed over the years, Pfefer said. Jade Alarm serves “customers that want good security systems at reasonable rates and someone that actually provides proper service instead of just saying they do it.”
The company usually has a three- to six-week backlog, and an increasing number of people “are flocking to us.” That reinforces the reason Pfefer loves his work, which is “helping to protect people.”
“I get jazzed each day when I come in and see what our company has done to help protect our community,” he said.
Pfefer regularly attends Kehilath Israel Synagogue and its minyan, and he attends BIAV for simchas and The Shul of Leawood for T.G.I. Shabbos and simchas. He became a Bar Mitzvah at Congregation Beth Shalom, where his parents were married and were longtime members. His staff covers service calls on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.
He keeps a busy schedule in addition to running Jade Alarm: He’s a certified kosher barbecue judge and a beekeeper. He started Jade Alarm when he was 15 and has no plans to retire.
“Having too much fun!” he said.
He credits his parents for teaching him the secret to his company’s success.
“The customer must come first,” he said. “If you have happy customers, then and only then will you be successful.”