New Century, New Opportunities: The 2000s 99
100 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Without continuous improvement, we would just be standing still. There are thousands of improvements that have contributed to our growth. John Karban VP Operations, Fire-Dex
Growing Together: Key Associates 101 Growing Together: Key Associates To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace. —Doug Conant, CEO, Campbell Soup Co. I have always believed that the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers, and that people flourish when they are praised. —Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group I f you examine a firefighter’s responsibilities or perhaps look at a job description, you might find something similar to the task evoked in the words themselves—fighting fires. Bravely going straight into the inferno, whatever the risk to personal safety or well-being, is part of the job. These first responders head into the heart of the conflagration and do battle with it, courageously working to stamp out the flames, whatever it takes. But if you look closely at the reason these heroes get up and head to work…at the actual purpose… you’ll find that it’s not really about fires. It’s about people. Because without people, none of it would matter. Without the people whose lives, homes, and property the firefighters work so hard to save, it would not matter what was burned up. They care deeply about helping and protecting other people, people they don’t even know, or else they would not have become firefighters in the first place. At Fire-Dex, the company’s responsibilities have to do with creating excellent, top-notch PPE products, filling customer orders to the buyer’s complete satisfaction, and generating a healthy profit as a business. But the purpose behind the company has always been something else; it’s always been about people. People continue to be the driver behind Fire-Dex and its success. From the people who work for the company to the people who buy its products to the people whose lives those firefighters save…it’s a chain that is bound by this common value. Fire-Dex has the best people, working for the best cause, and together they have created something truly special. We have really good people who care for each other. It sounds simple, but this is so powerful. —John Karban, VP Operations, Fire-Dex
102 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Sales Sales are contingent on the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect. —W. Clement Stone You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. —Zig Ziglar I learned long ago there is no better or easier way to get new business than to have a referral. —Walter E. Johnson Nothing happens until a sale is made. —Joe Ford, ALLTEL A s sales continued to grow year over year, it was clear to the leadership of Fire-Dex that, with the right approach, this momentum could not only be maintained but could be increased. There was tremendous potential for the Fire-Dex products to reach even more first responders. Sales were strong, but there were still so many unreached customers. In order to further accelerate the company’s sales and scale the business, more top talent was needed. To that end, the company hired two key salespersons in the 2000s—Allen Rom and Jeff Koledo. These two valuable hires ended up being precisely what Fire-Dex needed to advance to the next level of growth and profitability. Allen Rom, Director, International Sales What we do matters. —Allen Rom A fter working in the hospitality and computer vertical markets, Allen answered a newspaper ad for Fire-Dex in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. After arranging a time to meet, his interview with Bill Burke surprised Allen; most prospective employers drill their potential hires about experience, qualifications, and skills, but that was not the case here. Bill asked few questions about Allen’s resume, instead wanting to know about his parents, his family, and other important parts of his life. When Allen was hired in 2000, he was the sixty-sixth employee at the company. Initially, Allen covered seventeen states, from the Midwest to Texas. His primary responsibility was to meet with existing distributors to help them sell more, to sign up new distributors, and to call on fire departments. He attended many industry trade shows and always introduced new PPE products prior to these shows with a flair
Growing Together: Key Associates 103 for presentation and effective marketing. These efforts—and those of the rest of the sales team— paid off, and the 2000s saw double-digit growth. “We were a second line for many fire gear distributors,” Allen says. “And we had a lot of brand-new, one-man dealerships hungry for products because they could not sell what they had sold at their previous companies. Our quantity of dealers grew dramatically.” The landscape of competition was changing as some of their competitors were absorbed by larger organizations or went out of business. Fire-Dex continued to thrive. With its growth, Fire-Dex was able to hire a marketing professional who developed a creative web presence and successfully positioned the company’s gear in the marketplace. Allen has seen a dramatic increase in sales during his twenty-two years of service at Fire-Dex. From a team of three salespeople when he started at the company to today’s team that is twenty-three strong, Allen is very proud of their accomplishments. We have had remarkable growth during my tenure. It is a testimony to our people, our focus, and our ability to produce and service at the highest level. —Allen Rom Today, Allen is the director of International Sales. He explains why he’s so passionate about selling Fire-Dex products, which have their own clear appeal: “When you have the team we do and the quality of products and service that we offer…it’s not a hard sell.” Jeff Koledo, Vice President, Sales I have worked in many industries, but never before Fire-Dex did I have the personal satisfaction of knowing the product I sell can save the life of the wearer. —Jeff Koledo When Jeff Koledo interviewed with Fire-Dex in 2006, he was immediately inspired by Bill Burke’s vision for the company. Burke spelled out his plan for Fire-Dex to be Number 1 in PPE. For Jeff, it was an easy decision—Fire-Dex was where he wanted to be. Jeff was hired as the regional sales manager for the New England and Mid-Atlantic region. It did not take long, though, before he was promoted to senior regional sales manager, a position that involved more strategic consultation, training, and product development. Then in 2016, Jeff was promoted to national sales manager, and finally, in 2020, he became vice president of sales, responsible for both domestic and international sales. Today, his team has over
104 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle thirty salespeople. Jeff’s major tasks include developing and improving distribution, mentoring his team, and working with distributors to maximize their capabilities. He is also on the front line to aggressively pursue strategic fire department prospects. Major accolades are shared by the team; Jeff has developed a mentality of “one for all, and all for one.” This team of sales professionals is especially excited and motivated when they convert a distributor who was using a competitor’s PPE. Everyone who works in sales, and throughout the company, is repeatedly reminded of Bill Burke’s favorite saying: PLEASE SELL MORE! • Marketing Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like. —Brian Chesky Master the topic, the message, and the delivery. —Steve Jobs Our jobs as marketers are to understand how the customer wants to buy and help them to do so. —Bryan Eisenberg Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart. —Joe Chernov Jenny Surovey, VP Marketing When Jenny Surovey started with Fire-Dex in July 2015, there were only two people in marketing. Today, the company has a team of six associates. Jenny came to Fire-Dex with a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations from Baldwin Wallace University and had experience working in marketing for commercial real estate and in public relations for an advertising
