Without the ability to deposit cash in banks, the marijuana industry is essentially a cash-only business. Abundance of cash, combined with high products sales operating margins makes the cannabis business a target for criminal activities. The security industry in the U.S. is estimated to exceed $300 billion dollars.
Our plan is to enter this potentially lucrative market through our acquisition of an existing, operational security company. In mid-2014, FFFC acquired a 70 percent interest in Canton, Ohio based, Brawnstone Security, Inc. (Brawnstone), a diversified security, training and investigations company. Brawnstone presently services 15 clients and has a staff of 33 professionals. It is equipped for installation of business security systems, intrusion devices and technology based solutions. Brawnstone is an approximate three year old company.
During the past year, we have devoted our resources in restructuring the Brawnstone balance sheet and restoring higher margins by increasing the Company's operating efficiency. These initiatives have borne fruit at the present time: Brawnstone has an annual revenue run rate of $750,000.00. Our strategy is to use the Brawnstone platform to enter the cannabis market plan in late 2015 or early 2016. The Company's research shows that operating margins for cannabis related security services could exceed current billing levels by at least 100 percent.
