Independent Alarm Shifts to New Pennsauken Location

After 33 years, said Paul Kerth, the Collingswood business he founded had simply gotten too big for its Haddon Ave. digs.

“It served us well for a long time,” he said, “but we were literally bulging. This has been coming on for some time.”

Situated across the street from Penguin Cleaners, Independent Alarm, which provides security systems for home and business owners, has certainly drawn lots of walk-in traffic.

As such, he searched hard for a way to keep the business in Collingswood, “but the few locations with the space requirements that we had just didn’t work out.”

So, with no small degree of regret, the family packed up its main operations for a Pennsauken mailing address.

“Believe me, the last thing we wanted to do was move out of town,” Kerth said. “It was really close.

“My son, Jamie, who is now running the business, just put together a great deal, and it worked,” he said. “We really kind of moved right in and it was a turnkey situation.” 

The Collingswood office will continue to function as a drop-off point for payments and paperwork, with hours by appointment only, Kerth said. The main operations and services will all be run out of the new Pennsauken location.

On the bright side, Independent Alarm will have good neighbors at its new Maple Ave. address. Just up the street is Chef Mark Smith’s Tortilla Press Cantina, which threw up a message of welcome on its marquee for the Kerths’ move-in day.

It was a token gesture, but one that wasn’t lost on Kerth, who is known throughout the borough as a stalwart supporter of Collingswood special events, including the annual Christmas parade.

“I couldn’t just close this location and disappear from Collingswood,” Kerth said. “I have to be here. We still sponsor every major event.

“We’ve always been a part of Collingswood and we want to give back to Collingswood because they’ve given us so much,” he said.

Independent Alarm is now located at 7215 Maple Avenue in Pennsauken (for those with twitchy GPS units, Kerth suggests putting Merchantville in the address finder.)