Engineering giant Honeywell acquire Norcross Safety Products for $1.2 billion

05 April 2008

Engineering major Honeywell International Inc. yesterday announced its acquisition of Norcross Safety Products LLC from Odyssey Investment Partners and GE Asset Management for a sum of about $1.2 billion.

Honeywell is a major American multinational conglomerate that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations. Norcross is a privately-held manufacturer of protective equipment used by industry workers and emergency responders like firefighters and utility workers. Their repertoire includes helmets, protective footwear and respirators. The company generated sales of $609 million last year. In comparison, Honeywell had revenues of $34.6 billion in 2007.

After the acquisition and integration, Illinois-based Norcross will become part of Honeywell's Life Safety unit within the Automation and Control Systems division, the company's largest by sales last year, posting numbers of $12.5 billion. The New Jersey-based Fortune 500 company is looking to expand its product portfolio to get a bigger chunk of the $20 billion protective products market.

Honeywell already has among its client base several customers of its fire and gas detection systems, to whom it would expect to leverage Norcross products as well, as per a statement released by the company. Honeywell also may incorporate sensors and advanced fiber materials into the products, it said.

Mark Levy, president of Honeywell Life Safety, said in a statement that the deal "creates an exciting adjacency" for his business. According to Honeywell, the company will also benefit from Norcross' extensive distribution network at more than 2,500 locations.

"We expect strong sales synergies across Honeywell businesses and opportunities to add value to Norcross products with Honeywell electronic gas sensors, fire detection and advanced fiber material technologies," Levy said. "Norcross and its leadership in the personal protection segment are highly complementary to our portfolio and customer base."