Honeywell Security and Fire

Honeywell Security and Fire (HSF) is a global manufacturer of electronic security, fire, and life safety technologies for domestic and commercial buildings, vehicles, aircraft and industrial sites.

HSF is part of the high-profile US multinational corporate giant Honeywell International Inc, which was formed from the merger of AlliedSignal and Honeywell Inc. in 1999.

HSF was created by the merger of Honeywell Security Group and Honeywell Fire Safety in 2015 and is now a segment of Honeywell’s Home and Building Technologies (HBT) division, fashioned in July 2016.

Honeywell International has 1,250 sites in 70 countries and employs 129,000 people worldwide. Half of its 23,000 engineers and scientists focus on software development.

A Fortune 100 company, Honeywell International turned over $40.5bn (£28.8bn) in sales in 2017.

It ranked fourth world’s largest conglomerate in terms of market value ($94.6, £67.4) in 2017, behind key competitors General Electric (GE), 3M and Siemens and just ahead of United Technologies

It sells its products globally through authorised distributors and dealers.

HBT includes Honeywell’s Environmental & Energy Solutions, Security and Fire, and Building Solutions and Distribution businesses and employs more than 38,000 worldwide. HBT’s products, software and technologies are found in more than 150 million homes and 10 million buildings across the globe.

In the US, Honeywell is listed as a ‘major player’ in the fire and smoke alarm systems market.

History and M&As

Honeywell International is known for its merger and acquisition activity in fire and security, as well as other divisions, as fire and security continue to consolidate. The company has made more than 50 acquisitions, both large and small, since 1997.

In 2000, the company acquired Pittway, including First Alert Professional, to gain a greater share of the fire protection and security systems market.

In 2005, Honeywell’s bid to merge with GE was definitively turned down by the Court of First Instance, upholding the European Commission’s decision to prohibit the proposed merger in 2001.

2016 was a busy year for acquisitions. In February, Honeywell acquired the world’s largest very early warning aspirating smoke detection (ASD) company Xtralis, and therefore the VESDA range of ASDs, for a reported $480 million (£342m).

VESDA joined its competitor FAAST (Fire Alarm Aspiration Sensing Technology), a manufacturer of advanced fire detection devices for commercial applications, to complement each other within the Honeywell stable.

A few weeks later in March 2016, Honeywell acquired video intrusion detection specialist RSI Video Technologies, in a deal worth around $123m (£87.6m).

RSI, which develops intrusion detection systems under the Videofied brand, supplies wireless battery-powered motion detectors with built-in cameras that stream high-quality video over the cloud to central monitoring stations and control room operators.

Also in March 2016, Honeywell acquired Movilizer, which created one of the world’s first cloud platforms for field service applications.

Rumours had been circulating in 2016 that Honeywell was looking for a buyer for its building solutions division as it unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a $90bn (£64bn) takeover of rival United Technologies Corp (UTC), but nothing came of it.

In June 2017, Honeywell acquired software company Nextnine Cyber Security.

Its most recent acquisition, in November 2017, was of SCAME Sistemi, an Italy-based company, which adds new fire and gas safety capabilities to Honeywell’s vast portfolio.

SCAME provides all-in-one systems that deliver management of fire and gas detection, and fire extinguishing systems, from a single interface and supervisory software platform.

 In November 2017, The VESDA-E VEA addressable ASD from Xtralis won approval for EN54-20, bringing the series of ASDs to more European markets.

Innovations and latest products

Honeywell is constantly innovating and updating its massive range of connected access control, integrated security, intruder detection, fire and video surveillance systems, with new products being launched on a frequent basis.

In February this year, the company released an update (CCS R200) to its Command and Control Suite, which integrates with its own building management platform, Enterprise Buildings.

In November last year, Honeywell expanded and updated its product range for connected, complex buildings by launching new equIP camera models and updating its MAXPRO NVR and VMS and Pro-Watch security management suite with new features, such as expanded mobile support for both IOS and Android, and more integration with third-party solutions.

It also released enhanced digital video management software DVM R620 exploiting the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve connectivity last October.

The company has several new products up its sleeve, due to be released later this year, including new VEA technology, which will be launched in a series of roadshows across Europe, a replacement for VESDA Plus, and a new X series from FAAST which incorporates both blue and red-light technology.

It is also launching new LTE cellular communicators for its security panels that it says will provide a stable and reliable network and provide longevity by future-proofing against emerging home security technologies.

plus a new, professionally-installed, outdoor video camera Total Connect IPCAM-WOC1 that integrates with other Honeywell  home security products

In June 2017 Honeywell launched Total Connect Box, a self-monitoring wireless security system for homes and small businesses, as well as its Total Connect Pro Manager tool.

Total Connect Box provides a compact security system that can be installed with both Ethernet and GPRS communicators, plus an optional Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module to minimise cabling.

Honeywell also partners with many leading brands, such as Notifier, Esser, Morley and Firelite Intelligent Addressable Fire Systems.