Universal Safety Products, Inc. designs and markets a variety of popularly priced safety products consisting primarily of smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and related products.
Most of the company’s products require minimal installation and are designed for easy installation by the consumer without professional assistance and are sold through retail stores. The company also markets products to the electrical distribution trade through the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, USI Electric, Inc...
Universal Safety Products, Inc. designs and markets a variety of popularly priced safety products consisting primarily of smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and related products.
Most of the company’s products require minimal installation and are designed for easy installation by the consumer without professional assistance and are sold through retail stores. The company also markets products to the electrical distribution trade through the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, USI Electric, Inc. (‘USI Electric’). The electrical distribution trade includes electrical and lighting distributors, as well as manufactured housing companies. Products sold by USI Electric usually require professional installation.
Safety Products
The company markets a line of residential smoke and carbon monoxide alarms under the trade names ‘UNIVERSAL’ and ‘USI Electric’ both of which are manufactured by Eyston Company Limited (Eyston) in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), a principal supplier of the company’s products.
The company’s line of safety alarms consists of units powered by replaceable batteries, ten-year sealed batteries, or 120-volt units with a battery backup. The company’s replaceable battery products contain different types of batteries with different battery lives, and some include alarm silencers. The smoke alarms marketed to the electrical distribution trade also include hearing impaired and heat alarms with a variety of features. The company also markets door chimes, ventilation products, ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI’s), and other electrical devices.
The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, USI Electric, Inc., focuses its sales and marketing efforts to maximize safety product sales, especially smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms manufactured by Eyston, to the electrical distribution trade.
Import Matters
The company imports all its products. As an importer, the company is subject to numerous tariffs which vary depending on types of products and country of origin, changes in economic and political conditions in the country of manufacture, potential trade restrictions, and currency fluctuations. Substantially all the company’s safety products are imported from the People’s Republic of China. Certain of these products are subject to tariffs of twenty-five percent.
Sales and Marketing; Customers
The company sells its products to various customers, and the company’s total sales market can be divided generally into two categories; sales by the company to retailers, including wholesale distributors, chain, discount, television retailers and home center stores, catalog and mail order companies and other distributors (‘retailers’), and sales by the company’s USI Electric subsidiary to the electrical distribution trade (primarily electrical and lighting distributors and manufactured housing companies) and foreign customers. Products marketed by the company has historically been retailed to ‘do-it-yourself’ consumers by these retailers. Products marketed by the company’s USI Electric subsidiary to the electrical distribution trade typically require professional installation. The company does not market a significant portion of the company’s products directly to end users.
A significant portion of the company’s sales are made by approximately 40 independent sales organizations, compensated by commission, which represents approximately 100 sales representatives, some of which have warehouses where USI Electric products are maintained for sale. In addition, the company has established a national distribution system with eight regional stocking warehouses throughout the United States, which generally enables customers to receive their orders the next day without paying for overnight freight charges. The company’s agreements with these sales organizations are generally cancelable by either party upon 30 days notice. Sales are also made directly by the officers and full-time employees of the company and its USI Electric subsidiary, some of whom have other responsibilities for the company. Sales outside the United States are made by the company’s officers and through exporters.
The company also markets its products through its website and through its own sales catalogs and brochures, which are mailed directly to customers. The company’s customers, in turn, may advertise its products in their own catalogs and brochures and in their ads in newspapers and other media. The company also exhibits and sells its products at various trade shows, including the annual National Hardware Show.
Suppliers
The majority of the company’s products are manufactured for the company by Eyston and amounted to approximately 84.3% of the company’s purchases for the year ended March 31, 2024. Certain other private label products are also manufactured for the company by foreign suppliers.
Competition
In the sale of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, the company competes in all of its markets with First Alert and Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Inc.
History
The company was founded in 1969. It was incorporated in Maryland in 1969. The company was formerly known as Universal Security Instruments, Inc. and changed its name to Universal Safety Products, Inc in April 2025.
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