Linear opens doors for GTO
By SSN Staff
Updated Thu December 22, 2005
CARLSBAD, Calif.--In their second acquisition of 2005, Linear LLC, a subsidiary of Nortek, last week purchased GTO, a manufacturer of automatic gate openers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In a press release, Linear chairman Grant Rummell said the acquisition would complement other portions of Linear's entry systems business.
In June, Linear purchased the California-based Panamax, which manufactures surge-protection equipment, which followed the March, 2004, purchase of OmniMount, which makes A/V mounting equipment. Both of these buys were reportedly aimed at growing Linear's relatively recent entry into the consumer electronics field. Traditionally, Linear has focused on access control, medical and emergency reporting systems, and garage and gate openers. Along those lines, and similar to the GTO buy, Linear also acquired Operator Specialty Company, which manufactures gate and door-opener systems, in late 2003.
GTO was founded in 1987 and is currently run by chairman Chuck Mitchell and president Joe Kelly, both of whom will remain with the company, which will continue to be independently managed on an operations basis.
Read comments on the purchase from Linear vice president of marketing Chuck Stevens in the February issue of Security Systems News.
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