Tomorrow starts a new year, and here at CertaSite, we’ve been reflecting on the year we had in 2021. Despite the second year of the pandemic that is still rocking the business world, 2021 saw so many great accomplishments including protecting thousands of lives, expansion in our markets, a partnership with Knox®, and success with our CertaSite Academy. We’re so excited for 2022 but for now, join us as we take a walk down memory lane and highlight a few of our favorite moments from the past year.

Expanding our Footprint and Offerings

In the last year, four amazing companies joined CertaSite and together they have a total of more than 100 years in the fire and life safety industry. Great Lakes Fire (Alpena, MI) joined CertaSite in January. Marine Fire Sales & Service (Toledo, OH) joined us in May, Premier Electronics (Clinton Township, MI) and Craynon Fire Protection (Dayton, OH) in August.  With these additions, we moved into two new markets. The first in the northeast portion of lower Michigan. The second new location is in Dayton, OH, which has become part of our central Ohio district. Together we welcomed 44 new employees who are now on our journey with us.

In December, CertaSite’s corporate office and Indianapolis branch moved to new home to support the growth of our corporate and Indianapolis staff. As we make this new space our own, and we’re looking forward to making lots of great memories here. The ability to collaborate in person in our new space will allow us to reach further heights and achieve new success.

When it comes to our offerings, the past year we added first aid and safety products and services to several markets, and in October, we announced our partnership with Knox and joined the Knox Trusted Partner program in the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, MI markets.

Launching first aid and safety was a critical step in expanding our offerings. When it comes to first aid and safety, CertaSite is not just offering supplies, we’re bringing you what you deserve: transparency, customization, and compliancy. Our first aid and safety include:

• Fire aid cabinets and supplies

• Personal Protective Equipment

• AED units

• Eyewash stations

• Employee safety training

As a Knox Trusted Partner (KTP), CertaSite is the local resource for customers purchasing the fire department’s approved products including rapid access products. Being a KTP allows CertaSite to provide flexibility, convenience, and immediacy to Knox rapid access local inventory.

CertaSite Academy

When looking back on 2021, the CertaSite Academy shines bright. At CertaSite, we are invested in the personal and professional growth of our life safety technicians. Our work makes a real difference in the world, and that starts with our life safety technicians and our relentless pursuit to be great, not just good enough. We believed there was a better way for our employees to continue learning and developing, never stop growing professionally. From our CEO to our life safety technicians, our desire to innovate and our commitment to life-long learning led us to create our own learning and development program called the CertaSite Academy.

We officially launched the full CertaSite Academy in early 2021 and have witnessed great success since. Our Academy is designed for someone who has zero experience to someone who is an industry expert. We offer hands-on training, updated curriculum, mentoring, study sessions, and the ability to hone new skills and sharpen current ones.

At CertaSite, we want well-rounded employees who are passionate about what they do, provide the best service to our customers, and are the most knowledgeable in their field. Our certified, industry trained life safety professionals are at the core of what makes CertaSite different.

Employee Highlights

We’re in the business of saving lives. With that comes some incredible stories our trained professionals have experienced the past year where what we do, makes all the difference. Here’s a couple of our favorite field stories.

One of our life safety technicians was conducting an annual kitchen inspection for a local restaurant. Everyone knows a restaurant’s livelihood depends on their kitchen. Without them, they can’t operate. While onsite, the detection line of the kitchen suppression system did not activate due to grease buildup. This is a common deficiency for kitchen systems and when not caught and corrected it can have deadly consequences. Our trained professionals worked quickly and efficiently to get the system back up and compliant with industry codes. There were only minimal disruptions, and the restaurant was able to get back to business shortly thereafter.

Taking us now to a warehouse facility where a fire alarm inspection saved the day from a tagged deficiency. This newly constructed warehouse had the ceiling raised. Due to the rise, the fire marshal required additional protection in the form of strobes. This meant relocating electrical wiring and alerting devices.

The fire alarm inspection was already underway with the electrical inspector and fire marshal both onsite. With the electrical inspector ready to call off the inspection that would have caused the business to not open the next day, our CertaSite life safety technician made a call and got to work. Within an hour, the necessary strobes were relocated, all wiring was up to code, and the inspection passed. Because of our trained professional’s hard work, quick thinking, and resourcefulness, the warehouse was able to open and business disruption was averted. Just another successful day at CertaSite.

Lives Impacted

Our customers are why we do what we do. In 2021, CertaSite has taken care of more than 18,000 customers in more than 30,000 locations. With those numbers, think about the individual number of actual people we’ve impacted. It’s incredible.

We’re in the business of protecting and providing a meaningful impact to as many lives as possible. The hard work and dedication of our employees to ensure the safety of our customers is unmatched.

As we continue to deliver the most dependable and simplified life safety solution on the planet, it’s humbling to take a look back at the year we’ve had. Our third year in business. We’re growing, we’re evolving, we’re having an impact on people, businesses, and owners. And we’re just getting started. We can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store for CertaSite. Join us on our journey and follow along with our story.

Happy New Year!