Growing Together: Key Associates 105 agency. She went on to receive her Master of Science degree in marketing from Southern New Hampshire University during her time at Fire-Dex. Her first position with Fire-Dex was Assistant Marketing Manager, but less than two years later, she was promoted to Marketing Manager and hired her first marketing associate. Then, in January 2021, she became the director of Marketing; one year later, she was promoted to vice president of marketing. Jenny’s major impactful projects include shifting the marketing vision from print to digital; implementing a process to evaluate marketing activities; growing the company’s return on investment and increased ability to track results; launching an ecommerce platform to sell direct to the end user; and creating a strategy and focus on lead generation. Jenny has seen success in efforts centered around targeted social media advertising, Google advertising, and SEO, the use of landing pages to convert leads through email marketing, public relations, sponsorships, and influencer marketing. “Our number one goal on the marketing team is to generate leads for sales to close deals,” Jenny says. “We use buyer personas to better understand our target audience and deliver the right message to the right person on the right channel. We nurture leads through various marketing strategies and work them through the funnel until they ultimately become a qualified lead that can be passed along to sales. We then track which channel the lead originated from to better understand the ROI on our marketing efforts and make continuous improvements.” Jenny and the rest of the marketing team are proud of their efforts to help expand the business, knowing that their products make a real difference in terms of health and safety. Meanwhile, the growth of the marketing team has helped strengthen the brand and customer loyalty, which leads to the generation of more leads and improvement of the company’s bottom line. Jenny has also led a large capital investment project to redevelop the FireWriter program. FireWriter has been the preferred online configuration tool for purchasers of turnout gear since 1997. Now with the next generation of FireWriter, there’s a brand-new tool built from the group up. Users can instantly FireWriter obtain quotes for
106 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Fire-Dex’s entire product portfolio and place orders receiving real-time updates on where the order is in the process, increasing customer satisfaction. For Fire-Dex, this development significantly improves the link to their ERP system and is built to work with each operations system during the manufacturing process. This upgrade will reduce order entry time and opportunity for errors, streamline system connections, automate end-to-end order processing, and improve material utilization. Our marketing efforts have generated many new customers, and we are very proud of that fact. We are focused on the health and safety of firefighters, and our message resonates with prospective customers because of who we are and what we do. —Jenny Surovey • Operations John Karban, VP Operations It takes a lot of people to make those turnouts. It’s not machines doing it. There’s an art and skill to constructing our garments. —John Karban, VP Operations, Fire-Dex A fter spending fourteen years at various companies in manufacturing positions, John Karban was impressed with the interviewing process at Fire-Dex as he learned about the company’s growth potential and the opportunities for advancement. Additionally, the company’s size and stability attracted him due to his previous experience at large corporations and his difficulty in dealing with layers of bureaucracy. John was hired in October 2003. “When I started at Fire-Dex, I was encouraged by the excitement and enthusiasm of the leadership,” John recalls. “Plus, the company culture seemed very healthy in that they value a good work-life balance.” John started as plant manager. The company had a team of fifty sewers and created fifty units per day. By 2010, when John was promoted to director of manufacturing, the team had 150 sewers and created 125 units per day. Then,
Growing Together: Key Associates 107 by 2016 when John was promoted to VP of Operations, the team had grown to 200 sewers and was producing 150 units per day. “The growth has been remarkable,” John says. “And one of the most important metrics is team efficiency, which is so critical.” Every garment has an engineering standard that is used to plan production and monitor efficiency along the way. Every team performs multiple tasks to finish turnouts. With times established for how long it should take to finish each of the tasks, the company has a specific building system to create a time standard for the items. Teams report the units finished and the time they took, with extra compensation as an incentive. For example, if the standard for a task is fifty-five minutes and they accomplish it in forty-eight, they are 114% efficient and a bonus is paid. “A portion of the team’s income is variable due to the team efficiency bonus based on performance for that day,” John says. “We are getting more units, employees are receiving more bonus money, and the cost per unit is going down.” One of the biggest challenges that John and the rest of the team in Operations face is hiring and retaining associates as the working population has shrunk. In a post-COVID world, many baby boomers chose to retire, and salaried staff could work remotely but not production workers. John and his team reach into high schools and work with the chamber of commerce to promote career advancement in manufacturing whenever possible. Although some automation has entered the workplace, the sewn goods industry remains labor intensive,
108 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle with a lot of work by hand still required. Another challenge is keeping up with demand as Fire-Dex aggressively grows and takes more market share. “This is a good problem to have,” John says. And each order can be customized extensively, with thousands of possible combinations. “Our firefighters are tough, rough and tumble people, but they still want great fit and looks for functionality… both comfort and style.” In 2023, the number of sewers reached over 400 with two shifts, and the teams produced over 350 units per day. One thing we cannot waste as leaders is the human mind. The most important tool associates come to work with is their brainpower. We use employee ideas to improve the system, so employees become stakeholders. At the end of the day, we are improving the lives of our firefighters. —John Karban, VP Operations, Fire-Dex •
Growing Together: Key Associates 109 Human Resources Human Resources isn’t a thing we do. It’s the thing that runs our business. —Steve Wynn Hire character. Train skill. —Peter Schutz When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home. —Betty Bender Jamie Marks, Director of Human Resources J amie Marks was raised in Cleveland and graduated from Ohio University with a BA in business, specializing in Human Resources. Her first jobs were in HR for manufacturing and insurance companies. She happened to see a job posting for Fire-Dex and sent in her resume, and she was contacted for an interview with John Karban. “What drew me to the job was the value of the product,” Jamie says. “It’s rewarding to be able to create processes and incremental improvements for a company creating products that save lives.” Jamie also appreciated that Fire-Dex is family owned, felt that her skills aligned with the opportunity, and liked the company’s value of continuous learning. “I was also impressed with their casual nature, still a serious culture, but comfortable,” she recalls. When Jamie was hired in December 2016, she was the only person in Human Resources. Now there are four associates in the department. Many of the HR processes were in place but needed streamlining. “We have improved the quality of hiring and retention efforts, along with communication between associates and leadership,” Jamie says. “We have worked to continuously improve training to help employees. We look for prospects that have good hand-eye coordination and are a good addition to the culture—someone with a positive attitude, ability to learn, and a sense of purpose from the fact that they are creating life-saving equipment.” In 2023, Jamie was promoted to director of Human Resources. She notes that staffing has been a challenge for a while due to the low unemployment rate in Medina, calling Fire-Dex “a well-kept secret.” But Jamie and others in HR have marketed the organization to the community, such as by attending local economic development meetings, staying active with the chamber of commerce, and hosting tours of the facilities. “We are a great place to work,” Jamie says. “We just have to get the word out.”
