Lenel Systems: catching a rising star. United Technologies has pumped US$ 25 million into Lenel Systems International since acquiring the firm three years ago, stirring a 20% annual rate of growth and cementing the Perinton firm as one of two hubs for UTC’s Fire and Security unit.

The US$ 5.8 billion unit, about 10% of UTC’s total business, has been a major focus at the Connecticut firm since UTC Fire and Security was launched in 2003, marked by the purchase of Chubb PLC.

The US$ 1 billion purchase was followed two years later by the US$ 400 million acquisition of Lenel, a security systems and software developer, forming one of three primary units at UTC. “It’s a very fast-growing part of the company and becoming increasingly important,” said Duncan Gillis, president of the global security products group.

On 2 January, Gillis appointed Luis Orbegoso, a recent UTC hire, to lead Lenel.

Market Growth and More Employees

„The security market has been growing at about 15% a year out of a general feeling of risk“, Gillis said. „Lenel is growing faster, at 20% a year“, added Kimberly Reidy, manager of Public Relations at UTC Fire and Security. The company’s investment in Lenel included a 9,000 square-foot expansion, new salespeople and a visual identity change.

It was chosen to be one of two cornerstones for UTC’s security business, not least because of Rochester’s talent pool. Although Lenel’s products now reach 175 countries, the company wants to invest more aggressively in technology and make new inroads into global markets such as India and China, where urbanisation is leading to intense construction activity and new opportunities for UTC’s integrated systems in new commercial buildings.

Integrated Biometrics

For government buildings for example, here and abroad, UTC can centralise high-tech retinal, fingerprint and pass card verification that can be programmed into the infrastructure of a new building to limit access to certain rooms and track visitors wherever they are.

Lenel‘s Identity Defender system also performs background checks on forms of personal identification before granting visitors access. Lenel’s security offerings can be further integrated with UTC’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning controls and elevator systems, Gillis said.

Contact:

Lenel Systems Inc,
Drobak, Norway
Tel.: +47 4154 2005
Fax: +47 9108 1487
susanne.auer-joergensen@lenel.com
www.lenel.com