DETROIT, Mich. – CertaSite, a commercial fire protection and life safety company, announced today that it has acquired Premier Electronics (“Premier”), a fire alarm and critical protection systems business in Macomb. The acquisition is CertaSite’s sixth in Michigan.
CertaSite provides the highest levels of customer service, responsiveness, building safety and code compliance to customers across the Midwest. The company goes beyond compliance, focusing on partnerships and professionalism while providing customers a simplified and dependable solution to managing all the fire protection and life safety systems in commercial buildings.
CertaSite is led by CEO Jeff Wyatt, who has more than 30 years of experience in the fire protection and life safety industry. He most recently served as president of one of the Midwest’s largest privately owned fire and security companies in the industry. He started his career in the industry as an installation technician and is a veteran of the United States Navy. Wyatt was recruited to lead CertaSite by The Riverside Company, a global private equity firm that is CertaSite’s primary investor.
Premier was founded in 1988. Its reputation will allow it to grow under CertaSite within its current customer base and expand in new markets. Founder Helen Gharibian will remain with the company through the transition, and Premier’s five employees retained their jobs in the acquisition to join the CertaSite family.
“CertaSite is the perfect partner to build on the foundation laid by our employees and customers” said Premier Electronics’ owner Helen Gharibian. “With CertaSite, we have a unique opportunity to blend our knowledge base with a technology-based platform that offers new product lines, is professional and rooted in best practices, and provides significant value for customers.” Helen continued, “Our introduction was a blessing from God. This is a life changing event for me. I only wish Raz was by my side during retirement.”
“We are grateful to Helen and her late husband Raz and the entire Premier Electronics family for their continued partnership throughout this process,” said Jeff Wyatt, CEO of CertaSite. “We are committed to preserve the legacy that these dedicated professionals built and recognize and respect their strong local presence. We look forward to building on that foundation by offering employees development and career advancement, and expanded services and support to customers. We are proud to be a part of what these men and women have spent a lifetime building.”
In addition to Premier Electronics, CertaSite already has acquired 12 fire protection and life safety companies and is actively engaged in bringing new businesses under the CertaSite umbrella. To date, the CertaSite family includes: ABC Fire Extinguisher Co. (Ohio); Advanced Fire, a CertaSite Company (Pennsylvania); Approved Protection Systems (Michigan); Approved Safety and Security (Indiana); Company One Suppression (Illinois and Iowa); County Fire Protection (Ohio); Erlich Fire Protection (Michigan); Field’s Fire Protection (Michigan); Great Lakes Fire & Safety Equipment (Michigan); Spears Fire & Safety (Michigan); Starfire Systems and Starfire Extinguisher (Wisconsin); Marine Fire Sales & Service (Ohio); and Premier Electronics (Michigan). Markets of focus for 2021 include current states listed above along with Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
About CertaSite
CertaSite is a commercial fire protection and life safety company founded in 2018. We take a new approach to fire and life safety, going beyond compliance to give our clients an unmatched level of customer service and tech-based control over their fire and life safety systems. Our team of experts serves 17 locations. CertaSite is headquartered in Indianapolis. Visit www.certasitepro.com for more information.