110 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Recent projects include the implementation of a new payroll/information system that should improve the efficiency of the organization, a new company handbook, and efforts to improve benefits and perks for employees. • Warehouse It takes the contributions of a group of people to achieve great things, and warehousing is no different. —Michelle Guthrie, Warehouse Supervisor Firemen don’t talk about whether a burning warehouse is worth saving. —Sebastian Junger Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. ––Henry Ford Michelle Guthrie, Production Planner B orn in Cleveland, Michelle Guthrie went on to graduate from Southern New Hampshire University with a BS degree in Operations and Project Management. She worked in medical billing and coding at an ambulatory surgery center for six years before she was hired at Fire-Dex in the finishing department, performing quality inspection, in November 2007. “I had family members who were firefighters,” Michelle says. “I knew how important this equipment can be.” Michelle was promoted four years later to team leader in Finishing, then team leader in
Growing Together: Key Associates 111 Production, then team leader in Cutting. After serving in these various team lead positions, Michelle was promoted to warehouse supervisor in 2019 and production planner in 2022. “The saying really is true—there is no ‘I’ in team,” Michelle says. “It takes the contributions of a group of people to achieve great things, and warehousing is no different. You have operators, truck drivers, admins, managers, and more. It’s a team effort. It takes the contributions of many hard workers to make the magic happen.” We all have our part in the machine, and it takes dedication and service from each person to produce quality. Each role has an integral part, and as such, our warehouse team is motivated to keep the machine humming. —Michelle Guthrie Due to the company’s significant growth, more space was needed, so a new warehouse of 25,000 square feet was constructed in 2017,
112 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle built to hold $3 million in product inventory at any given time. The warehouse has raw material and production supplies as well as some finished goods. There are three other people on Michelle’s team, and there is a warehouse of four in Pelham, Georgia. “We could still utilize more space, adding more racking to accommodate continuing growth, before we are required to add more square footage,” Michelle says. There is a box compactor/baler for boxes and paper where boxes are broken down and placed, and a recycling company comes monthly to pick up baled recycling. Fire-Dex has also added more ergonomic machinery to help with daily tasks. Machines pick up individual boxes, and a crane picks up garment and boot boxes with suction and moves them to pallets. The team is continuously looking at automation to improve efficiency and the safety of Fire-Dex’s warehouse employees. “Safety is a big driver, and we work vigorously to ensure the safety of our associates,” Michelle says. • Customer Service When Jennifer Faust started at Fire-Dex in 2013 as a Customer Service Representative, our Customer Service team had two others that handled calls and emails, processing orders and email requests for the company’s PPE from their many distributors. Over the next 10 years, Jennifer was promoted to Customer Service Manager and her team has grown to nine associates. Processing new orders represents the vast majority of the work done by this Customer Service team. The team’s high standards require that a reply be made to a customer’s request within 24 hours as a standard protocol. They have a high-touch relationship with their customers, often requiring multiple real-time conversations to ensure the customized PPE order is accurate. To optimize the efficiency of order
Growing Together: Key Associates 113 processing, the team’s back-office software systems utilize Salesforce, FireWriter. The ERP system (TCM, used for production processing) has enabled the customer service team to avoid a lot of the manual work that was done in the past. Because of our rapid growth over the last 10 years, our Customer Service team has developed a set of skills and responsiveness that we are very proud of. —Jennifer Faust, Customer Service Manager, Fire-Dex • A s Fire-Dex looks to the future and its leadership considers how to best position the company for further growth, one thing is clear— success will rise or fall on the people who work for Fire-Dex and care enough to make it great. Having the best product in the marketplace does not matter if the right people are not producing, perfecting, and sharing it with the world. Thankfully, all signs indicate that Fire-Dex will continue to have the dream team when it comes to passion, integrity, determination, innovation, resourcefulness, and vision. As the bar is continually raised, Fire-Dex’s associates will find new ways to aim higher. Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. —Theodore Roosevelt Teamwork is the main factor in achieving success in our mission. Steve Allison CEO, Fire-Dex
114 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle We share a desire for continuous improvement… and the willingness for our supplier to consider new ideas to help us grow is a major part of our success. Bill Burke Chairman, Fire-Dex
A Crucial Part of the Team: Our Suppliers 115 A Crucial Part of the Team: Our Suppliers We see incredible growth, year over year, supplying to Fire-Dex. —Jack Kay, President and CEO, Stedfast Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. —Helen Keller One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team. —Kareem Abdul-Jabbar If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. —Booker T. Washington A s a critical element of supply chain logistics, the suppliers to Fire-Dex provide the fabrics that are sewed into bunker gear. Finding the right fabric is far more than a simple box to be checked off—like every other aspect of Fire-Dex’s business, locating and utilizing the best option available is more than just a point of pride or even a matter of excellence. This can quite literally be a matter of life and death, as firefighters rely on their turnout gear to see them through the dangerous activities their careers entail. The right fabric can mean lighter weight, lessening fatigue and allowing more energy to stay the course and get the job done safely and successfully. The right fabric can keep the wearer cooler, allowing for not just more comfort but a healthier body temperature in the midst of punishing environmental conditions. The right fabric can mean precious extra seconds of protection against extreme heat. The right fabric can deliver a higher level of resistance to fire, helping the firefighter face the flames and persevere. These are not just fabrics…these are vital tools of the trade. And the suppliers that Fire-Dex relies upon know this and have
116 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle dedicated their own companies to producing nothing but the very best, then refining to make it even better. Their commitment to the end users—the firefighters and other first responders—is second to none. Likewise, Fire-Dex is committed to the mutually beneficial relationships it has with suppliers. To underscore this commitment, Fire-Dex hosts a two-day annual event to highlight business accomplishments, review new processes and products, and discuss areas for potential improvement. Social engagements provide further opportunities for building relationships, which can strengthen connections for all involved. Many of these relationships with suppliers have lasted for decades, and they are only getting stronger. • Stedfast About the Company F ounded in 1930, Stedfast has since established itself as a world leader in protective barrier technologies. For over ninety years, this familyowned company has built its business on a “Passion to Protect.” With headquarters in Quebec and a U.S. facility in Tennessee, Stedfast produces innovative coated and laminated technical textiles. Both facilities are state of the art and provide capabilities for manufacturing, testing, and research and development in the hands of highly trained engineers, technicians, and managers. Stedfast serves numerous specialized markets, such as medical PPE, first responders, industrial sectors, law enforcement, and military applications, including chemical- and biological-resistant textiles. Like Fire-Dex, a dual focus on quality and safety is paramount. Partnering with Fire-Dex Fire-Dex thinks and reacts quickly and decisively like no other company I have ever been involved with. —Jack Kay, CEO, Stedfast
A Crucial Part of the Team: Our Suppliers 117 B ack in 1996, Stedfast was breaking into the development of a specialized moisture barrier, and some of the company’s team members visited with people from Fire-Dex at an industry convention. The connection was made, but nothing more happened. At that point, Stedfast was a relatively new manufacturer of PPE materials, and Fire-Dex did not pursue a business relationship. Two years later, though, Stedfast began to supply its innovative fabrics to a bunker gear competitor, and Fire-Dex re-evaluated and placed its first order. Since then, this has been a productive and highly valued partnership. In the decades that have passed, both companies have experienced tremendous growth. This is a testimony to the skilled workers, vision, creativity, and top-tier customer treatment that both organizations embrace. Today, Stedfast is at the very forefront of the industry and sets the standard for the development of specialized coated and laminated protective barriers, and Fire-Dex is its second largest customer for fire service moisture barrier fabrics. Jack Kay, CEO of Stedfast, has been especially impressed by the culture of Fire-Dex and the genuine concern that is exhibited for and shared between the company’s associates. “They are a family and care about each other first and foremost, and secondly about the business. When that is the mindset, the business grows as a result.” •
