Spinoff firm with Carmel HQ plans to hire 150

Allegion PLC, an international firm that made its debut as a public company on Monday, plans to hire another 150 people within six months between its Carmel corporate hub and Indianapolis manufacturing facility, according to its CEO.

“The future is bright for this company and for its presence in central Indiana," CEO David Petratis told IBJ on Monday. "The creation of Allegion opens a lot of opportunities for growth. Security is on the minds of the world, and we have a great opportunity for growth.”

The firm previously operated out of Carmel as the Security Technologies division of Irish industrial conglomerate Ingersoll Rand PLC. Ingersoll Rand decided to spin off the security division so the business could better focus on its own market.

Shares in the fledgling firm debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, starting at $43.24 and slipping about 30 cents to $42.94 by noon. The listing on NYSE was Allegion’s final step in its spinoff.

“So far, we’re pleased with the reaction [of Wall Street]," Petratis said. "We think it's aligned with our valuation, which relates to the strength of our people, products, income statement and balance sheet, and the opportunities we have in the marketplace.”

Although Allegion’s formal headquarters is in Dublin, Ireland, central Indiana is home base for about 1,000 employees split fairly evenly between two sites.  The firm's executive team is based in corporate offices in Carmel, and the company also operates a century-old factory on West 78th Street in Indianapolis.

“We like it in [central Indiana] because of its centralized location, its access to an educated work force, and because of our relationships with Purdue and Indiana universities,” Petratis said.

Allegion makes metal door parts, deadbolt locks and other security products. The company sells 23 brands worldwide, with some of its biggest labels being Von Duprin, Schlage and CISA. Its total work force amounts to 7,600 employees scattered among 35 countries.

Before the NYSE debut, early trading in Allegion’s stock was volatile. Trading in so-called “when-issued” shares began Nov. 18 at $49.75 apiece. But the shares had dropped 13 percent, to $43.99, by Nov. 22.

Ingersoll Rand shareholders received one Allegion share for every three Rand shares held at the close of business on Nov. 22.

Allegion, as a stand-alone corporation, forecasts $2 billion in annual revenue and market value of $4.2 billion, which puts the company in league with some of Indiana’s largest companies, such as Allison Transmission, Steel Dynamics and Vectren Corp.

Allegion made a splash on Wall Street even before its stock market debut. Based on its projected valuation, the S&P Dow Jones Indexes decided to include it among the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, booting struggling retailer J.C. Penney Co. down to the S&P MidCap 400 Index.

Shares of Rand traded around $70 for most of November. On Monday morning, they had dropped about 21 percent, to $56.31.