Markland purchases Ergo

Markland Technologies Inc. of Ridgefield, Conn., has purchased government solutions provider Ergo Systems Inc. of Falls Church, Va., company officials said.

Terms of the deal, finalized Dec. 22, were not disclosed.

Markland purchased Ergo in part to gain access to Ergo's General Services Administration schedule. Markland hopes to place its bomb-detection and vehicle-stopping systems on the schedule, said Ken Ducey, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Markland.

According to the company, the GSA schedule, which has been in place since July 2001, has brought in about $2 million a year for Ergo. Ergo provides support services to border ports of entry in California, Texas, Michigan and New York.

"With this purchase, we hope to get our technologies into border patrol points," Ducey said. One technology is Markland's Vehicle Stopping System, which has been field-tested at a San Ysidro, Calif., border crossing. This system can safely stop automobiles illegally running through check points. The system uses video surveillance, software, gates, tire shredders and large, rapidly-deployable nets. The company's Acoustic Core technology can pinpoint dangerous materials inside containers such as luggage.

Presently employing six people, Markland plans to focus on the homeland security market and is acquiring additional assets and hiring employees. Formerly, the company was known as Quest Net Corp. and focused on wireless operations, dial-up and hosting, according to the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

In a deal finalized on Dec 19, 2002, asset management firm Eurotech Ltd., Fairfax, Va., purchased 80 percent of Markland.