Robert Baxter originally founded Sonitrol in 1960 as a company that would incorporate his various sound-related inventions. Everything changed when police officer and alarm company owner Al Cronk hired Baxter to manage his company's equipment. Baxter's innovations proved so successful that Sonitrol soon evolved from an invention company into a security franchise opportunity in 1965. A subsidiary of Tyco International Ltd., the Sonitrol Network has franchisees in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.