Tyco

A multibillion-dollar company that employs thousands of people would be a behemoth to manage. On the other hand, a company could reach that size only by being well-managed. Tyco – a $10.4 billion company employing 70,000 people – knows the importance of a focused strategy. Last September, Tyco separated into three companies. ADT, a well-known leader in residential security systems went out on its own as a publicly held company. A separate entity, Tyco Valves and Controls, was acquired by Pentair, leaving behind Tyco, a designer, manufacturer, installer and service provider of fire protection systems, life safety solutions and security solutions.

“This is an exciting day for Tyco,” CEO George Oliver stated. “As a more focused company, we are positioned to invest in technology and innovation to provide industry-leading fire and security solutions.”

Though the separation has made Tyco a smaller entity compared to its former self, the company is still a substantial industry player. It’s the largest fire security company in the world and has operations in 50 countries with sales in more than 100 countries and more than 1,000 locations. It serves various markets, including commercial, institutional, governmental, retail, industrial, energy, oil and gas, residential and small business.

Its tailor-made systems for each customer can include one or a variety of solutions. Within fire security, the company develops fire detection and fire suppression systems. Within security, Tyco designs integrated solutions that can include monitoring systems, intrusion detection, video surveillance, access control and retail solutions to deter shrinkage. It also provides life safety products such as personal protective equipment for firefighters and first responders.

A New Focus

Now that Tyco has separated from ADT and Tyco Valves and Controls, Director of External Communi­cations Brett Ludwig says the company is able to better control its current and future operations.

“We’re focused on the fire safety, security and life safety space. We separated the company to unlock the potential that each company has,” Ludwig says. “Our separation allowed each company to get out there and invest in its own specialty area and become more focused as an industry leader, delivering good value to customers and investors.”

Tyco’s newly defined operation is broken into three areas: Product manufacturing; installation and design; maintenance, and service. Ludwig says the move has resulted in enhanced value for the company and has generated increased focus on every aspect of the company, including manufacturing.

“It has really benefited our manufacturing operation because it allows us to focus on our manufacturing centers and invest strongly in technology and innovation,” he explains. “We have technology and innovation centers around the world and we employ over 6,000 engineers. We’ve been able to invest in all those areas to be on the front end of product development. It’s a very exciting time to be in manufacturing because we’re able to enhance our product portfolio through our in-house and contract manufacturing. We have the scope and size as the largest market player so we are really focused on ramping up and increasing investment to continue to manufacture top-notch products and bring them to market quickly.”

Tyco’s clients rely on the company to develop customized solutions and address multiple challenges. Some seek Tyco’s services to meet a specific need; while others are looking for a one-stop shop to handle security, fire protection and life safety. Whatever the need, Tyco makes sure it can deliver. Also, because of its global nature, the company is able to service large customers in multiple locations.

“We have a very wide breadth of product that we offer and that we manufacture, but it truly all comes down to customer need,” Ludwig stresses. “We work with customers to determine what customized solution they need to best solve whatever business challenges they are facing. We also provide the installation process and ongoing service.”

A Total Solution

One example of its one-stop-shop services and global reach is an enterprise framework agreement (EFA) awarded by Shell Global Solutions International B.V. In May, Shell contracted Tyco to provide fire protection products, engineered systems and lifecycle services for Shell onshore and offshore sites in the Americas, Asia and Australia/New Zealand.

As part of the agreement, Tyco has formed a program management office (PMO) to provide guidance and oversight throughout the installation and service delivery process. The PMO will drive EFA compliance, promote standardization, capture best practices and lessons learned, identify potential future innovations, consolidate reporting and create templates for successful execution of contracts and services.

“Our expert team is committed to advance safety and security for Shell and help protect Shell employees in the workplace,” says Patrick Seiler, senior director of vertical markets at Tyco. “We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to expand our relationship with Shell and provide fire protection products and services to selected Shell locations around the globe.”

The oil and gas sector is just one of the many markets Tyco serves. School violence in recent years has made school security a paramount concern for the nation, and it’s a sector that Tyco has been involved in for more than a century.

“Our products are in tens of thousands of schools,” Ludwig affirms. “We have integrated security, fire detection and fire suppression systems in elementary schools, high schools, colleges and universities to protect students and teachers.”

It’s also a partner in retail security. Tyco Retail Solutions helps companies protect profits, improve efficiency and prevent theft for 80 percent of the world’s top-200 retailers. It can develop exacting solutions for all types of retailers, including department stores, specialty stores, food purveyors, do-it-yourself and mass merchants. Efficient deployment of Tyco’s retail solutions protects profits by reducing shoplifting, theft and vendor fraud, and by maintaining inventory accuracy. Each year, Tyco’s Retail Solutions help protect more than three billion products available at leading consumer outlets around the world.

“When people think of retail security, they might think of the security tags you see on clothing to prevent theft,” Ludwig says. “We offer the Sensormatic brand, the market leader in retail security, but retail security is much broader than that. In addition to our Sensormatic products, we will look at the positioning and format of the store and provide closed-circuit television cameras for security monitoring. We can also install fire systems, fire panels  and sprinklers that protect employees and customers. We can integrate all the systems together.”

Of course when Ludwig says “we,” he is speaking of the company’s global employee force. Whether it’s in established markets such as the United States or growing markets that the company is focusing resources on such as Brazil, the Middle East, India and China, Ludwig stresses that employees at every level are the key factor in Tyco’s success.

“It starts with our people,” he says. “We have 70,000 employees across the entire globe – engineers, technicians, installers, folks that run the phone lines in a number of different call centers. We have specialists in every area of manufacturing and product development. It’s really the employees and the passion the employees have to protect our customers that matters the most.”