Fike's new president touts company's new green solution

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo.—Fike, a global fire and life safety solutions provider based here, is starting the new year with a new president: Brad Batz.

Batz most recently led Fike's oil and gas business unit and previously led the company's corporate operations. Fike is the parent company of Fike Video Image Detection, a video smoke detection company formerly called axonX, which Fike acquired in 2009.

He told Security Systems News that Fike's goals for 2014 include “continuing to get closer to our customers and understanding their needs,” and also investing in the organization, in everything from “manufacturing capabilities and talent and expansion across the globe.”

Batz added that the company also is “very bullish on the North American markets.”

One solution it's touting there is its PROINERT2 green solution, which was just introduced to the U.S. market in late 2013. The environmentally friendly gaseous fire extinguishing solution has been available in Europe for more than year, where it has met with great success, according to the company.

Batz told SSN, “We're very excited about being able to offer a high quality solution that truly is a green solution to our customers.” He noted that environmentally friendly products are “a very important aspect of the North American market and becoming more so continually.”

He said the PROINERT2 is “a completely natural product. It's an agent comprised of nitrogen and argon, so it's all natural; there is no chemical aspect to it.” Also, Batz added, “our technology is unique with a regulated valve that allows for a consistent dissipation of the gas into the room to put out the fire, which is very unique, cost effective and competitive.”

According to the company, the slow, steady release prevents destructive turbulence. It also saves money because it allows for the use of small-diameter, low-pressure, less-expensive piping and it requires only a small venting area, so saves on venting hardware.

Batz said the product is ideal for any application “you want to protect from a fire hazard, but that you wouldn't want to be destroyed in suppressing that fire.” He said that includes data centers, high-value-asset areas, museums, schools, and power generation facilities.

He added, “We're excited about … being able to offer the solutions of what our customers want and how they want it, and really supporting the stance of what green means to us in North America.”

In a prepared statement, Chuck Kopoulos, Fike CEO, said, “We are excited to have Brad in this position, where his leadership and vision will help guide our future growth.”

Batz will lead all corporate functions, including manufacturing, quality, supply chain, finance, human resources and information technology.

Fike was founded in 1945 and currently has more than 1,000 employees worldwide. It has operations in 13 countries, but its headquarters are here. Its safety solutions are designed to protect people and critical assets from dangers such as fire, explosion and over-pressurization.