118 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle DuPont About the Company D uPont has deep and broad roots, having been founded all the way back in 1802 by a Frenchman who immigrated to the United States with his family to flee the French Revolution. He started his company as a manufacturer of gunpowder, and by the mid-nineteenth century, it was the largest supplier to the U.S. military. The company changed over time, entering many different markets and focusing on research and innovative products. Over the course of the twentieth century, DuPont led the polymer revolution as it introduced the world to many successful materials that would become household words—neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Mylar, Kevlar, and Lycra. DuPont was also a major player in the refrigerant industry, developing and producing Freon and other refrigerants, along with the paint and pigment industry, in which it created synthetic pigments and paints like ChromaFlair. Many of its brand names, even though trademarked, became so popular that they entered the common English lexicon as nouns. Today, DuPont is the world’s largest chemical company in terms of market capitalization. DuPont focuses its technology on the areas of electronics, next-generation automotive, water solutions, and sustainability products, protection (for workers and sustainable buildings), and industrial technologies. Everyone at DuPont associated with Fire-Dex truly enjoys working with them. Simply put, they are a joy to do business with. —Jeff G. Fackler, DuPont
A Crucial Part of the Team: Our Suppliers 119 Fire-Dex is Aramid, which makes up 72% of turnout gear. Aramid is a very strong, highly engineered, powerfully flame-resistant fiber. In 2015, DuPont introduced a fabric material it had created called Nomex Nano-Flex (more on that in a moment), and Fire-Dex was the first to adopt this new fiber and use it to improve firefighter hoods. “They are early adopters of new technology at Fire-Dex,” Fackler says. “And they are a strategic customer of DuPont because of their position in the marketplace. Due to their market share, we always bring to Fire-Dex new technologies that we are developing.” Beyond this market significance and strategic business value, Fackler is quick to praise the strong relationship between the two companies and the benefits of being part of the extended Fire-Dex family. “Bill has created a unique balance with a family mindset and the efforts of highly talented people,” Fackler says. “They are professional, nimble, and focused on firefighters. Because of this, they can deliver superior performance in the fire service market.” Partnering with Fire-Dex D uPont has been a supplier for Fire-Dex since it was founded forty years ago. Jeff G. Fackler, North America Business Development and Emergency Response business director for DuPont, explains how he first became involved with Fire-Dex: “In 2009, I was brought in to be the segment leader in North America for emergency response. We enjoyed a high market share in North America, and DuPont was already doing business with Fire-Dex” (Fackler has been with DuPont for 41 years). “Since then, I’ve come to see that our companies share many of the same corporate values, and this is one of many reasons why our relationship is so strong.” One of the fabrics that DuPont provides for
120 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle DuPont Nomex Nano-Flex D uPont supplies Fire-Dex with a revolutionary fiber called Nomex. Firefighters already have a heavy load to bear, and this fiber makes their job easier by not adding significantly to the weight they have to carry. DuPont Nomex is a lightweight, innovative fiber that’s inherently heat- and flame-resistant and designed to react in an emergency. When exposed to extreme heat, Nomex undergoes a special reaction, changing its properties to capture more energy in the fabric and helping to give the wearer valuable extra seconds of protection from heat transfer. Nomex also has high air permeability that helps to reduce heat stress. Beyond this, Nomex also helps firefighters to be more comfortable by keeping their apparel as lightweight as possible without having to sacrifice the highest level of protection. Fire-Dex is on the forefront of innovation, and that says everything about why they are so successful. —Jeff G. Fackler, DuPont • PBI Performance Products Fire-Dex is one of our largest customers, and we highly value working with them to ensure the best PPE in the marketplace. —Bill Lawson, President, PBI Performance Products About the Company F ounded in 1983, PBI Performance Products partners with premium turnout gear and protective apparel manufacturers to provide the best available PPE protection for firefighters, first responders, and soldiers, along with industrial and petrochemical workers. PBI fabrics have built a reputation based on proven protection at a level that has earned the respect of firefighters around the world. Their firefighting gear is designed to protect the wearer while performing in the most extreme conditions and deliver comfort in the process. PBI stands for Polybenzimidazole, which is used in the outer shell of PPE gear and is highly resistant to fire and heat. PBI fiber does not exhibit a melting point and does not readily ignite. PBI Performance Products, Inc. is the sole producer of PBI fiber, which is not created anywhere else in the world. Each strand of
A Crucial Part of the Team: Our Suppliers 121 PBI fiber is manufactured in the PBI plant in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The company’s headquarters are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, while global sales offices can be found in Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan. PBI blended fabrics hold leading market shares in North America, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. Firefighter insurance means this: it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have. —Bill Lawson, President, PBI Performance Products Partnering with Fire-Dex P BI has been a supplier for Fire-Dex for 38 years. Bill Lawson, president of PBI, looks back on the late 1990s as the time when this beneficial relationship between PBI and Fire-Dex began. “I have been with PBI since 1981,” Lawson recalls. “We would go to Medina to visit the Fire-Dex team starting in the late 1990s. They started off small, and now they are considered one of the biggest companies in PPE.” Both companies grew, and as they prospered, that growth only benefited both parties. “Over time, as they got bigger, we enjoyed the additional scale,” says Lawson, who has been president of PBI since 2013. “Their sales and marketing teams have been talented at promoting their products, and this has boosted our business as well.” But the real secret ingredient, what makes the recipe work, is an emphasis on people— both inside and outside the company. Because the people within Fire-Dex are taken care of and because the team cares so much about their suppliers as a part of the extended Fire-Dex family, it means that customers ultimately reap the benefits—and everyone has the goal of serving their customers well. Lawson sees this customer-centered approach as key to the strength of Fire-Dex’s business model. As he puts it, Fire-Dex has an enormous focus on their customers and meeting their needs. ––Bill Lawson, President, PBI Performance Products •
122 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Safety Components About the Company S afety Components is a global market leader in technology-driven fabric solutions for first responders, military branches, outdoor pursuits, and other users who depend upon high-performance textiles. As an Elevate Textiles company, Safety Components has been manufacturing textile fabrics for over a century at its plant in Greenville, South Carolina. Elevate Textiles is a collection of top textile companies and brands that provide comprehensive, global product solutions across an array of industries while maintaining a focus on innovation, sustainability, and heritage craftsmanship. The primary focus of Safety Components is the design and production of textiles for markets that include fire service, military, outdoor fabrics, aerospace escape slides, fuel cells, and automotive air bag fabrics. In addition, Safety Components creates a diverse variety of highly technical fabrics for industrial and commercial applications; these include filtration, specialty military, composites, tire manufacturing, and coated fabrics. According to a spokesperson at Safety Components, “It is our mission to develop innovative and cutting-edge fabrics that maximize the highest quality and highest strength raw materials available in today’s marketplace. Our product development staff works in conjunction with our customers and valued suppliers to design products that are functional, meet customer specifications, and ultimately raise the bar of product performance.” This mission is in perfect, synchronous step with the goals and vision of Fire-Dex, and it has been a beautiful partnership. Partnering with Fire-Dex J oey Underwood, president of Elevate Textiles, Safety Components, and Burlington, first met Bill Burke and the Fire-Dex team in the late 1990s. As he explains, “We started developing PPE in 1998, selling to the garment manufacturers. I met Bill Burke in that process. We were starting from zero, and they were up and coming, and we aligned our business models quickly.”
