Global wireless fire-detection and alarm devices leader, Hyfire, a Halma plc company, has appointed Tom Crane as Business Unit Director, responsible for overseeing future growth of the business and managing its nationwide sales team in the UK and Ireland.
Tom, who recently moved back to his native Shropshire after a decade in Portsmouth, is no stranger to the fire industry after spending almost seven years at Apollo Fire Detectors. He joins the business at a challenging time for the sector, with stringent new regulations and the pandemic crisis presenting both challenges and opportunities to the Hyfire team.
‘Even before the events of 2020, wireless fire systems were already becoming mainstream and now we are seeing a significant acceleration of this process, especially in residential buildings,’ said Tom, 28. ‘Wireless devices have always been simpler to program and install, which means we can minimise time on site and contact with residents. This was always an advantage and a key selling point. Now it’s also a potential lifesaver.’
Hyfire offers the widest range of commercial standard wireless fire devices on the market, ranging from optical, multi-criteria and heat detectors to notification, alarm, interface and control units, all fully certified to EN54. All products offer the highest performance and quality in the industry, and are also fully compliant with BS5839 Part 1. The company has also recently introduced EvacWireless, a rapid and scalable solution to meeting the BS8629 evacuation alert standards in residential buildings over 18 metres.
Tom added: ‘Wireless isn’t the afterthought or add-on anymore and demonstrating to our installer partners how they can use wireless within their projects is a key growth area for us. As a business, we need to build on the foundations of almost two decades of wireless innovation and ensure our partners and end users are supported from the very start of the design all the way through the install, commissioning and lifetime maintenance of the system.
‘The year ahead will be really important for Hyfire. We are preparing to unveil a brand-new range of devices that will represent a game-changing advance for the wireless fire sector, both in terms of flexibility and performance. We must follow that up with operational excellence across everything we do to ensure our customers are supported, so we can build a true partnership moving forwards, leading us to be the partner of choice within the wireless fire sector.’
Tom, who studied Marketing at the University of Portsmouth before joining Apollo as a graduate trainee, is married with two young daughters aged two and four months. Outside the office, he is a keen football fan and an aspiring golfer, although the pandemic and the recent arrival of his second daughter mean he won’t be improving his handicap anytime soon.
Hyfire was launched as Sterling Safety Systems in 2002, bringing to market some of the first commercial wireless detection and alarm devices fully certified to EN54. Since then, the Hyfire brand has become synonymous with quality, reliability and innovation in the commercial fire sector. Hyfire devices are available for Advanced or Kentec panels and come with a five-year warranty, backed up by a dedicated partner programme, to ensure the best survey, installation, commissioning, after sales service and exceptional technical support.
For more information: www.sterlingsafety.co.uk
