For 20 years, BW Technologies by Honeywell has been a Canadian-based, industry-leading producer of innovative gas detection instrumentation. BW’s success has been achieved through a commitment to providing customers with high performance, dependable products backed by exceptional customer service and support. Established in 1987, this home-grown Calgary business began with the pioneering Rig Rat, the world’s first wireless solar-powered gas detector.

In the early 90s, BW Technologies carried that success into a new area of gas detection – the fixed systems market – broadening the industries in their sales base. By 1995, BW Technologies expanded into portable gas detection market which now represents the majority of their sales.

In 1998, after a decade in business, BW revenues had grown by 76% and we had over 150 distribution locations around the world. With additional service centres in Dallas, Texas and Oxfordshire, UK, a global support system was in place to encourage business growth while supporting continued production in Calgary.

By 2001 BW had moved into a new 3,100 sq m/33,000 sq ft. state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with products being sold through more than 600 distribution locations in over 40 countries outside of Canada, the U.S. and Europe. BW Technologies then took the market by storm by introducing the world’s smallest multi-gas detector – the GasAlertMicro.
After expanding to 900 distribution locations, in 2004 BW Technologies was acquired by First Technologies, a U.K. based company. BW continued to grow its personal protection equipment offerings with the introduction of the GasAlert Extreme which quickly became the world’s most used zero-maintenance portable gas detector.

Then in 2006, BW released the GasAlertMicroClip. No product in BW Technologies’ history has received such immediate and widespread attention. With simple one-button operation and an innovative design, the GasAlertMicroClip also created instant demand.

On March 24th, 2006, after an astonishing 40% growth each year over 6 years, Honeywell Acquisitions II Limited, a subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc acquired BW’s parent company First Technology. As a result, BW's products and services now broaden and strengthen the Life Safety unit of Honeywell's Automation and Control Solutions (ACS) business. The addition of First Technology into ACS puts both Honeywell and BW at the forefront of the global gas detection industry. As BW Technologies by Honeywell, BW is expanding their client base, resources and expertise to uniquely meet their customers' needs and remain at the forefront of our industry on a global basis.