A Crucial Part of the Team: Our Suppliers 123 It was a great decision, and in the two-plus decades that have passed since then, the partnership has flourished. Elevate Textiles purchases fiber and makes yarns and fabrics for two different layers of PPE. Safety Components sells Fire-Dex its line of branded high-performance fabrics for these two layers. “There are three layers of bunker gear,” Underwood explains. “These are the outer shell, the moisture barrier, and the thermal liner. We create fabrics for the outer shell and thermal liner, which we sell to Fire-Dex.” Underwood is quick to praise Fire-Dex’s readiness to prepare for the future through wise choices in the present, knowing that one reaps what one sows. “They are not afraid to invest in resources and new manufacturing facilities,” Underwood says. “They are willing to invest and build upfront, having the confidence that their abilities, innovation, and hard work will bring in new business in the future.” Safety Components provides the highest quality of fabrics for the outer shell and thermal liner, reinforcing and supporting Fire-Dex’s determination to give first responders the best available products as they put their lives on the line. As well, this supplier is a valued link in the chain, a chain that remains solid and strong enough to climb higher…never settling for the status quo. “Fire-Dex has the entrepreneurial spirit that continues to drive their company forward,” Underwood says. “They take the risks, with efficient use of the best resources, to continue advancing their business model and to keep serving those who serve.” Fire-Dex is one of the most energetic, hardworking, and fun companies to be around. Their entrepreneurial spirit is contagious. —Joey Underwood, President, Elevate Textiles, Safety Components, and Burlington
124 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Leadership is having a compelling vision, a comprehensive plan, relentless implementation, and talented people working together. Alan Mulally
Building for the Future: Allison, DeVere, Gilman 125 Building for the Future: Allison, DeVere, Gilman To build something big and lasting is an inherent urge in every person—whether the dream is a business, a book, or a club. It is a way to leave a small part of oneself behind. —Morris T. Baker A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. —John C. Maxwell The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves. —Ray Kroc T he English word “succession” has its roots in the Latin term succedere—which means “to succeed.” In this connotation, the word can mean the action or process of inheriting a title, office, or property from another, hopefully ensuring a smooth transition as one person follows the one who came before and continues in the same capacity. But it can also mean “to succeed” in the sense of “to achieve success.” Thus, succession planning quite literally means planning for success. There is wisdom in looking to the future, and in each person recognizing that he or she will not be around forever. We all have a limited number of days at our disposal and must make our own choices as to how best to use them. Even the longest life or career has clear bookends and a specific interval that cannot be exceeded. Smart, savvy business leaders know to prepare for the end of their tenure before that end actually arrives, so that when it comes, the transition can be seamless, healthy, and ultimately a process that sets the organization on a strong and steady course toward even greater achievements in the future. This, then, is planning for success. Bill Burke understood this, and he had a strategy for the future of Fire-Dex that would include him stepping down from daily operations and promoting three key leaders to handle the ever-growing company. With these leaders, he knew that the future of Fire-Dex would be in good hands.
126 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Steve Allison B eginning in 1989, Steve Allison was working for a PPE manufacturer that was a competitor of Fire-Dex. Then, in 2012, he departed to work in a different industry. Bill Burke and Steve Allison stayed in contact over the years, and in 2014, Bill called Steve up. “I really need someone who knows the industry,” Bill said, “and can help me scale the business.” The two talked, and they came to an agreement—Steve would come work for Fire-Dex. Looking back on that conversation now, Steve reflects that it was not a difficult choice to make: “I knew a lot about Fire-Dex, and I had seen how they were gaining market share every year. On top of that, they had an outstanding company culture. It was an easy decision.” Steve started as director of sales, and he was rapidly promoted to vice president of sales and marketing. Then in 2018, he was promoted to president. Three years later, in 2021, Bill decided to step down as CEO while still remaining chairman of Fire-Dex. Following his departure from the daily operations of the company, Steve was promoted to CEO. With similar tales of success, two additional key employees would assume the role of president for the two divisions of Fire-Dex: Lauren DeVere at Fire-Dex and Taylor Gilman at Gear Wash. Steve Allison has managed the integration of these new leaders with great care, and he has masterminded this transition. —Jack Kay, President and CEO, Stedfast Steve Allison
Building for the Future: Allison, DeVere, Gilman 127 Lauren DeVere President, Fire-Dex L auren DeVere, Bill Burke’s oldest daughter, attended college at Ohio University, where she earned a degree in communications. Her career began as a divisional head for a top recruiting and staffing company. Her results-oriented strategies for success eventually caught the attention of Bill Burke. Having observed her competitive drive, he was confident she could be another key person to lead the company in the future. Bill recruited Lauren about joining the business, and after a few years, the timing was right for her to be a part of the Fire-Dex team. She came aboard in 2019 and first handled The Burkes—Lauren, Bill and Taylor
128 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle sales to various metropolitan fire departments. After achieving success in this arena, she was promoted in 2020 to lead Metro Sales for Fire-Dex. “When I started in 2019, we had five metropolitan fire departments as customers for our bunker gear,” Lauren recalls. “Today we have forty. That increase of 700% is a testimony to our success and focus.” Following her ongoing outstanding results, she was promoted to president in 2021. Her responsibilities include operations, product development, marketing, sales, and finance. Of course, her job is not without difficulties. “These are my two biggest challenges,” Lauren says. “First, managing the growth to ensure a constant flow of product completion— that is, through-put of the PPE and all other products in the portfolio. Second, recruiting outstanding talent that will develop into top producers at all levels of Fire-Dex.” She also identifies three main areas that she loves about Fire-Dex: • The Fire-Dex team is a family, and not just in words—we really care about our associates and their families. • At Fire-Dex, we have a vibrant, healthy work-life balance and company culture. • The long tenure of many Fire-Dex associates, and their passion for the business to serve those who serve, is a constant inspiration. The LEAD Program O ne of the key new programs that Lauren designed, implemented, and executed is the LEAD Program. The purpose of this program is to cultivate the next generation of leadership and achieve goals for team succession planning. The process involves the selection of twenty associates across all departments to set goals, timeframes, strategies, and tactics for their progress and development. LEAD stands for: • Lead • Engage • Accelerate • Develop This program is another part of the firm foundation being laid for the future of Fire-Dex. Women Leaders in PPE Marketspace B eyond the challenges, there is so much to love about Fire-Dex, and Lauren’s passion for the company clearly shines through. For one thing, she is proud of the diversity in the company and its strong female leadership in the PPE marketplace: “Taylor Gilman and I are proud of the fact that there have been, heretofore, a minute fraction of women leaders in the PPE space. We look forward to the opportunity to further advance this shift of dynamic women leading the PPE industry.”
