Since our foundation over 30 years ago, SEP has been almost completely UK-centric, with our only significant export market being Ireland. Things are changing!
Mainly, our ability to export in volume has been restricted due to our base product range (air compressors for dry/alternate systems, pump initiation boards) being targeted towards UK-type systems and also not being easy to ship or generally purchased in volume. The launch of Zone Guardian changed this, but until recently we have simply not had the resource to explore more widely. The decision to invest and recruit our Operations Manager (Cameron, who many of you will now have dealt with) has allowed our MD more time to work on developmental areas of the business.
And with this, we are excited to announce a partnership with ReFire Group, established for over 40 years in the Australian market as a supplier of ‘all things fire’. Based in Sydney and Perth, with a huge warehouse and fabrication facility in Newcastle, ReFire will be acting as our distributor for the whole Australian market, working hard to develop sales – initially of our Zone Guardian (in just one country where water-saving is becoming ever more important), but also other products within our range where they are able to solve problems (for example, our alarm valve booster pump for mains-fed systems, priority demand valves for domestic and residential systems, amongst others).
As part of our Australian marketing drive, we are also pleased to confirm that the Zone Guardian is now registered under CSIRO’s ActivFire scheme and is listed in their ‘Register of Fire Protection Equipment’ which cements and validates our commitment to invest in this market with ReFire.
Rob, our MD, commented, “This is a really exciting time for SEP, and this is just one more fantastic announcement for us, with more to come. What was clear to me, even from our first discussion with Jeannine and some of the ReFire team, is that they share our ethos of quality, flexibility and responsiveness. I was impressed that, even before our first formal meeting, Jeannine had produced and shared with us a ‘plan of attack’ for the market, and already knew what key messages ReFire would be driving. ReFire already have a great range of quality products, and we are happy to help them continue their own growth ambitions with the addition of some of our own products to their range. We can’t wait to develop this relationship!”
Jeannine, MD of ReFire, said, “The ReFire team is very excited about the Zone Guardian and believes that they should be installed in all new builds and refurbishments. The water savings make this device extremely attractive in Australia which experiences long periods of drought and our governments, architects & builders are required to find ways to conserve water and save energy in all new designs. Zone Guardian’s simple yet effective design ensures the device is cost-effective, easy to install and easy to operate! Contractors can test the fire system without losing 100’s of litres of water in the process.”.
Please join us in welcoming ReFire as one of our partners, and ‘stay tuned’ for whatever we have planned next.