by jim froneberger
Guarding the Grid Total ProtectionS USA’s
High-Threat/Close Proximity Services
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n the fall of 2001, Phrantceena Thate Halres was running a successful recruiting and staffing business in Raleigh. Typical of human resources firms, Halres offered a wide range of staffing services for administrative, accounting, professional, legal, and technical positions. Then came the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Halres didn’t know it right away, but that tragic event would permanently change the direction of her business. A graduate of Wingate University, Halres had been providing staffing services since 1986 to a number of
agencies of state government, as well as to companies around the Research Triangle. Her firm, Aelmings Human Resources Corporation, also advised clients on how to implement programs to recruit and train a diverse workforce. But shortly after the 9/11 attacks, her telephone rang. It was one of her clients, Duke Energy. The new realities of a post-9/11 world meant increased security requirements at the nation’s nuclear power plants, and Duke needed help staffing those brand new security needs. The result was the formation of Total Protection Services Carolinas, LLC (TPS), a minority and woman-owned staffing firm dedicated to providing safety and security services to the nuclear power industry.
Safety and Security Services After the call from Duke Energy, Halres started providing services to Duke in 2002. But with Duke Energy as her primary client, she soon realized a move would be necessary. Commutes to meetings at Duke’s Charlotte headquarters
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and to nuclear plant sites in South Carolina were proving to be logistical challenges from a Raleigh base. So in 2008, she moved the business to Charlotte. After stints in Ballantyne and Dilworth, TPS has now settled into a new home on Fairview Road near SouthPark. greatercharlottebiz.com | march 2013