Ingersoll Rand Brands Trane and Schlage to Present New Products, Synergies at 2011 International Builders' Show

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Synergies between two leading brands — Trane and Schlage — will be on full display as the two unveil new products in a common booth at the International Builders' Show (IBS) 2011. Both are part of the Residential Solutions business of parent Ingersoll Rand, a world leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and efficient home environments.

Trane and Schlage: "Two Dependable Legacies, One Certain Future"

"Ingersoll Rand created the Residential Solutions business to drive greater focus on serving homeowners, home builders and independent contractors," said John Evans, vice president of marketing and product management for Residential Solutions. "The business integrates Trane's residential heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) business with Schlage's residential security business, and together, the two brands are able to provide enhanced solutions for creating and maintaining the ideal home environment."

Evans also said the connection between HVAC and security is getting tighter, as the two companies' product lines grow and add more sophisticated features.

"The technology that is improving home security systems and making them far more convenient to use migrates easily to HVAC," Evans said. "For example, the same technology that lets a homeowner use a computer or mobile device to remotely control and monitor access to her home's various locks can just as easily be used to turn up the furnace. This kind of commonality is why it makes sense to more fully integrate the Trane and Schlage brands."

On display at IBS:

From Trane

Trane will show the Trane ComfortLink II™ Thermostat, the company's latest and most innovative offering. With its 7-inch interactive high-definition color touch screen, the ComfortLink II Thermostat is the ultimate home comfort connection. Providing an intuitive user interface, the thermostat serves as an easy-to-use central planning center for the home, providing year-round home comfort and control. Even before its official debut at IBS, the product was named an Innovations Award Honoree at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show and a winner of the Popular Mechanics 2010 Breakthrough Award.

Trane ComfortLink II Thermostat product features include:

• A personal computer application that allows homeowners with a wireless router to control comfort from any room in the house.
• Ability for homeowners to program as much information as they want to see on their thermostat, including the status of their indoor air quality, humidity and individual room temperatures.
• Access to a five-day forecast, complete with radar image and weather alerts personalized by ZIP code.
• Default display to a decorative screen saver when not in use, or, homeowners can load photos and use the unit as a digital picture frame.
• Trane ComfortLink II Zoning
  • Unlike conventional systems that can only heat or cool the entire house at once, a zoning system directs heated and cooled air on a zone-by-zone basis, allowing the homeowner to control each zone as though it were an individual house.

Also new from Trane is the Hyperion™ Air Handler, which transforms the air handler from an afterthought into an integral part of an energy-efficient and reliable HVAC system. It was named one of Professional Builder's 101 Best Products for 2010. Features include:

• An exclusive double-wall Air-Tite™ cabinet with enclosed insulation prevents loose insulation fibers from circulating in the living space. It also eliminates condensation buildup that could result in water damage.
• An all-aluminum coil provides prolonged efficiency and is substantially more durable than standard copper coils.
• A Trane Vortica™ blower provides reliable, ultra-quiet operation.
• A modular design allows for one-person installation and four-way installation flexibility right out of the box.

Other featured products on display from Trane include:

• Trane CleanEffects™ whole-house air cleaner, which removes up to 99.98 percent of particles and allergens from the filtered air and reduces surface dust accumulation in the home by more than 50 percent.  
• The XB300 air conditioner, featuring a compact design for a smaller footprint and easy installation in tight spaces.

From Schlage

Responding to consumer research that indicates homeowners want to know what is happening with their home entry doors, Schlage is introducing a never-before-available alarmed lock that can detect a range of actions and alert homeowners of entry-door activity.

Unlike traditional alarms that trigger only when the door is opened, Schlage's alarmed lock activates on first impact. For example, the lock will sound an alert if someone is kicking the door or tampering with the lock. It also can alert homeowners if a child is trying to leave the house. Three modes — child alert, lock tamper detection and kick-in/break-in — activate at various levels of activity, and each sounds a distinct alarm. Two designs — the traditional Camelot™ and the contemporary Century™ — will launch in the summer of 2011.

Schlage is also adding form to function with the introduction of five new decorative collections that can be used with any of the company's accent lever and knob hardware to make thousands of customized combinations. Available with five matching handlesets, including two new styles — the Brookshire™ and Wakefield™ — the collections move the Schlage offering up the style scale and offer builders an affordable, attractive alternative to other upper-price-point products. The new collections will be available in spring 2011.

With a still-tough economy moving more residential builders into multifamily projects, Schlage is introducing three interconnected locksets — one electronic (FE210F) and two mechanical (RS210F and CS210F) — that deliver the latest in security innovation to both facilities managers and their tenants. With features that include single-motion egress and return-to-door lever design, the products make it much easier for building owners and managers to be code-compliant. Wide flexibility in lever choices responds to demands from architects and builders for better suiting with interior hardware.

The electronic version (FE210F) is computer-managed and operated with an iButton® fob, allowing the owner or manager to control access times for specific locks. It also enables reporting capabilities that include date- and time-stamped access information for all areas of a property. Using the Schlage SMS Express software, the lock can be rekeyed on the door when residents move out.

The locks were designed to comply with even the strictest building codes. Orders will be accepted in January and shipped beginning in February.

New products from Fusion Hardware, Schlage's 2010 acquisition, include The Elite Collection, a decorative solid-brass offering with enhanced features, along with stainless steel products, interconnected handlesets, and products that incorporate Schlage SecureKey® technology. Fusion Hardware also is announcing the expansion of its Builders Hardware offering and showcasing its existing product lineup that includes decorative handlesets, entry plates, deadbolts, knobs, levers and other accessories.

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR) is a world leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and efficient environments in commercial, residential and industrial markets.  Our people and our family of brands—including Club Car®, Hussmann®, Ingersoll Rand®, Schlage®, Thermo King® and Trane® —work together to enhance the quality and comfort of air in homes and buildings, transport and protect food and perishables, secure homes and commercial properties, and increase industrial productivity and efficiency.  We are a $13 billion global business committed to sustainable business practices within our company and for our customers.  For more information, visit www.ingersollrand.com.

SOURCE Ingersoll Rand