Industry News 11/13

HONEYWELL SAFETY PRODUCTS has donated more than $50,000 in respiratory and protective safety gear to the City of High River, Alberta, to aid first responders, town workers and volunteers assisting in the cleanup and rebuilding efforts in areas devastated by recent heavy rains and flooding.

Southern Alberta experienced extreme flooding following June’s torrential rains that forced the Elbow, Bow, Highwood and South Saskatchewan rivers over their banks. The City of High River, designated a provincial disaster area, was hard-hit by the flooding and was under a local state of emergency. Honeywell consulted with local Emergency Management Agency representatives and donated protective footwear, gloves, breathing masks and Uvex protective eyewear.

The Honeywell Humanitarian Relief Fund (HHRF) was deployed to support employees affected by the flooding. Support included cash assistance for food, clothing and shelter.

SCOTT SAFETY has developed a microsite, www.scott2013firefighter.com, to provide updates about the new 2013 editions of two National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards: NFPA 1981, Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for Emergency Services; and NFPA 1982 Standard on Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS). The new standards are to be implemented this year. The Scott microsite features information about the impact of these standards on fire department operations; updates on approval timing, including a summary of the recent Tentative Interim Amendment (TIA); and a preview of new Scott products designed to meet or exceed the new standards.

KME and dealer HAWAII SPECIALTY VEHICLES has received an order for five custom pumpers and a 100-foot tractor-drawn aerial from the City and County of Honolulu, HI. The pumper chassis will be a KME Predator Severe Service with seating for five, EMS cab compartment, 500-hp engine and brake retarder. The pumpers include a 2,000-gpm pump, 750-gallon water tank, 40-gallon foam tank and Waterous Eclipse CAFS. The aerial is also on a Severe Service chassis and features a 101-foot ladder with waterway.

KME and Hawaii Specialty Vehicles also have been awarded a contract by the County of Hawai`i for two custom pumpers. The units will be built on KME Predator Severe Service chassis with seating for five and feature a 500-hp engine, 1,500-gpm pump, 1,000-gallon water tank, dual 25-gallon foam tanks, Class A&B foam system and a 158-inch aluminum full-height/split-depth body.

R•O•M CORP. and SPECIALTY MANUFACTURING (SMI) are combining under new ownership with The Sterling Group of Houston, TX. Both companies are suppliers of specialty-vehicle safety components. The Sterling Group is focused on operational excellence and will help R•O•M and SMI continue to improve their organizations, providing better service and products to their customers. Sterling plans to continue the efforts and successes both companies experienced while operating as portfolio companies of Century Park Capital Partners. The combination of R•O•M and SMI gives the new organization increased size and resources.

“R•O•M and SMI offered a powerful combination of market-leading businesses that consistently and reliably provided safety-related equipment to fleets in their respective industries for a collective 88 years,” said Gary Rosenthal, partner at Sterling. “The combination of these two businesses allows us to draw on the strengths of the two legacy organizations. Sterling will work closely with management to further improve operations and take advantage of numerous strategic and acquisition-related opportunities.”

Jeff Hupke, newly appointed president of the combined company, said, “We are pleased to partner with Sterling to bring our companies together. We look forward to deepening our product offerings and expanding our ability to serve our customers.”

Joe Uebbing, newly appointed CEO of the combined company and former CEO of SMI, added, “We are very excited to be part of the Sterling family. Their management team has a tremendous amount of operational and management experience that will enable Jeff and me to work with our teams to grow the business and be a better partner to our customers.”

Both companies will continue operating and marketing the R•O•M and SMI brands. Primary points of contact at each company remain unchanged.

STREAMLIGHT INC. marks its third year of involvement as a sponsor of The Travis Manion Foundation, contributing to programs that honor and assist the nation’s veterans, first responders and families of fallen heroes. As part of its sponsorship, Streamlight donated a portion of the proceeds from sales of its Coyote Nano Light to the foundation. The keychain light features a double-sided fob with the Travis Manion Foundation logo. Streamlight donates $1 for every light sold. The company also continued to serve as a sponsor of the foundation’s 9/11 Heroes Run, which honors the sacrifices of veteran, first responder, civilian and military heroes of 9/11 and the wars since. The foundation is named for a Marine who was killed by sniper fire in Iraq.

“We are very proud to continue our relationship with the Travis Manion Foundation and its 9/11 Heroes Run,” said Streamlight President and CEO Ray Sharrah. “As the lighting tools brand of choice by first responders, whatever uniform they wear, we have a long tradition of supporting organizations that help the families of fallen heroes and recognizing those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.”

HME INC. has been awarded a multi-year contract from the California Department of General Services (DGS). This is the second consecutive multi-year award HME has obtained from the DGS to produce Type 1 apparatus for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) and Type 3 apparatus for CAL FIRE. The previous contract resulted in 269 apparatus to be manufactured by HME. An additional 56 apparatus were sold through the Municipal Fire Apparatus Cooperative Purchase Program.

PBI PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS has promoted Bill Lawson to president. Lawson has been with the company since 1981, serving as chief operating officer and managing director since 2005. The InterTech Group Inc. purchased PBI from Celanese Corp. in 2005. He replaces Grant Reeves, who had been president since 2005. Reeves becomes senior vice president of InterTech.

E-ONE and FIRE SERVICE INC., the E-ONE dealer for Indiana, northern Illinois and western Ohio, have been awarded a five-year contract for airport pumpers. The initial order will be for three E-ONE stainless-steel pumpers on Cyclone II chassis with 2,000-gpm Hale pumps, Feecon foam systems, 1,000-gallon water tanks and 250-gallon foam tanks.

WATERWAY INC. has appointed Steve Jackson of Hyde Park, NY, as franchise manager following John Green’s departure after five years with the hose-testing company. As well as being a franchise owner, Jackson has been a firefighter with the Roosevelt Fire District for the past 10 years and is currently captain at Roosevelt Station 3. He has been the training officer for six years, as well as had the responsibility for all equipment maintenance for Company 3. Jackson will be involved in new franchisee recruitment, training, coordinating the equipment demands and daily requests of the other franchisees in the Waterway network, as well, as attending trade shows, managing the annual ISO 9001 quality standard audit and developing new initiatives.

ELKHART BRASS, in a move focused on developing product solutions and business development opportunities across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the South Pacific, has named Dario Chernicoff as international regional sales manager. He holds a business management degree from the University of Derby (UK) and an advanced degree in electronics engineering from Tel-Aviv University (Israel).

PAUL CONWAY SHIELDS & EQUIPMENT has named Tom S. Martin to the new position of vice president of operations, responsible for the overall leadership of the production, sales and office areas helping with strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, labor and material efficiency, customer service, technology and overall staff development. He was previously director of research and business development for LION Apparel. Earlier, Martin was chief information officer of Paul Conway Helmets prior to it being sold to LION.

MIDWEST FIRE EQUIPMENT & REPAIR CO. founders Scott and Pam Schneekloth have sold the company to a family investor group led by Sarah Atchison. Atchison, along with family members Lyle and Jane Gessell, said they purchased the company because it aligns with a mission to work with small Midwest manufacturing operations developing products that help save lives. Atchison has experience with an aerospace design and manufacturing firm, Spectrum Aeromed, whose mission is to save lives with its air medical equipment. Spectrum Aeromed is owned and operated by Atchison’s husband, Dean, who was a consultant for the acquisition.