SimplexGrinnell

Infobox_Company
company_name = SimplexGrinnell LP
company_
company_type = Subsidiary of Tyco Fire & Security
foundation = 2001, with roots going back to 1850's (Grinnell) and 1894 (Simplex)
location = Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.A. Corporate Sales & Marketing: Westminster, Massachusetts
key_people = Jim Spicer, President
industry = Fire suppression systems Fire detection and notification systems Communications and security systems
parent = Tyco International
homepage = [http://www.simplexgrinnell.com www.simplexgrinnell.com]

SimplexGrinnell, a subsidiary of Tyco International, is an American company specializing in active fire protection systems, communication systems and testing, inspection and maintenance services. The company headquarters is in Boca Raton, Florida; corporate sales and marketing offices are in Westminster, Massachusetts, and the company has about 160 district offices throughout North America. [cite web| title =Contact Us| publisher =SimplexGrinnell| url =http://www.simplexgrinnell.com/contact/index.jsp| accessdate =2007-06-15]

SimplexGrinnell was formed by the merger of the Simplex Time Recorder Company and Grinnell Fire Protection in 2001, and is the largest fire protection company in the world.

Corporate history

Grinnell Fire Protection Company

Frederick Grinnell, a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, [cite web| title =Frederick Grinnell, Class of 1855, Pioneer in Fire Safety, 1836-1905| work =Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame| publisher =Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute| url =http://www.rpi.edu/dept/NewsComm/sub/fame/inductees/frederickgrinnell.html| accessdate =2007-06-14] worked in railroad engineering until he retired as chief mechanical engineer and general manager of the Jersey City Locomotive Works. Soon after his retirement, he purchased a controlling interest in the Providence Steam and Gas Pipe Company.

Grinnell already knew Henry S. Parmalee, who patented the first automatic fire sprinkler head in 1874. Providence Steam & Gas partnered with Parmalee and manufactured the Parmalee sprinkler; Grinnell also designed and erected the piping installations into which the Parmalee sprinkler heads were fitted. Grinnell improved Parmalee's first practical automatic sprinkler and patented his own Grinnell sprinkler in 1882. [cite web| last =Grant| first =Casey Cavanaugh| title =The Birth of NFPA| work =NFPA History| publisher =NFPA| url =http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=500&itemID=18020&URL=About%20Us/History&cookie%5Ftest=1| accessdate =2007-06-15] Continual improvements resulted in the glass disc sprinkler in 1890. With slight modifications, this sprinkler head is still used in modern fire sprinkler systems; sprinklers are even called "le Grinnells" in France. [cite web| title =History of Sprinkler Systems| work =The Station House| publisher =Tyco International| year =2005| month=February| url =http://www.tyco-fire.com/TFP_common/StationHouse02-15_5.pdf| format =PDF| accessdate =2007-06-14] In 1892, Grinnell organized the General Fire Extinguisher Company, which was renamed the Grinnell Fire Protection Company after his death in 1919.

implex Time Recorder Company

Meanwhile, Edward G. Watkins founded the Simplex Time Recorder Company in 1894. Watkins invented and patented one of the first practical time clocks, along with the synchronized clock systems seen in schools up until recent times. The company, located in Gardner, Massachusetts, purchased the IBM Time Equipment Division in 1958. [cite web| title =Text of IBM's October 24, 1958 press release| work =announcing the sale of its time equipment (clocks, et al.) business to Simplex Time Recorder Company| publisher =IBM| url =http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/cc/pdf/cc_2407PR02.pdf| accessdate =2008-01-16] Its earliest fire alarm horns were relabeled horns from IBM (the 4030 series, originally created in the early 1930's) and Federal Signal (the 4040 series, as well as the 2901-9806) and Faraday (the 4050 series, released in 1967, as well as the 2901-series horns). Simplex did provide their own retrofit light/strobe plates for their horns, such as the 4050-80 light plates (came with red lenses that were sometimes labeled with the word "FIRE"). Simplex also released bells that were manufactured by Faraday, both for fire alarm and school bell use. In 1971, Simplex introduced the 4251 "T-bar" series pull stations, which have become one of the most recognizable series of pull stations today. In 1980, they also introduced the 2903 series strobes/light plates. In 1982, Simplex brought voice evacuation to the 2001 series panel, and also introduced the LifeAlarm series of speakers.

In 1993, Simplex began manufacturing its own horn notification appliances with its 4903 series, although the electromechanical horns in the series were made by Faraday. In 1997, Simplex began using electronic horns for the 4903 series. In 2000, Simplex introduced the new TrueAlert series of notification appliances. Early on, the non-addressable series of TrueAlerts was called the "QuickAlert", but this name was dropped in 2001. Initially only horn/strobe and remote strobe versions were available, but in 2002 Simplex introduced the TrueAlert series speaker/strobes. The 4903 series has all but disappeared from the market, though Simplex still makes 4903-style horn/strobes using the same horn device as the TrueAlert horns. A Simplex pull station in the 4251, 2099 or 4099 series is recognizable by its T-shaped handle; variants of it include a panel above the handle that must be pushed in before pulling the handle (such as the 4099-9003), and another with a glass panel covering the handle that must be broken with an attached hammer before it is able to be pulled (including the 4251-30 and 4099-9002).

Grinnell Fire Protection was purchased by Tyco in 1976. Tyco bought Simplex on January 5, 2001 for US$1.15 billion and merged it with Grinnell Fire Protection and created SimplexGrinnell.

Current products and services

SimplexGrinnell continues to market fire alarms, and life safety systems and testing, inspection and maintenance services for fire alarm, sprinkler, suppression, security and communications systems. SimplexGrinnell also makes burglar alarms, PA systems, and an automatic call system used by hospital patients to call nurses for assistance. To a much lesser degree, the company also sells and services time clocks and master time systems.

The company makes addressable fire control panels, which can pinpoint the place and device in the network that activated the alarm. They also make conventional panels.

The company also markets a wide variety of initiation devices, including smoke detectors, heat detectors, and pull stations. Their notification appliances include bells, klaxons, horns, strobe lights, and even voice alarms. The "TrueAlert" series of notification appliances, are the first notification devices that can be tested individually without setting off the entire alarm system. [cite web| title =TrueAlert| publisher =SimplexGrinnell LP| url =http://www.simplexgrinnell.com/fire/products/addressable.jsp| accessdate =2007-06-14]

References

External links

* [http://www.simplexgrinnell.com/ SimplexGrinnell]