Burns International Security Services Inc Of Florida history

He attended business college, and then joined his father in a tailoring enterprise, but became an amateur sleuth when, in 1878, his father began serving as police commissioner in Columbus.

Burns left government service in 1906, with a growing reputation for incorruptibility and excellent detective work.

The base company from which Burns International Security Services evolved, the William J. Burns National Detective Agency, was established in New York in 1909 by the son of Irish immigrant parents.

By this time, the company was becoming famous for innovative detective methods, which, in 1916, involved Burns himself in something of a scandal and began the tarnishing of his image.

Although Burns continued to provide alarm installation and monitoring systems, by 1979 about 86 percent of its total sales came from its guard services.

By 1982, it had become a $3.3 billion industry, of which Burns had a $250 million share, second only to Pinkerton's $300 million.

The company shed many other assets, went public again through a 1993 initial offering and spun off its automotive business (now the publicly traded BorgWarner Inc.). As it worked down its debt, and smoothed over some early operating miscues, its performance began to solidify in recent years. Its predecessor company, Borg-Warner Corp., was taken private through a 1987 leveraged buyout that saddled it with a huge debt burden.

The company shed many other assets, went public again through a 1993 initial offering and spun off its automotive business (now the publicly traded BorgWarner Inc.). As it worked down its debt, and smoothed over some early operating miscues, its performance began to solidify in recent years.

But in late 1998, the powerful machinists and pilots unions--which didn't like the hard-charging Edwardson's tough stance during UAL's labor negotiations--made it clear that they would seek to bar his nomination to the CEO post.