Kidde Fire Protection to Open Electronics Technology Center

OXFORDSHIRE, UK, August 14, 2006 - Kidde Fire Protection announced today that it will open an Electronics Technology Center (ETC) in Seaham, County Durham, in November 2006. The advanced new facility will boost the company’s ability to supply specialist detection products to the fire industry worldwide. Kidde Fire Protection is part of UTC Fire & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

Investment in the new facility has come as a result of the re-organisation of the UTC Fire & Security EMEA (European, Middle East & Africa) region. The facility, which will replace the company’s existing plant at Peterlee, has been designated the region’s Center of Expertise for specialist detection products.

The move will enable the company to expand its production capacity and so keep up with growing demand for its electronic products. These include HART™ High Sensitivity Smoke Detection (HSSD), Alarmline™ Linear Heat Detection (LHD), Graviner™ Oil Mist Detection (OMD) systems and Vega™ Fire Control Panels.

A key role will be to maintain the company’s position at the forefront of specialist detection technology. New product development will be carried out by a team of electronics engineers in co-operation with research scientists at the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) in Connecticut, USA, and the Kidde International Research (KIR) laboratory at Colnbrook in Berkshire.

The wealth of technical expertise will make the site well-suited to host the company’s Training School and Technical Support Helpline. Seminars and training programmes will explain the latest specialist detection technology to installation and servicing engineers worldwide.

Another benefit of the new facility will be a new production floor design.  State-of-the-art equipment will be laid out in a way that reduces inventory, improves product travel, reduces lead times and eliminates waste. The facility will operate a Quality Management System (QMS) fully accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000 in a clean room setting with Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) control to prevent damage to electronic components.

The company’s Safety First programme will remain a top management priority.  Every effort also has been made to minimise environmental impact of the site, which was selected and designed to incorporate sustainability practices including water and energy efficiencies, waste management and recycling. Its Environmental Management System (EMS) will be registered to ISO 14001 to ensure compliance with the company’s environmental policy and all relevant environmental laws and regulations.

Virtually all of the company’s highly qualified and experienced employees have agreed to re-locate to the new premises. In recognition of its commitment to developing its employees, the company has held “Investor in People” accreditation from Quality South East, a company licensed in the UK to carry out Investors in People assessments and reviews, since 2003.

Since pioneering development of specialist detection technology more than 50 years ago, the company has supplied thousands of systems to customers worldwide.
 “We are entering a new era,” says Managing Director Alec Nightingale. “Investment in this new world class center demonstrates the confidence of the company in the future growth of our specialist detection business.” 

Kidde Fire Protection also manufactures clean agent suppression systems at Bentham in North Yorkshire. Additionally, it provides product sales and customer support from Thame in Oxfordshire. It is part of UTC Fire & Security, which provides fire safety and security solutions to more than one million customers around the world. UTC Fire & Security is headquartered in Connecticut, USA.

Media Contacts:

Jonathan Brittain
+44 (0) 1844 265021
jon.brittain@kiddeuk.co.uk

Kimberly Reidy
+1 860-965-4378
kimberly.reidy@fs.utc.com