ATLANTA — Pye-Barker Fire & Safety made a pair of acquisitions recently on opposite ends of the country, expanding its reach in Washington and Florida.Pye-Barker acquired Cox Fire Protection, a southeastern fire protection company with three locations in Florida. Pye-Barker said that Cox Fire Protection has synergies with its nearby branches, enhancing the company's ability to provide long-term service and maintenance to commercial customers.Founded in 1984 by Ron and Linda Cox and led today by their son Scott Cox, Cox Fire Protection works from its branches in Tampa, Ocala and Jacksonville, Florida to provide end-to-end installation, service and inspection for fire sprinkler, fire suppression and fire alarm systems. The company also protects businesses through 24-hour monitoring and fire extinguisher service."I'm proud to follow in the footsteps of other family-built businesses who have chosen to join Pye-Barker," said Scott Cox, President at Cox Fire. "Through Cox Fire's four decades of service, we've grown to become a leading fire protection company in our area and work on some of Florida's most iconic buildings and projects. I'm excited to see how Pye-Barker's support will fuel us to even bigger projects in the future."Pye-Barker also made an acquisition of AlarmTech Inc., a company specializing in security systems, fire alarm systems, access control and CCTV for customers in the Seattle, Washington area. The company said the addition complements its growing presence of integrated life safety services in Washington State."At AlarmTech, we take great pride in providing a vital service that protects our neighbors and community," said Richard McCurdy, AlarmTech President. "Joining Pye-Barker – which has grown to be the premier acquirer in our industry while maintaining a small business feel in each community it serves – just makes sense. We're able to offer enhanced safety services to care for our existing and new customers."Pye-Barker CEO Bart Proctor credited its growth and inspiration to teams like the ones found at Cox Fire and AlarmTech. The company prides itself on continuing the legacy of small “Family businesses” as part of its culture. "The entire team here will now be part of our industry's biggest family business, Pye-Barker, where we honor the legacies of those who came before us and invite our team members to define their own legacies," Proctor said.As a result the Cox Fire team, and the team at AlarmTech will continue to serve their respective customer bases, backed by Pye-Barker's resources and support.
