SimplexGrinnell, a subsidiary of Johnson Controls, 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 Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

; corporate sales and marketing offices are in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and the company has about 160 district offices throughout

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. It is currently the largest fire protection company in the world. Grinnell Fire Protection was purchased by Tyco in 1976. Tyco bought Simplex Time Recorder Company on January 5, 2001, for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1.15 billion and merged it with Grinnell Fire Protection, forming SimplexGrinnell. The time clock division of Simplex was sold to Kronos shortly afterward. On September 6, 2016, Johnson Controls and Tyco completed a merger. In May 2017, Johnson Controls announced that the brand identity of SimplexGrinnell will be transitioned to Johnson Controls. SimplexGrinnell's fire sprinkler services will become Grinnell Fire Protection Solutions, a separate brand under Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls will continue to sell Simplex fire and security products under the Simplex brand name.

Corporate history

Grinnell Fire Protection Company

Frederick Grinnell Frederick Grinnell (August 14, 1836 – October 21, 1905) was a pioneer in fire safety and was the creator of the first practical automatic fire sprinkler. Early life and education He was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In 1855, he graduated ...

, an 1855 graduate of Rensselaer Institute (now

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

), worked in

railroad engineering Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of rail transport systems. It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, compu ...

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 Henry S. Parmelee (c. 1846 – 1902), president of the Fair Haven and Westville Street Railway Company, was a piano maker from New Haven, Connecticut. He took the idea of Sir Hiram Maxim and then invented the second automatic fire sprinkler system ...

, who patented the first automatic

fire sprinkler A fire sprinkler or sprinkler head is the component of a fire sprinkler system that discharges water when the effects of a fire have been detected, such as when a predetermined temperature has been exceeded. Fire sprinklers are extensively use ...

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. Continual improvements resulted in the glass disc sprinkler in 1890. With slight modifications, this sprinkler head is still used in modern

fire sprinkler system A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection method, consisting of a water supply system, providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected. Although historically on ...

s; sprinklers are even called ''le Grinnells'' in France. In 1892, Grinnell organized the General Fire Extinguisher Company, which was renamed the Grinnell Fire Protection Company after his death in 1919. The main manufacturing facility was in North Carolina at the

Grinnell Company-General Fire Extinguisher Company Complex Grinnell Company-General Fire Extinguisher Company Complex is a historic factory complex located at Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. It was built in 1929–1930, and consists of a two-story office building and massive tall, one-story ...

Simplex 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 Gardner, officially the City of Gardner, is a city in Worcester County in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,287 in the 2020 census. Gardner is home of such sites as the Blue Moon Diner, Dunn State Park, Ga ...

, purchased the IBM Time Equipment Division in 1958. This purchase included IBM's fire protection division. Originally, Simplex's fire alarm line simply consisted of relabeled IBM devices and control panels, but they began to introduce redesigned IBM products starting in the early 1960s. In the mid-1960s, Simplex attempted to introduce low-voltage DC systems; these panels were not a success. Most of Simplex's audible notification appliances prior to the 1990s were relabeled Benjamin Electric,

Federal Signal Federal Signal Corporation is an American manufacturer headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. Federal Signal manufactures street sweeper vehicles, public address systems, emergency vehicle equipment, and emergency vehicle lighting. The compan ...

, Faraday, and

Autocall Autocall is a company that specializes in fire protection and customized communications equipment. The original company was founded in 1908 and was based in Shelby, Ohio. The Autocall brand became defunct in 2001 after it was incorporated into th ...

devices. Simplex's time-division began to lose market share, but their newly founded fire alarm division significantly prospered. In 1970, Simplex introduced conventional control panels. In 1979, Simplex introduced the industry's first networked multiplex building control system that was capable of handling fire alarm, security, HVAC, synchronized time, and watchman's tour.

Other products

SimplexGrinnell also markets burglar alarms,

PA systems A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

, and nurse call systems. They also provide testing, inspection, and maintenance services for fire alarm, sprinkler, suppression, security, and communication equipment. To a much lesser degree, the company also sells and services pull stations, time clocks, and master time systems and Mass Notification systems. File:Simplex4051405085.JPG, Older 4051+4050-80 fire alarm File:Simplex_2902-9739_LifeAlarm_speaker-strobe.JPG, Simplex 2902-9739 LifeAlarm fire alarm File:Simplex TrueAlert horn and strobe.jpg, Simplex TrueAlert fire alarm File:Simplex21204100.jpg, Simplex 2120 (left) next to a 4100 File:Simplex4010and4208panels.JPG, A Simplex 4010 addressable fire alarm panel tied into an older Simplex 4208 conventional fire alarm panel File:Simplex4100Upanel.JPG, More modern Simplex 4100U panel Image:OldSimplexClock.JPG, Older Simplex slave clock.

References

External links