Building for the Future: Allison, DeVere, Gilman 129 Taylor Gilman President, Gear Wash T aylor Gilman, Bill Burke’s youngest daughter, graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in broadcast journalism and then received her master’s degree in business management. Her first career stint was at Cintas, where she quickly advanced into sales management. Her expertise and ability in product management and sales were a perfect fit for Fire-Dex, and she was hired in 2019 to a new position as manager, Customer Relations. Her first project was the Darwood facility in Pelham, Georgia, where she faced a challenge. Darwood had been manufacturing shirts for the U.S. Post Office and the U.S. Navy. However, the facility faced an imminent shutdown due to stiff competition. Fire-Dex acquired this company, realizing an opportunity existed to renew this shirt-sewing operation while gaining an additional facility for their ever-expanding bunker gear manufacturing capacity. Taylor and her team rehired forty of the top workers, then they ramped up the operations with an additional 110 workers. Together, they managed to resuscitate this failing enterprise and helped it to thrive.In 2021, Taylor was promoted to president of Gear Wash. It’s a privilege to lead Gear Wash, which is a vital component of this company’s overall commitment to firefighter safety. —Taylor Gilman Looking Forward At Fire-Dex, we have an incredible history that we can all be proud of, but we believe the days to come can be even better. —Steve Allison Many of Fire-Dex’s competitors in the PPE marketplace have leaders who are not hands-on, are not directly involved, are remote, or are otherwise not engaged with the business like those who are in the trenches. In contrast, at Fire-Dex, the leaders are present every day— traveling, visiting customers, keeping in close contact with vendors, and always remaining deeply involved in day-to-day operations. This makes a substantial difference and indicates the degree of personal investment at the highest levels of Fire-Dex. All signs point to the company being in extremely capable hands under the sure and steady leadership of Steve Allison, Lauren DeVere, and Taylor Gilman. Our growth and direction for the future is on a trajectory that we are all so proud of. —Lauren DeVere
130 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Gear Wash is another example of how we serve those who serve. Taylor Gilman President, Gear Wash
Vertical Integration: Gear Wash 131 Vertical Integration: Gear Wash The whole idea behind vertical integration is that it lets you meet customers’ needs faster and more efficiently than any other model. —Michael Dell I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine. —Kurt Vonnegut D espite the ever-changing world, not everything has to be a new venture to stay relevant— there are many times when the strongest benefit derives from finding an ongoing need and filling it in the best manner available, providing the greatest possible product to the customer in the process. For years, Fire-Dex distinguished itself by filling a particular niche and doing it well. The Fire-Dex leadership cared above all else about serving those who serve, and this mission has remained unaltered. The Fire-Dex brand has come to stand for quality, integrity, genuine care, and professionalism. Yet sometimes there are new opportunities that allow for an existing mission to branch out in a different direction or to incorporate aspects hitherto unattempted. In 2019, a strategic plan was created to add a new division to Fire-Dex, but with the same exceptionally high standards that would apply as fully behind the scenes as they do in view of the customer. Henry Ford said it well: Quality means doing it right when no one is looking. •
132 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle T he leadership at Fire-Dex determined a large opportunity existed to get involved in the care and maintenance of PPE. Not only would this expansion provide an additional revenue stream for the company, but equally important was the ability to expand relationships with existing customers and add touchpoints with other fire departments. The NFPA 1851 standard for cleaning and repairing PPE calls for such maintenance to be performed, at a minimum, twice per year, meaning that this recurring revenue model has at least biannual milestones. And many existing customers would be interested in this new service, while others would be attracted to Fire-Dex for the first time by the addition of PPE care and maintenance. The idea contributed to Fire-Dex’s vertical integration capabilities. It made sense both strategically and financially, and once the leadership opted for this venture, it was full speed ahead. A strategic plan was developed, and it was not long before their first potential acquisition surfaced. We knew that the cleaning and repair of PPE would be synergistic to our business, so we developed a strategic plan to enter and dominate this market. —Steve Allison, CEO, Fire-Dex 2019—Gear Wash I n 2019, Fire-Dex become aware of a facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whose owner wanted to sell. The company’s name was Gear Wash, and it was the largest cleaning operation of PPE in Wisconsin. With ten employees and a facility that cleaned and repaired 200 units a week, it was the perfect entry point for this new enterprise. With additional acquisitions planned in the near future, Taylor Gilman was named president of Gear Wash. Her emphasis was on expanding their presence and ensuring the operational excellence of this new division of Fire-Dex. Following the successful integration of this division, a flurry of acquisitions occurred soon thereafter, with Gear Wash seeing growth of 20% year over year. Gear Wash is a strategic, value-added service that Fire-Dex provides to fire departments, and it has seen great success. —Taylor Gilman, President, Gear Wash
Vertical Integration: Gear Wash 133 2020—Done Right Fire Gear Repair T he next year, Fire-Dex became interested in an operation in Hudson, Florida. The business’s name was Done Right Fire Gear Repair. This unique mobile wash, inspection, and repair center is located within an eighteen-wheeler truck that is transported to fire departments. Coming directly to its customers for added convenience, the mobile unit’s equipment can dry-clean bunker gear in thirty-six hours. Fire-Dex acquired this business, which had both brick and mortar and mobile aspects. It was soon a successful part of the Gear Wash division. Taylor Gilman getting it clean! First location—Milwaukee, Wisconsin
134 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle 2020—The Memphis Model A purchase in 2020 allowed for Fire-Dex to operate its Gear Wash facility in-house at the Memphis fire department. A product contract followed, securing the Memphis fire department as a new customer for bunker gear. This dual success became known as the Memphis Model, the approach of securing a customer and meeting the needs for both the products themselves and their care and maintenance. 2021—Western Foothold R eaching westward, Fire-Dex acquired Southwest PPE in Las Vegas. This acquisition has led to solid growth through the years. Now Fire-Dex is looking to continue expanding its presence in the western United States. Las Vegas
Vertical Integration: Gear Wash 135 2022—Minerva Bunker Gear Cleaners I n May of 2022, Fire-Dex made another purchase––their largest Gear Wash acquisition––to further develop its ability to service PPE. This acquisition was Minerva Bunker Gear Cleaners, which had six locations––New York City, Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta, Denver, and Dayton. Miami, Florida
136 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Gear Rental A nother value-added service that Gear Wash has come to offer is rental turnout gear. This can be a beneficial service for fire departments for a number of reasons. For example, during the three to four months of intensive training that new firefighter recruits must undergo, the wear and tear to their gear is significant. Instead of spending money on new bunker gear for these recruits, fire departments now have the option to rent gear from Fire-Dex to lower their costs. In addition, when other gear is sent to be cleaned, a rental set can be used as a replacement or backup. PPE rentals also allow customers to “try before you buy,” experimenting with equipment in the short term while determining long-term PPE needs. Finally, while a customer is waiting on the delivery of a turnout gear order, rental gear can meet the customer’s temporary needs between placing an order and receiving it. To the rescue—Gear Wash donating gear for Hurricane Ian
