Linear to Change Company Name to Nortek Security & Control

Linear President Michael O’Neal said the name change reflects its parent company’s emphasis on the connected home.

SAN FRANCISCO – Linear, a subsidiary of Nortek Inc., is changing its name to Nortek Security & Control, Linear President Michael O’Neal announced during an appearance at the California Alarm Association‘s (CAA) winter convention here.

Providence, R.I.-based Nortek is a manufacturer of residential and commercial building products primarily in the United States, Canada and Europe. Its various companies provide range hoods, bath fans, indoor air quality systems, heating and air conditioning systems, and other technology offerings.

Linear’s name change to Nortek Security & Control was initiated because Nortek “sees the future in a connected home,” O’Neal said during his introductory remarks as a featured panelist at the convention’s CAA Executive Symposium, held Dec. 12.

“A home where its fans, where its range hoods, where its air conditioners, [and other] devices to be connected. Our business, Nortek Security & Control, will be the hub of the technology activity around that,” O’Neal said.

For more than five decades Linear has provided wireless residential security systems, access control, intercoms, personal emergency response systems (PERS), garage door operators and other technologies to the marketplace. In 2013, Nortek acquired home automation and home security manufacturer 2GIG Technologies for $135 million and folded its operations into Linear.

Linear, 2GIG and GoControl (a new DIY offering for standalone smart home wireless products) will be the subsidiary’s cornerstone brands, each targeting key markets and providing a broad range of smart home solutions to OEMs, telecoms, major retailers, managed service providers, security dealers, custom installers and DIY consumers. The company also announced it recently transitioned the development and sales of certain Linear branded products, such as garage door operators, to a sister company, GTO Access Systems. The move positions GTO to expand its presence in the perimeter access market, according to the company. 

O’Neal said Linear had grown substantially over the last 18 months and that Nortek is committed to acquiring more businesses to further increase the newly renamed company’s market position in the home control and automation sector.

“Our company has tripled in the last three years and is set to grow significantly more. That growth will come both organically through our engineering capabilities and through further acquisitions,” he said. “You will see over the next couple years there will be significant activity on the M&A front. Nortek is committed to significant growth over the next five years.”

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Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.

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