In 2012, Scott Safety, a subsidiary of Tyco International, celebrated  80 years as a global leader in development and manufacture of leading-edge fire protection and detection equipment and technology — but the company is really celebrating 80 years of safer industrial and military emergency preparedness and response.

“The solutions we produce reflect the leading edge of protection technology — and that’s because the men and women using Scott equipment aren’t truly ready to respond using anything less than the best and most reliable gear available,” said Mike Ryan, Vice President and GM of Scott Safety.

Scott Safety’s publicly-traded parent company Tyco just completed a three-way split of its operating companies, anchoring Scott’s development and manufacturing role in fire protection and life safety products around the world. 

“At Scott, we’ve always focused on our customers and the environments and conditions in which they operate. By innovating with purpose based on our customer’s requirements — providing solutions that are optimized for their  specific needs for 80 years, we’ve become a true partner in every sense of the word,” said Ryan. “The relationships we have with our customers start and end with their safety first and foremost—our success is based on applied knowledge that goes right to the safety and well-being of people.”

Over nearly nine decades, Scott Safety’s approach to product development and purpose-driven innovation has positioned the company as the preferred provider to major U.S. metropolitan fire departments, U.S. military forces, homeland security and other “first responder” organizations including the New York City Fire Department, the U.S. Navy and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense.

As a world leader in the design, manufacture and sale of high performance respiratory protection products, Scott develops and produces monitoring and sensor equipment and other protective solutions for first responders, law enforcement, military and civil defense/homeland security, as well as emergency services in agricultural/forestry industries, petroleum, oil and gas sector and chemical, construction and industrial environments.  From oil and gas operations in some of the world’s most extreme environments, to the nation’s leading edge military and security forces, Scott’s legacy grew from a culture of purpose-built, “real world” protective solutions.

“We’ve focused on the customer and their needs as the first step in every product development initiative,” said Tina Deatherage, Scott Global Marketing Communications Manager. “We ask ourselves ‘what can we produce to make their jobs safer?’”

Flying start

The North Carolina based company got its start as Uniloy; company owner and founder Earl Scott developed the first pivoting aircraft tail-wheel to allow planes to safely land in 1932. The company’s reputation for high quality aviation components during WW II gave Scott entry into even larger military safety and protective equipment contracts, and in 1941, Scott changed the name from Uniloy to Scott Aviation.

The fledgling defense contractor went on to develop the first “walk-around” oxygen device for military aviators, leading to an array of innovations in Sel-Contained Breathing Apparatus including the first Air-Pak and the first mask-mounted regulator and high pressure oxygen cylinders.

The company was purchased by Tyco International in 2001. Over the ensuing years, Scott changed its name to Scott Safety, building its stock in trade around safety and protective products for civil fire services, public safety and industrial applications. This focus would firmly establish the brand’s safety legacy and lead to an evolution in industrial protective equipment and practices worldwide.

Scott Safety currently produces more than 300 products and serves significant segments of the global civil and military defense markets, industrial safety, oil and gas, maritime and other industrial safety environments.

Scott’s position in the recent restructuring falls within Tyco’s Life Safety Products division. The company will continue to be a global provider of emergency services protection products including fire protection, detection and suppression and life safety products. Tyco’s  broad portfolio of products and services, sold under well-known brands such as Tyco, Scott Safety, SimplexGrinnell, Sensormatic, Wormald, Ansul, Simplex, Grinnell, serve security, fire detection and suppression and life safety needs in commercial, industrial, retail, institutional, and governmental markets, as well as residential and small business markets. Tyco employs nearly 70,000 people across an extensive global footprint of more than 1,200 locations, serving customers in more than 50 countries.