(Ann Arbor, MI.) CertaSite announced it has acquired Spears Fire & Safety, an established fire protection and life safety company based in Ann Arbor.
CertaSite is a new commercial fire protection and life safety company that provides the highest levels of customer service, responsiveness, building safety and code compliance to customers across the country. The company goes beyond compliance, focusing on partnerships and professionalism while providing customers a simplified and dependable solution to managing all of the fire protection and life safety systems found 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 Koorsen Fire & Security, one of the largest privately owned life safety companies in the industry. He started his career in the profession 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.
A family-owned business for 76 years, Spears Fire & Safety has operations in Ann Arbor and Jackson. Its strong reputation will allow it to grow under CertaSite within its current customer base and expand in new markets. Spears employees retained their jobs in the acquisition. Seven new employees have been added since the acquisition was finalized earlier this year.
Spears Fire & Safety has assumed the CertaSite name and brand as part of the acquisition.
“CertaSite and Riverside are the perfect partners to build on the solid foundation that was laid by generations of my family members, our loyal employees and our customers,” said Spears Fire & Safety owner Earl Spears. “With CertaSite, we have a unique opportunity to marry our customer driven approach with a technology-based platform that offers new product lines, is rooted in best practices, and provides significant value for customers.”
In addition to Spears Fire & Safety, CertaSite already has added seven fire protection and life safety companies, and is actively engaged in bringing new businesses under the CertaSite umbrella. To date, the CertaSite family includes: Approved Protection Systems (Michigan); ABC Fire Extinguisher Co. (Ohio); Company One Suppression (Illinois and Iowa); County Fire Protection, Ohio; Erlich Protection Systems (Michigan); Field’s Fire Protection (Michigan); and Spears Fire & Safety (Michigan). Headquartered in Indianapolis, CertaSite primarily serves customers in the Midwest, with plans to strategically grow in new markets. Markets of focus for 2020 include Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
“We are grateful to Earl Spears and the entire Spears Fire & Safety family for their continued partnership throughout this process,” said Jeff Wyatt, CEO of CertaSite, “We are committed to preserve the legacy that these dedicated family members and 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.”
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 more than 15,500 customers in more than 13 markets. CertaSite is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Visit www.CertaSitePro.com for more information.
