Chubb Fire & Security
Chubb Fire & Security ltd is a fire and security subsidiary of an American company Carrier Global.
Subsidiary | |
Industry | Fire and Security |
Founded | 1818 |
Founder |
|
Headquarters | Ashford, Surrey, UK |
Key people | Brendan McNulty (Managing Director)[1] |
Parent | Carrier Global |
Website | www.chubb.co.uk |
History
The company was founded by Charles and Jeremiah Chubb, who patented their Chubb detector lock in 1818. The company won a government competition for a lock which could not be opened other than by its own key.[2]
In 1835, the company produced its first Chubb safe at its factory in Wolverhampton 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.[3] In the 1800s, Chubb gained some important customers such as the Duke of Wellington and the Bank of England.[4]
Over the next one hundred years, the company turned out more than 2.5m locks.[3] 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[5].
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 (1964), Josiah Parkes and Sons Ltd. (1965) and The Pyrene Company Limited (1967).[6] It was bought by Racal Electronics in August 1984, from which it was demerged in September 1992, before being acquired by Williams Holdings in February 1997.[7] as the latter company sought to build a security-focused conglomerate. Chubb was again demerged in July 2000.[3]
In August 2000, Chubb sold Chubb Locks, its lock and safe making unit, to Assa Abloy, and concentrated on security systems such as door access and CCTV systems.[8] In May 2002, Chubb held intensive acquisitions talks with Sweden-based Securitas AB, the world's biggest security services business. After 18 months of negotiations,[9] the talks were called off on the grounds that the deal would not be "financially attractive" to either company's shareholders.[10]
In April 2003, Chubb was acquired for £622m by United Technologies Corporation.[11] In March 2007, UTC bought Initial Fire and Security, the security arm of Rentokil Initial and proceeded to merge the business and its assets with Chubb in UTC Climate, Controls & Security. In December 2013, Chubb's Australian cash in transit business was sold to Prosegur.[12]
![](../I/m/ChubbVan.jpg)
Operations
Chubb subsidiaries around the world now form an important part of the UTC Climate, Controls & Security Division. In Australia, Chubb security became MSS Security. This was in 2009/10. [13]
See also
References
- {{cite web |url = https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/ct-F6Vc2tBiSA8DlCIAFDg4EhFo/appointments |title = Companies House Report |accessdate = 7 July 2020
- A Gazetteer of Lock and Key Makers, A Gazetteer of Lock and Key Makers
- COMPANIES & FINANCE UK & IRELAND: Chubb's safe blown wide open but will there be anything left inside?, Financial Times, Apr 23, 2003
- The History of Chubb Locks Custodial Services Archived 2008-09-08 at the Wayback Machine, Chubb Locks Custodial
- "Chubb – Centuries of Innovation" (PDF). Chubb. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- "Early Sales/Offices/ChubbGroup/1980s & on". Chubbarchive.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- Williams of Britain to buy Chubb Security New York Times, 15 February 1997
- Troubled Chubb agrees £622m UTC takeover, The Independent
- Securitas halts Chubb merger, BBC News Online
- Chubb slips as Securitas calls off acquisition talks, Telegraph.co.uk
- United Technologies of US is in talks on £1bn takeover of Chubb, Financial Times, Apr 21, 2003
- Prosegur Compania de Seguridad SA through subsidiary acquires Chubb Security Services Pty Limited, Reuters, Dec 16, 2013
- https://msssecurity.com.au/about-us/
External links
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