Second Largest American-Owned Document Destruction Company Formed

A new company, Information Protection Solutions of America, has been formed to offer secure document destruction services throughout the continental United States. With more than 29 founding member companies, IPSA is now the largest AAA certified document destruction company in the United States and the second largest American owned document destruction company in the world. The AAA certification is given by NAID to members that have met rigorous requirements and uphold stringent document destruction and security standards.

Ken Williams, vice president of IPSA, says that in addition to the 29 founding member companies, there is a waiting list of other companies that are hoping to become a part of IPSA. He says that the company hopes to add new partners at its next meeting, scheduled for November.

“It is really a commitment to our ethics; basically all the issues,” Williams adds.

IPSA was formed to help corporations address the identity theft issue and comply with these new laws. The company is an outgrowth of Chicago-based Data-Guard. Data-Guard management decided to recruit existing shredding companies to join the new IPSA partnership. "My vision for IPSA was to recruit only the top document destruction companies in each metro area," said Tom Thompson, president of Data-Guard. "We want to provide national coverage combined with home-grown local service," he added.

IPSA provides secure on-site and offsite shredding of paper documents and other confidential material. Highlights of the service include:

-- Professionally-screened, bonded and insured uniformed representatives that come to client offices and remove secure containers for either on-site or off-site shredding.

-- Guaranteed custodial care of documents throughout the document retrieval and destruction process.  The strictest level of security, confidentiality, and compliance is assured at all times.

-- Single point of contact for both local and national clients.

IPSA provides document destruction services throughout the continental U.S. There are 363 fulltime employees, 109 service trucks and nine off-site facilities for handling large bulk document destruction assignments.

"Each IPSA location is independently owned and operated; consequently, the pride of ownership delivers a higher level of service and performance that cannot be matched by our competitors," said Kenneth Williams, vice president of marketing and client development at IPSA.

As a founding member of IPSA, "Our customers are already seeing value," said Jack Gerblick, the president of Peachtree Secure Shredding, based in Atlanta. "Our large clients with branch offices in many cities can leverage their size and scope through national pricing contracts yet receive high-quality service from locally owned document destruction companies."

"The practices and procedures set by the newly formed IPSA create a new level for secure document destruction that few companies across the country are prepared to meet," said Jay Foley, executive director of Identity Theft Resource Center. "Consumers have repeatedly stated that they are concerned about Identity Theft. Now businesses need to realize how much damage can be done to their reputations by being the source of the information used to commit identity theft."

In addition to being AAA certified, Williams adds that there are additional policies and procedures for member companies, making for an even more comprehensive security operation. One step IPSA is looking to introduce, perhaps as early as next year, will be a fingerprinting agreement that will increase the security of the individual companies.