Chubb Fire & Security Ltd is a British firm specialised in

fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...

and

security system A security alarm is a system designed to detect intrusion, such as unauthorized entry, into a building or other areas such as a home or school. Security alarms used in residential, commercial, industrial, and military properties protect against ...

s, and is a subsidiary of APi Group Corporation (NYSE: APG).

History

The company was founded by

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

and Jeremiah Chubb, who patented their

Chubb detector lock A Chubb detector lock is a lever tumbler lock with an integral security feature, a Combination lock#Internal mechanisms, re-locking device, which frustrates unauthorised access attempts and indicates to the lock's owner that it has been interfered ...

in 1818. The company won a government competition for a lock which could not be opened other than by its own key. In 1835, the company produced its first Chubb safe at its factory in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

, UK and, in the second half of the 19th century, the company expanded into the United States, and produced a time lock that was fitted to bank vaults across the country.COMPANIES & FINANCE UK & IRELAND: Chubb's safe blown wide open but will there be anything left inside?
Financial Times, Apr 23, 2003 In the 1800s, Chubb gained some important customers such as the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...

and the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...

. Over the next one hundred years, the company turned out more than 2.5m locks. By the 1940s, Chubb expanded its operations in 17 countries. From being a single company manufacturing specialized security products it turned into a broad-based group of companies covering not only many aspects of security but fire protection as well. The company went on to acquire a number of rival firms including Chatwood-Milner Ltd. (1958), Burgot Alarms Ltd and Rely-a-Bell (1962),

Read and Campbell Limited Read and Campbell Limited was a British manufacturer of firefighting equipment founded in 1878. The company was an early pioneer in the design and manufacture of portable fire extinguishers. History The company was founded in 1881 by two Scottis ...

(1964), Josiah Parkes and Sons Ltd. (1965) and

The Pyrene Company Limited Carbon tetrachloride pump fire extinguisher The Pyrene Company Limited from their beginning in 1914, until 1971 when they became Chubb Fire Security Limited, were among the world's leaders in the manufacture of fire fighting equipment. The name ...

(1967). It was bought by

Racal Electronics Racal Electronics plc was a British electronics company that was founded in 1950. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, Racal was a diversified company, offering products including voice loggers and ...

in August 1984, from which it was demerged in September 1992, before being acquired by

Williams Holdings Williams Holdings was a major British conglomerate. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was established by Nigel Rudd and Brian McGowan in Derby in 1982 to acquire under ...

in February 1997. as the latter company sought to build a security-focused conglomerate. Chubb was again demerged in July 2000. In August 2000, Chubb sold

Chubb Locks Chubb Locks is a former brand name (expired 2010) of the Mul-T-Lock subsidiary of the Assa Abloy Group, which manufactures locking systems for residential, secure confinement and commercial applications. History Chubb was started as a ship's ...

, its lock and safe making unit, to

Assa Abloy Assa Abloy AB is a Swedish conglomerate whose offerings include products and services related to locks, doors, gates, and entrance automation. Related products and services include controlling access and confirming identities with keys, cards, ...

, and concentrated on security systems such as door access and CCTV systems. In May 2002, Chubb held intensive acquisitions talks with Sweden-based

Securitas AB Securitas AB is a security services (security guarding and mobile patrolling), monitoring, consulting and investigation group, based in Stockholm, Sweden. The group has over 300,000 employees in 53 countries worldwide. Securitas AB is listed at ...

, the world's biggest security services business. After 18 months of negotiations, the talks were called off on the grounds that the deal would not be "financially attractive" to either company's shareholders. In Australia, Chubb Security bought MSS Security in 1996, but then sold it to Security and Intelligence Services in 2008. In April 2003, Chubb was acquired for £622m by

United Technologies Corporation United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems ...

. In March 2007, UTC bought Initial Fire and Security, the security arm of

Rentokil Initial Rentokil Initial is a British business services group based in Crawley, England. It was founded in 1925 as a pest-control business but subsequently expanded and diversified, in part through organic growth under the leadership of Sir Clive Thom ...

and proceeded to merge the business and its assets with Chubb in

UTC Climate, Controls & Security UTC Climate, Controls & Security was a global provider of building technologies offering fire safety, security, building automation, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration systems and services. A wholly owned subsidiary of Unite ...

. In December 2013, Chubb's Australian cash in transit business was sold to

Prosegur Prosegur Compañía de Seguridad, S.A ("Prosegur") is a multinational security company, headquartered in Madrid, Spain. History Prosegur was founded in 1976 by Herberto Gut. It began as a private security company, with a particular focus on ...

. In 2020, Chubb was spun off with the rest of UTC Climate, Controls & Security into a separate company,

Carrier Global Carrier Global Corporation is an American multinational heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, and fire and security equipment corporation based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Carrier was founded in 1915 as an indepen ...

. On 3 January 2022 it was announced that Carrier Global had sold the business to APi Group for US$ 3.1 billion.

Brands

*Sicli (Secours Immédiat Contre L’Incendie) *Delta Security Solutions *Counterforce *SMC (Security Monitoring Centers) *Quell *VitalCall

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control United Technologies Business services companies established in 1818 Security companies of the United Kingdom Fire detection and alarm companies Manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom Service companies of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies established in 1818 Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange British companies established in 1818 Racal 1818 establishments in England 2003 mergers and acquisitions Ashford, Surrey Companies based in Surrey British subsidiaries of foreign companies

History

Brands

See also

References

External links