Vertical Integration: Gear Wash 137 Putting It in Gear: The Path Ahead Gear Wash is the largest Independent Service Provider (ISP) of PPE care and maintenance in the world. Today, the Gear Wash division shows the wisdom of the original investment and has demonstrated excellent growth. Gear Wash offers advanced cleanings, inspections, repairs, alterations, and other customized services. The division also offers laundry and disinfectant products held to the highest standards and effective against contaminants. Using the best NFPA-compliant laundry and disinfectant products for Preliminary Exposure Reduction and in-station cleanings makes a world of difference when it comes to the longevity and performance of a firefighter’s PPE. The division now employs 200 associates, and most of the current facilities have the ability to expand with a minimal increase in the required space, thus allowing for future growth without the infusion of substantial additional capital. Not resting on their laurels, Taylor Gilman, president of Gear Wash, continues to hunt for additional acquisitions in this space. Looking to the future, the focus will be on markets in Texas, California, and the Pacific Northwest. Although the Gear Wash business has been strong, there is still tremendous potential for further growth, and there are many new markets to enter, with countless new customers to serve. Drawing on our financial resources, our deep knowledge of the industry, and our proven track record, we will continue to pursue promising acquisitions and expand our Gear Wash business. —Bill Burke, Chairman, Fire-Dex
138 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Culture trumps strategy every time. Taylor Gilman
Our Winning Culture 139 Our Winning Culture Businesses often forget about the culture, and ultimately, they suffer for it because you can’t deliver good service from unhappy employees. —Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos Culture is simply a shared way of doing something with a passion. —Brian Chesky, Co-Founder, CEO, Airbnb Being a great place to work is the difference between being a good company and a great company. —Brian Kristofek, President and CEO, Upshot C reating and running a successful business has never been easy—just take a look at the history of any industry, and you will see it is filled with stories of people who did their very best but were ultimately overcome by the results of poor choices, unforeseen circumstances, or both. In today’s ever-evolving, fast-paced marketplace, the challenges are great. Business leaders have to adapt and change in order to keep their organizations competitive, and cultivating a winning culture has become a key part of any successful strategy. But cultivating a winning culture takes more than just generating catchphrases and company slogans. A company must identify the key values and priorities that it wishes to stress and reinforce with everyone in the company,
140 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle providing a guiding vision. At Fire-Dex, everything revolves around our mission, vision, and values. We strive to work together to reach a common, shared goal: To Serve Those Who Serve. Over the years, Fire-Dex has invested significant time and resources in providing associates with a sought-after culture that not only attracts but also retains top talent. This kind of winning culture is highly desired and sought after, but it does not come without effort. A winning culture has to be constantly nurtured and modeled from the top down, but it can mean the difference between mediocre success and explosive growth. We live by our values of: Fun A t Fire-Dex, we work hard, but we also like to have fun. So we schedule opportunities for our employees and their families to just get together and have a little fun. Our company activities result in our workers being more passionate about their work and they bring a level of excitement to the day-to-day job. Our people are also more challenged, more creative, and more invigorated—which helps them to feel more involved and more dedicated. It really is a win-win. Integrity T rust is the glue that holds all relationships together—and trust is based on integrity, the quality of being honest, and having strong moral principles. It is important that everyone at Fire-Dex can be trusted to do what they say they will do.
Our Winning Culture 141 Respect E veryone, whether it is the people who work at Fire-Dex or the customers we serve, should be treated with respect and dignity. It is also important to treat employees and customers fairly and equitably. There should never be any hint of favoritism or uneven application of policies and procedures. DIVERSITY. Fire-Dex encourages and promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace by recognizing and acknowledging the various talents and abilities that each person brings and treating everyone equally based on performance. SAFETY FIRST. Because of our commitment to provide quality products and customer service, Fire-Dex is focused on health, sustainability, and safety, and it is important that our employees are properly trained and use the best safety procedures in the factories and out in the field to avoid injury or loss of life. Our safety committee helps support our values and mission through training sessions and celebrating safety successes. Excellence B y promoting an environment of excellence and continuous improvement through employee involvement, Fire-Dex strives to uphold our core values through employee growth, involvement, and investment. We pride ourselves on valuing everyone’s ideas and input and encourage associates to offer suggestions to enhance the work environment through our associate engagement system. Opportunities for Improvement (OFI): many OFIs come from the workers in the manufacturing facilities, such as sewers, testers, and quality control personnel. These vital employees are front and center when it comes to making the gear, and they possess valuable firsthand knowledge of the areas where improvements can be made to improve efficiencies. Their recommendations can bring changes that speed up the process, reduce expenses, eliminate waste, and avoid redundancy. This OFI program has not only resulted in improvements in overall satisfaction, motivation, and engagement but has also helped us get better. CONTINUOUS LEARNING. In a world where technological advances and changes happen at a rapid pace, it is important that our associates are knowledgeable and skilled in the latest systems and equipment. There are also many available courses on improving
142 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle safety, professional development resources, and training. But we also know that continuing education and advanced training are not free, so Fire-Dex reimburses employees for any class they attend and pass. GROWTH MINDSET. At Fire-Dex, we are always striving to increase our market share, expanding our abilities, portfolio of products, and services so our customers can be more safe, efficient, and successful in firefighting. We have seen immense growth by creating opportunities for new talent with invaluable skills and unique backgrounds to further the development of our products and provide health-conscious innovations to first responders. At Fire-Dex, we seek individuals who value our mission, vision, and values, and bring their unique talents that can positively contribute to the company. TEAMWORK. A truly powerful culture encourages teamwork. It’s not about one person—it’s about what everyone can accomplish together through innovation and collaboration. Fire-Dex cultivates an environment of empowerment. There are no big shots. Everyone has a seat at the table. You can get almost anything done if you don’t care who gets the credit. If you want to be incrementally better: be competitive. If you want to be exponentially better: be cooperative. —John Ruskin COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPARENCY. Fire-Dex’s primary mission is to improve communications, to make it more efficient and effective. We do that by constantly seeking to improve the way we communicate. We strive for clarity and transparency in all the various ways we communicate with both employees and customers.
