TERROR IN OKLAHOMA CITY : Blast Spurs Business for Security Firms

Security concerns in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing are prompting a rush of new business for companies that supply guards, investigative services, detection equipment and other high-tech hardware.

“There’s a greatly heightened awareness,” said Ira A. Lipman, chairman and owner of Guardsmark Inc., a Memphis, Tenn.-based security company with branch offices in 95 cities.

Many of the firm’s customers--mainly large corporations--have already increased the number of guards at their facilities, restricted parking, tightened pedestrian access and focused more scrutiny on shipping and receiving docks, Lipman said.

Beyond such immediate steps, others are looking toward long-term security plans, such as electronic doors and scanning devices.

“A lot of these sales are done on emotion,” said Peter Harris, sales chief for American Science & Engineering, a suburban Boston manufacturer of scanning machines for explosives, drugs and guns. “We’re getting calls from Fortune 500 companies and government agencies saying, ‘We need a machine right away.’ ”

His company’s specialized X-ray devices range in price from $50,000 to $3.5 million, and under certain circumstances can be impulse purchases. Last December, after a videotape-sized mail bomb killed a New York advertising executive at his home in New Jersey, Harris said he got orders from six Manhattan advertising agencies.

The Oklahoma City blast is expected to have far wider repercussions, wider even than the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, both because the victims included many children and because it occurred in a place that seemed an unlikely target for terrorism.

Federal buildings in a dozen cities have been evacuated because of bomb threats, and the government has ordered tightened security at such buildings nationwide.

Many businesses and non-government organizations, such as religious, environmental and abortion rights groups, are also stepping up security, fearing that copycat bombers may strike at their doorstep.

Investigative consultants, such as Kroll Associates, that advise corporations on dealing with terrorism and other security threats, have also received increased calls.

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Securitron, a manufacturer of electronic security systems, said it has received several inquiries for its products since the bombing.

“This incident triggered fears about the vulnerability of our country,” said Robert Cook, president of the Sparks, Nev.-based company. “It pushes companies to evaluate what they have to protect themselves.”

Investors, sensing opportunity in the increased security consciousness, have bid up the stock of some well-known security firms. Shares of Wackenhut Corp. in Coral Gables, Fla., for example, closed at $17.75 on Friday, up $2.125 for the week. Encino-based Pinkertons Inc. closed Friday at $17 a share, up $1.25 for the week.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.