Aico alarms meet all UK standards with a wide range of sensor types to ensure every home is protected, and we offer expert technical support and advice on alarm selection, siting and installation.
In 2020, we celebrated a significant milestone; 30 years of business growth. Incorporated in 1990 in Oswestry, Shropshire, Aico has rapidly grown to become the European Market Leader in Home Life Safety.
Throughout our history, we have led the way in providing innovative solutions and achieved numerous industry firsts in the field of Fire and Carbon Monoxide home life safety products.
As we look towards our future, we will continue to pioneer in the latest technological advancements in sensor technology and advance the connected home, maintaining our position as the leader in home life safety, promoting best practice and engaging with our communities to deliver safer homes.
We constantly develop our products to offer improved protection, greater reliability and easier installation and maintenance.
1990 – Aico is founded
Aico, an Ei Company, was founded in 1990 by Ken Ainsworth with our name originating from Ainsworth Company. By 1993 we had launched three new alarms, including the Ei150 mains powered smoke and heat alarms, the battery powered Ei103C heat alarm and Ei105C optical alarm.
1995 – the first Carbon Monoxide alarm is manufactured
n 1995, we improved our home life safety offering, with the first Carbon Monoxide alarm being manufactured.
In 1997 we achieved our first accreditation, becoming ISO9001 certified to ensure that our customers get consistent, good-quality products and services.
In 1999, we launched our new, circular Ei140 and Ei160 Series of mains powered easi-fit Smoke and Heat Alarms.
2000 – Aico turns 10 years old
We celebrated our 10th anniversary in 2000, and we introduced a number of product innovations in the years to follow, including RadioLINK technology with the launch of our first RadioLINK Base, Ei168RC.
2005 – Support for Installers begins
Between 2005 and 2010, we launched remote control (RC) functionality for the Ei160 Series mains powered easi-fit smoke and heat alarms. We also introduced our dedicated support for fire product installers, with our Contractor Handybook in 2008 and AFPTIS training scheme in 2009; both are designed to ensure installers have the information they need to fit our products correctly and efficiently.
2010 – Aico achieves more ISO accreditations
In 2011, the first Multi-Sensor Fire Alarm was manufactured, the Ei2110.
2014 was a busy year for innovation, with the launch of our first AudioLINK data extraction product for the Ei208 Carbon Monoxide Alarm.
Meanwhile, work began on our Centre of Excellence – a purpose-built home for training, development and innovation.
2015 – Aico celebrates 25 years of business
In 2015, Aico celebrated 25 years of business and opened its very first Centre of Excellence – a purpose-built home for training, development and innovation. It also saw the launch of our Expert Installer training scheme.
2017 saw the release of our technologically advanced 3000 Series with Multi-Sensor intelligent detection, including Optical / Heat Fire alarm and Heat / Carbon Monoxide alarm.
In 2018, we also launched our Corporate Social Responsibility programme, Aico in the Community, focusing on four core areas, Volunteering, Charity, Business Enterprise and Education. In November 2019, we moved into to our new purpose-built headquarters including a brand-new Centre of Excellence.
2020 – The Connected Home
In 2020, we launched our innovative SmartLINK Gateway, providing real-time remote monitoring of alarm systems via the SmartLINK cloud portal. We also acquired HomeLINK, a leading Internet of Things (IoT) solutions provider, to expand our Connected Home.
We also launched our brand-new eco-fit range, designed to contribute to our environmentally friendly ethos.
Education, Quality, Service and Innovation are at the core of everything we do. With life safety products, quality is paramount. We are committed to providing the highest quality in all that we do, from our product and training to service and support.
Our expert Technical Helpline is available to answer any questions you have about our alarms and accessories. From beeping alarms to installation queries our Technical Team has over 50 years’ worth of combined experience to provide you with the support you need.
All alarms have been designed, developed and manufactured at our factory in Shannon, Ireland, ensuring that Aico alarms meet UK standards and offer a wide range of sensor types to ensure every home is protected.
When lives rely on them, you cannot afford to take risks with your Smoke or Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms. So, our commitment to providing the highest quality products and service is second to none.
During the manufacturing process, every single alarm is tested at multiple points to ensure consistently high quality across all products, including initial assembly, test and calibration and final testing.
We constantly search for ways we can develop our systems to offer improved protection, even greater reliability and easier installation and maintenance. To this end, we have a dedicated Research and Development Department, tasked with creating new products and applications and adding new features to existing products. With over 20 patents on life-saving technologies, we strive to make alarm detection the best it can be.
