Grinnell, Tyco bullish on reinvestment for the future

BY MARY JO MARTIN

Editorial director

Grinnell Corp., a brand of Tyco International Ltd., can trace its roots back to the Providence Steam & Gas Pipe Co., which was founded in Providence, R.I., in 1850. In addition to installing the city’s original gas mains, the company also acted as a plumbing supplier. Within a few years, they began manufacturing and installing fire-extinguishing apparatus for factories, among other endeavors.

In 1869, engineer Frederick Grinnell purchased a controlling interest in Providence Steam & Gas and became its president. Nine years later, the company secured the right to manufacture and install a patented automatic sprinkling device. In 1881, Grinnell patented an improved, more sensitive sprinkling system, which featured a valve sprinkler with deflectors that was activated by the melting of solder.

Tyco has worked with grooved piping systems for more than 25 years. In 2000, Tyco sold its “Gruvlok” grooved line of product to Anvil International. At the same time, Tyco Fire Products purchased the Central foundry. They re-branded and redesigned the entire Central fire and mechanical product line to “Grinnell” in 2005.

In that five-year interim, Tyco invested heavily to modernize its Grinnell product line and better complement the market conditions of today. This investment period also afforded Grinnell the ability to strategically match product benefits to the demands of targeted vertical markets.

As a result, Tyco is one of the fastest-growing manufacturers of mechanical products in the world, and is already a world leader in water-based fire suppression systems. Tyco is committed to innovation and evolving with the emerging demands of the industry. In early 2007, Tyco unveiled the new Fredrick Grinnell Museum and Global Technology Center, which was a $5-million investment. This new center is located in Cranston, R.I., where the company does most of its Research and Development work, and trains more than 1,000 industry professionals each year.

Recently, editorial director Mary Jo Martin interviewed executives Carmine Schiavone, vice president-marketing and sales for Tyco Fire & Building Products, and Brian Ragone, director of sales-North America for Grinnell, to learn more about the latest developments within the Grinnell/Tyco family.

MJM: Could you please share with our readers an overall snapshot of the company today?

Schiavone: Tyco Fire & Building Products is headquartered in Lansdale, Pa., and is owned and operated by Tyco International. Tyco Fire & Building Products maintains over 50 regional offices in 18 countries, and has more than 3,000 employees globally. Our brands are sold worldwide under the following trademarked brands: Ancon, Lindapter, Central, Central SpraySafe, gem, Grinnell, Peak Performance, Rapid Response, Star, Unistrut and Wopf.

While Tyco maintains many brands of products, its Grinnell brand of mechanical products is one of its strongest developing brands today. The grooved product line offers a complete line of grooved pipe and fittings for the mechanical and fire protection industries in steel, stainless steel and copper.

MJM: Do you have a factory sales force or use independent reps, and why do you prefer your chosen method of going to market?

Ragone: Grinnell uses its own factory sales representatives professionally trained on not only our products, but also on our customers’ vertical markets. Our sales representatives work with a network of first-class distribution centers to serve their local markets for their grooved piping needs. Through this method, we believe that we can act as partners with our customers, more clearly understanding their needs and helping them achieve their goals.

We continue to add territory managers to support growth in new markets, supply expanded customer service to our wholesale distribution partners, and strengthen the Grinnell mechanical product line. We anticipate that our rapid rate of growth will mandate continued investment in this infrastructure for the foreseeable future.

MJM: How has Grinnell responded to the growth in electronic commerce with your supply chain partners?

Schiavone: E-commerce clearly has a central role in the future of the industry, and Grinnell is proactively working with its customers to establish common platforms for efficient edi and e-commerce transactions. There isn’t a “one size fits all” solution, so Grinnell has been adding capabilities and functionality to its operating systems to fulfill customers’ specific needs and requests. We have every intention of continuing to invest appropriately for our customers’ benefit.

MJM: What have been the best ways to market your products, build relationships and expand your customer base?

Ragone: Grinnell is a member-supporter of the mcaa, ashrae, asa and sme. We have found these organizations useful in developing business relationships and driving initiatives such as leed education and certifications.

Being a flexible organization with a strong backing by a Fortune 100 company puts us in the unique position to serve our customers. We can make the changes needed to respond to the market’s needs. Our network of first-class distributors in the Americas has been an excellent resource in discovering how to make better products and achieve best-practice service levels.

MJM: Describe the importance of the wholesalers to your sales and distribution efforts?

