What are professionals in the fire protection market doing in the meantime? A lot. The industry is seizing available business, crafting leaner, meaner operations, responding to new codes, differentiating themselves from increased competition through certification and training, and developing technologies and price points that will sell.
“There was a lot of pain across the fire industry in 2009, and now everyone is moving to leave that behind,” says Jeff Netland, director of engineering, Silent Knight, Northford, Conn. “Today there still is not a lot of growth, but people are holding their own and we’re seeing changes made to offset the recession. In a tougher battleground where larger distributors and market leaders are moving downstream to fight for jobs, companies are changing their business strategies, getting certified to stand out, and operating smarter.”