Has anyone noticed that www.simplexgrinnell.com is now www.tycosimplexgrinnell.com? Complete new layout and all. Question is, where do you go to view their products? They have a control panel section but no actual listing of their products other than some 4100ES collateral. No mention of the 4007ES anymore either. And no access that I can find to their catalog sheets. The navigation is officially worse than the old site!
Patrick
Looks like simplexgrinnell.com/tycosimplexgrinell.com is intended more for the “client” to find out about the services that Simplex offers and simplex-fire.com is intended just for fire protection (because SimplexGrinnell offers more services than fire protection) and for more for those who would actually be dealing with fire alarm system components itself, like technicians, electricians, and whoever else.
Also interesting is that Simplex is branded as “Tyco SimplexGrinnell” in multiple places on simplexgrinnell.com and that simplex-fire.com has been “upgraded” to the newer Simplex logo.
Overall, they both look a lot more modern and clean than the previous SimplexGrinnell website(s).
I just don’t like how Tyco is trying to squeeze their name into every product they sell. What they don’t know is that Simplex is a far more prominent name in the fire alarm industry than Tyco ever will be.
It’s almost like their pleading for attention. “Hey everyone! We just bought your favorite fire alarm company! We’re called Tyco, by the way! Tell your friends! We love money.”
Tyco is a far more prominent name overall though, and they want to use that name to sell other products to their fire alarm customers, like their access control and CCTV solutions.
The only thing keeping the Simplex name from being completely wiped away is because Tyco is a conglomerate and might want to sell off that piece of the business some day.
Same thing happened to Cerberus Pyrotronics when it was bought by Siemens.
There is also Brand recognition.
When a company rebrands its products, it may throw off some customers (more worried about the people buying the systems or specifiying them than the end users).
While some architect may be familiar with Simplex through past history, they may not be as familar with the Tyco name.
Also consider brand perceptions. By this I mean, Brand A may have a reputation for quality, while Brand B, not so much. Here you will most like Want to rebrand the poor quality product with the good one.
I know that in a city near me, the SimplexGrinnell office’s sign has the phrase “Tyco Safety & Security” on it, with the SimplexGrinnell phrase below it.
Also, they have two variations of service vehicles, I’m guessing one for fire and one for everything else: They have 2 vans labeled “Tyco Integrated Security” and the rest (I would guess, like, 10-15 of them) are labeled SimplexGrinnell with no mention of Tyco.
Tyco Intergrated Security is what they rebranded ADT Business Solutions as after Tyco spun off ADT in 2011.
The 4007ES probably hasn’t gone through UL certification yet, so it may be a while before it shows up on the product page. Looks like the 4010 has been discontinued once and for all.
I just had a look at http://www.simplex-fire.com and it looks like they created a standard web page design. Check this out:
https://www.scottsafety.com/en/us/Pages/Default.aspx
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Also check this out – there’s now a separate site for Grinnell, SG’s sprinkler division.
http://grinnell.com/index.php?section=home
I find it amazing in the Fire/life safety industry, how much re-branding and buyouts there are… :?
Its not just fire protection, that’s just a par for the course in everyday business/economics.
when I look at simplex devices, I go to simplexgrinnelstore.com then click the notification appliances or whatever
And 190 dollars for a idnet pull station?! It’s a light switch with a brain!!!