Secure future in the cards for Lenel

United Technologies Corp. has pumped $25 million into Lenel Systems International Inc. since acquiring the firm three years ago, stirring a 20 percent annual rate of growth and cementing the Perinton firm as one of two hubs for UTC’s Fire and Security unit.

The $5.8 billion unit, which accounts for roughly 10 percent of UTC’s total business, has been a major focus at the Connecticutbased multinational firm since UTC Fire and Security was launched in 2003.

The purchase of Chubb PLC—one of Britain’s oldest security companies— marked the launch. The $1 billion purchase was followed two years later by the $400 million acquisition of Lenel—a security systems and software developer.

The fire and security subsidiary the two companies helped form comprise one of three primary units at UTC, which has continued a steady stream of acquisitions.

Last year, $1.8 billion of UTC’s $2.3 billion in acquisitions was spent on fire and security companies worldwide.

“It’s a very fast-growing part of the company and becoming increasingly important because it’s the newest leg of the table of United Technologies,” said Duncan Gillis, president of the global security products group at UTC Fire and Security.

On Jan. 2, Gillis appointed a recent UTC hire to lead Lenel. Luis Orbegoso replaces David Cunningham who, officials said, now works at another Rochester engineering firm.

The security market has been growing out of a general feeling of risk, Gillis said, that resurfaces following news of security breaches and terrorism.

“The security market is growing at about 15 percent a year,” he said.

Lenel is growing faster, at 20 percent a year, said Kimberly Reidy, manager of public relations at UTC Fire and Security.

The company’s $25 million post-acquisition investment in Lenel, she said, included a 9,000-square-foot expansion last summer, new salespeople and a visual identity change that included a new Web site and logo design.

Lenel was chosen to be one of two cornerstones for UTC’s security business. The other is in Atlanta, at lock manufacturer Onity Inc. Chief among the reasons for designating Lenel as a cornerstone was Rochester’s talent pool, from which UTC has hired 100 employees over the last three years. The company’s Rochester staff has reached roughly 250, Reidy said.

Orbegoso, a native of Lima, Peru, joined UTC Fire and Security in September as vice president of product management. Before that, he spent 12 years at General Electric Co., in technology sales, marketing and general management.

Orbegoso visited the Rochester offices for the first time last month. He spent the last three weeks at UTC’s Connecticut headquarters and said he plans to buy a house here soon.

When Gillis presented him with the opportunity to lead the Perinton firm, Orbegoso said he was ecstatic.

“There’s obviously a lot of talent here; this is where Lenel started. You can tell the passion that exists in the employees and how proud they are to be part of this company,” Orbegoso said. “It’s contagious.”

Lenel was founded in 1991 by husband and wife team Elena and Rudy Prokupets, who have spent some of their retirement traveling, Gillis said.

When they sold the firm, Lenel had customers in 75 countries. Under UTC’s umbrella, Lenel’s products have expanded to 175 countries.

For UTC Fire and Security’s future, Gillis said, the company wants to invest more aggressively in technology and advance new inroads to global markets, such as India and China, where Gillis said urbanization is leading to intense construction activity— and new opportunities for UTC’s integrated systems in new commercial buildings.

For government buildings for example, here and abroad, UTC can centralize hightech retinal, fingerprint and pass card verification that can be programmed into the infrastructure of a new building to limit access to certain rooms and track visitors wherever they are.

Developed at Lenel, the IdentityDefender system also performs background checks on forms of personal identification before granting visitors access.

The ability to integrate all of that is what makes Lenel unique, Orbegoso explained.

Lenel’s security offerings can be further integrated with UTC’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning controls and elevator systems, which offers the company’s layers of sales opportunities—especially for existing customers, such as multinational companies looking to expand and maintain system uniformity, Gillis said.

Reprinted with permission of the Rochester Business Journal.