Ragone: Our decades of experience in this industry have proven to us that independent distributors and wholesalers are the best channel in which to sell our products. Simply put, wholesalers are vital to our long-term success.  That is precisely why we’ve built our global sales, marketing and product development infrastructure to meet their needs and address their daily challenges. 

However, our success isn’t just predicated on partnering with as many wholesaler customers as we can, but rather the right kind of customers -- the customers that align with our cultural commitment to innovation and growth so we can truly forge a long-term partnership. There also must be a mutually beneficial alignment in terms of geography. We work hard to ensure that our partners won’t be forced into territorial competition with each other when selling our products.

MJM: What are you doing to further solidify your supply chain partnership with your wholesalers and contractor customers?

Ragone: Grinnell Mechanical is one of our company’s key focuses for organic growth. We have been back in the market place for three years, and are continually adding distribution centers to our network.

Grinnell Mechanical Services (GMS) is one of the most interesting offerings we provide to our customer base. This group provides assessments, cost comparisons and design work for contractors and engineers. Our service works through any installation interferences before the company actually gets to the jobsite, and identifies efficiencies of labor and materials. We organize product delivery, having it arrive on the jobsite when the contractor needs it, and reducing costs for all involved. With gms, we not only streamline the work for contractors and engineers -- but also increase business for our wholesalers.

MJM: Will you give us a glimpse into your manufacturing operations?

Ragone: Grinnell’s main foundry in Anniston, Ala., was built in 1995. A very modern foundry, we have automated much of the ductile iron and gasket process to increase production efficiency. We have a substantial inventory, with 500 people working on multiple shifts to meet demand.

The mechanical grooved product line is a domestically manufactured product that has been a voc from our customer base -- it’s our commitment to the need for a viable alternative method of joining pipe without sacrificing quality and reliability. The response from wholesale distributors, mechanical contractors and engineering firms has been overwhelmingly positive.

MJM: What products are you best known for?

Ragone: Tyco invested in the heritage of the Grinnell name and made some very meaningful innovations to the product line.

When compared to welded or soldered pipe joining methods, Grinnell grooved products are easier to adapt around interferences and can be retrofitted. Grinnell’s grooved products do not require any special tooling. The product line is designed to lower installation costs, assist in compressed construction timelines, and function as a maintenance-friendly system.

These innovations have been key to the “new” Grinnell’s resurgence as a global leader in the product category. We stand committed to investing in innovation and new technologies to design piping systems that help our customers meet their needs in the marketplace.

MJM: How are product ideas generated, and describe the process they go through before being brought to market?

Schiavone: Research is synonymous with our name. Grinnell has more than a century of r&s experience. We take great pride in our world-class facilities and the engineers that work within them. We design using rigorous Six Sigma processes to ensure that we are exceeding the expectations of our customers, and we have a cultural fascination with being our own worst critics.

Our engineers work hard to think of every conceivable product failure issue, and then work twice as hard to ensure those potential failures never actually happen in the field. This is one of the reasons why we can confidently offer a 10-year warranty on all Grinnell Mechanical products.

We have confidence in our mechanical system because it has been specifically engineered for today’s contractors and wholesalers. Providing good service, reliable products and strong customer support are expected in today’s market, but making a bottom-line impact will always be the principal issue -- and it should be. Tyco has invested a lot of resources into engineering the Grinnell grooved piping system so that it lowers installation time, and that translates into a very powerful profit-generating opportunity for our customers. That’s a fact that our customers can’t afford to ignore, and we feel it’s a powerful asset in terms of competitive differentiation.

MJM:  What are your growth projections/other plans for the future that you can share with us?

Schiavone: We are enthusiastic about the mechanical markets globally and will continue to invest to improve our position. Tyco believes in the future of this industry and the potential of Grinnell. We expect growth well in excess of national gdp and will continue to invest in the mechanical business because of our strong confidence in the long-term market. Specifically, we are investing in product innovation, services and training to increase the skilled labor pool and new functionality for e-commerce.

Fortunately, there is a growing convergence in market conditions that will allow both fire protection and mechanical customers to benefit from our investments. There is an exciting level of synergy between those market spaces to drive very compelling value for the distribution base now. We think the future is very bright indeed.

For more information, call 800/523-6512 or visit www.grinnell.com.

Carmine Schiavone, vice president-marketing and sales for Tyco Fire & Building Products, and Brian Ragone, director of sales-North America for Grinnell.