Our Winning Culture 143 RESULTS- AND SOLUTIONSORIENTED. At Fire-Dex, we are constantly scanning for ways to use our unique blend of skills, resources, innovation, and expertise to advance our capabilities to better serve our associates and those who serve. WORK HARD, WORK SMART. There is no substitute for hard work. As they say, “the harder you work, the luckier you get.” There are plenty of people who seem to think that the world automatically owes them something, that they deserve to sit on the sidelines and let others carry the load. Having brilliant ideas won’t take you very far without a willingness to get on your feet, roll up your sleeves, and dive in. Ideas get you started; hard work gets it done. Good things come to he who waiteth so long as he who waiteth worketh his ass off while he waiteth. —Anonymous ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS. Fire-Dex has always been keenly aware of its responsibility to take care of the environment. We spend countless man-hours researching to make sure that in sourcing materials and in our work processes we are doing everything we can to protect the environment. WORKPLACE BALANCE. We promote a virtual-first workplace, allowing remote work across the country. Additionally, to ensure the best work/life balance for our associates, we have established core meeting hours and no-meeting days, and a paid maternity and paternity leave policy. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. We support organizational and charitable causes in the cities where we are located. It is important for our company to be a good corporate citizen, and we want our employees to be involved in the communities where they reside. Tunnel to Towers
144 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle Our family is so grateful for Fire-Dex and the fact that our spouses are so encouraged every day to improve the safety of firefighters. That’s why they work so hard and have a chance to give back and keep the company growing. Diane Liana
A Supporting Foundation: The Fire-Dex Spouses 145 A Supporting Foundation: The Fire-Dex Spouses You only require two things in life: your sanity and your spouse. —Tony Blair No one makes it alone. The importance of teamwork and cooperation in the workplace is well established, but the benefit of collaboration holds true on the home front as well. And one impacts the other. While plenty of unmarried leaders, thinkers, and doers are highly successful, there is an added layer of stability and even strength for those who have a supportive spouse in their corner. That has certainly proven true when it comes to the team at Fire-Dex and the incredible spouses who believe fully in the mission and have given it their all. They may serve as sounding boards and sources of wise counsel as their spouses negotiate through all the challenges and decisions that must be made. They may participate and assist when the need arises. And they often fulfill this critical supporting role while carrying out their own full-time job, whether in the marketplace or running the household…or both. That is why appreciative husbands and wives recognize the importance and value of a strong, supportive spouse, not just for themselves but for Fire-Dex as a whole. In the Fire-Dex family, the leaders’ spouses have played an active role in providing immense support as the company has journeyed down the road to success, and the Fire-Dex story would not be the same without them. •
146 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle CONTRIBUTION BY Julie Burke WIFE OF BILL BURKE, OWNER Fire-Dex spouses have made lots of sacrifices along the way to get to this point. They have been behind the scenes supporting and encouraging the phenomenal growth and success of Fire-Dex. We are the base of the pyramid. —Julie Burke Dating Days I can remember sitting on the living room floor with Bill at my parents’ house as he was trying to decide which job he would take after receiving a few offers. I tried to subtly persuade him to stay local, in order to be close to family, so he chose to take a sales job with National Safety Apparel. This turned out to be one of the best decisions he ever made… after marrying me, of course! At National Safety Apparel, Bill met Charlie Grossman, who became his longtime mentor. Charlie had so much confidence and respect for Bill, treating him like family and giving him many opportunities. Both Charlie and Bill’s dad Jim had a strong work ethic, which is something you can’t teach. You just have to have it, and Bill did, too. I knew that about him the first time I met Bill in March 1984. He had worked his way through Catholic high school and college with two forty-hour-per-week jobs. Juggling Work and Family B ill and I were married in August 1986, and our girls were born in 1990 and 1993. I came from blue-collar, hard-working parents, so I was no stranger to a strong work ethic either. Both Bill and I worked hard every day, putting in long hours—me as a teacher for eight years and a principal for twenty-two years. Bill was traveling and gone a lot, so I really had two full-time jobs: teaching and caring for the girls, Taylor and Lauren. We raised both girls to understand that “you get nothing without working for it,” so they swept floors at the plant and did other odd jobs to earn money. The girls missed Bill so much when he was away from home. When they were younger, the girls would see a plane flying in the sky and run
A Supporting Foundation: The Fire-Dex Spouses 147 across the yard, yelling, “Dad!” As the kids got older, he made every effort to be present at their events for school and athletics. He coached, cheered them on, worked, parented, and once in a while, he slept! Bill was the joker, the “fun guy,” while I was the disciplinarian, but both of us supported each other in parenting and were always consistent with the girls. We had rules and boundaries and it felt like we said “no” often, but we always encouraged and supported them, and we were always very present. I may be biased, but I think they both turned out great, and I couldn’t be a prouder mom! Our Daughters and Fire-Dex A s the years passed, Fire-Dex continued to grow, and we opened the new plant in Medina. Bill was frequently on the road, but he stayed connected to the family. This was always important to him. Bill even used the hotel fax machine to help with math homework. The girls were actually involved in the business prior to Fire-Dex, gaining work experience and learning the ropes. Conversations with the girls regarding business and daily jobs was never my department, though; Bill was always the “go-to guy” when it came to career advice. I’m not sure we ever thought the girls would make the move to join the business after graduation, but when they did, Bill expected them to go into their jobs out of college and work hard to learn everything they could—and deliver results. Both did that very well. Taylor came aboard first; she was the guinea pig in 2019. A few months later, Lauren joined. I always joke with Bill about me being their “agent.” They have both continued to meet all the high expectations we have held for them. Both are married, and Bill and I now have grandkids that are, without exaggeration, our pride and joy. I will be forever grateful for Bill, the girls, and their families. The Fire-Dex Team T he Fire-Dex team is like family, always loyal and committed. The spouses are very
148 Fire-Dex Protection for the Heat of the Battle supportive and loyal to Bill, but also to all of us. They want the best for the company. The Fire-Dex family consists of the most faithful and dedicated employees you’ll ever see. Those who have been with Bill for a long time have shown such loyalty to him and to the company. It’s not always been easy, but the “original crew” and executive team are unmatched! The friendships among them are incredible. They have so much respect, trust, and confidence in each other. These people are the ones who have made the difference! Fire-Dex Today I like to think we have been the “behind-thescenes” spouses who have supported and helped along the way, and this includes my two sons-in-law Aaron and Robert. —Julie Burke B ill has made countless good decisions over the years, so I’ve learned to just trust that process. I’m still a worrier at times, but I have such confidence in him. A lot of people are proud of Bill, but NO ONE is prouder of him than I am! I probably should tell him that more often… I’m going to start doing that today. Throughout it all, Bill has consistently lifted up his kids, grandkids, and Fire-Dex, and I like to think I’m a part of the “base” that supports him and all of them! Glad I could be along for this ride! I look back at how Bill and I both grew up, and I have to say that hard work really does pay off. I know we’ve instilled that ethic in our girls, and I am confident they will do the same with their own precious little ones. •