Aico celebrates 35 years of delivering home life safety systems

Founded back in 1990, Aico has since experienced remarkable growth and development, consistently adapting to the ever-evolving market landscape. Since its beginnings, Aico has cultivated a reputation for innovation, quality and excellent customer service, duly resulting in a portfolio of cutting-edge products and solutions that have set industry standards.

Across the past 35 years, Aico has achieved so much. The company’s pioneering technology offers a variety of alarms and sensor types to guarantee full-circle protection for every dwelling.

In addition to manufacturing products, education is a key part of home life safety and, on that basis, is at the core of everything Aico does. This is reflected in the business’ multiple award-winning Continuing Professional Development-accredited training courses, all of which serve to ensure quality results at every stage of the supply chain.

Better connected

Aico designs products to simplify the creation of safer homes. This is demonstrated by the HomeLINK Connected Home Solution, which has grown to connect over 451,000 devices across the UK and no fewer than 74,496 live gateway systems. These systems aim to support social housing landlords and protect residents.

It’s also important that those landlords remain informed about changing legislation to ensure their installations continue to remain compliant. Aico has supported and empowered social housing landlords to network and learn through the development of the Social Housing Professionals Network (SHPN), as well as the SHPN Roadshow.

In addition to educating the supply chain, Aico has seen the value of developing the knowledge of the future. With the introduction of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme in 2018, Aico has accumulated 249 educational visits, including visits to schools and colleges, with students visiting Aico’s headquarters for the day. These visits inspire students and entice them to think about their future careers. This initiative has supported over 16,400 students (and upwards of 3,259 in 2024 alone).

Additionally, the CSR team organises the volunteering programme, which has accumulated some 7,547 employee volunteering hours for 247 causes. This support is set to continue and grow.

Incredible 35 years

Neal Hooper, managing director at Aico, commented: “It has been an incredible 35 years of growth. We’ve doubled our turnover approximately every five years, while providing life safety solutions for millions of homes. Our market-leading technology is being developed into new areas, further establishing our position as the dominant European manufacturer.”

Hooper continued: “The fact that we have colleagues on the payroll who’ve been with Aico for the whole of its history, as well as a senior team wholly promoted from within, amply demonstrates the quality and loyalty with which we are blessed. We would like to thank all of our clients for the support since 1990, without which we would not be celebrating such a milestone following another record year. It’s massively appreciated.”

Hooper added: “Finally, to the millions upon millions of households protected by Aico, thank you for choosing the very best solutions. It makes us very proud. We will continue to strive to provide world-class quality, innovation, service and education for the next 35 years and beyond.”

Aico’s success is testament to the dedication and hard work of the entire team, in addition to the unwavering support of the company’s highly valued customers and partners.

Growth and transformation

Matt Small, commercial and finance director who has been with Aico for almost 26 years, explained: “I joined Aico as a warehouse apprentice back in 1999. Over the past 25 years, my role has evolved significantly, though.”

Small continued: “I’ve had the privilege of watching the company grow and transform over the last two-and-a-half decades. Looking back, it’s incredible to see how far we’ve travelled. The technology behind our products has advanced dramatically, with innovations like RF connectivity, launched back in the mid-2000s, now commonplace. Today, one-in-three installations use RF interconnection, revolutionising how our systems operate.”

In addition, Small observed: “Similarly, multi-sensor technology has witnessed remarkable growth, with one-in-three alarms sold now being multi-sensors. Both innovations have paved the way for the development and expansion of more connected sensors in the home. While Aico has long been the market leader in fire and gas detection, our vision has expanded to position the business as the leader in home life safety.”

Further, Small stated: “Beyond the products, it’s our people who have driven Aico’s growth. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found such a supportive employer 25 years ago and to have seen my career evolve within the company. I’m proud to be part of Aico’s management team, where I can continue to contribute to the company’s success. It’s truly rewarding to watch the next generation of colleagues begin their Aico careers and be afforded opportunities to develop themselves. I’m excited to see what the next 25 years will bring as Aico continues to innovate and grow.”

With Aico now entering its next chapter, the company remains wholly committed to innovation, customer satisfaction and sustainable growth.

*Further information is available online at https://www.aico.co.uk/about-us/