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SECURITYWATCH Written/compiled by Paul Rothman Manufacturer 1-on-1: Allegion Makes its Debut Inside the Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies spin-off Photo: Ben Hider/NYSE Euronext Nearly one year to the day after Ingersoll Rand announced it would spin-off its security business, executives from the newly-formed Allegion celebrated the company's debut as an independently traded company by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in early December (full coverage at www.securityinfowatch. com/11271348). SD&I; caught up with new Allegion CEO and Chairman Dave Petratis and Tim Eckersley, Senior Vice President, Americas, ahead of the event to get the lowdown on the new brand: New Allegion CEO Dave Petratis and other executives rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 9. What was the major impetus for spinning the security division of Ingersoll Rand off into what will now be known as Allegion? Petratis: The majority of spinoffs are about enabling and accelerating growth, and ours is no different. The Ingersoll Rand Board and management made the decision to move forward with the spinoff as it will allow both companies to focus more intently on their respective businesses. So what this means for us is that we have scale to make the kinds of investments that are necessary for our future, and we can do it in a more efficient way. Does becoming an independently traded company offer you any advantages over being lumped in with the rest of Ingersoll Rand's businesses? Petratis: This is a great opportunity to really focus the entire management team around security and security only. So when we're seeing global trends, new product opportunities, new geographic regions we want to expand to, we can be nimble and move quickly to capitalize on them. I think 10 this also gives us a better framework to focus even more closely on our customers' needs. That's not to say our old framework was not working, but the autonomy that we'll have is going to allow us to dedicate more resources to our customers and make some of our more long-term, strategic business plans a reality. Are you concerned about the potential for any loss of brand awareness that may come with shedding the IR name, and what steps have you taken to guard against that? Petratis: Our customers know us by our brands — Schalge, Von Duprin, LCN — it's reinforced every day and every time someone touches one of our products. Ingersoll Rand has been a great partner. Allegion will be an umbrella brand that pulls our brands together, but the strengths of our install base, the pride people have in our brands are a shining star that guides us. Eckersley: We've been in constant communication with our customers, suppliers and distributors for the past 12 months and have a deliberate www.SecurityInfoWatch.com | SD&I; | January 2014