Pye-Barker expands to 35 states by acquiring Vanguard Fire & Security Systems

ATLANTA—Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, the largest fully integrated fire protection, life safety and security provider in the United States, has announced its latest acquisition -  Vanguard Fire & Security Systems, a leader in Michigan and surrounding markets.

With this, Pye-Barker continues its national footprint expansion by entering Michigan, its 35th state, reached through an aggressive and purposeful acquisition strategy.

Vanguard Fire & Security Systems, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., operates additional locations in Kalamazoo, Saginaw, Detroit, and Pasadena, Texas, outside Houston. Its highly trained team inspects, maintains, and installs fire alarms, sprinklers, special hazard, kitchen suppression and security and CCTV systems. It also provides 24/7 emergency service, fire extinguishers, mobile fire pumps and central monitoring.

Vanguard, founded in 1957, was acquired by Darrell and Diane Thomas in 1990. It has grown to conduct work in over 40 states with a team of over 225 employees. After Darrell's passing in 2021, Diane took the following year to contemplate her family's next steps, discussing options with sons Brett and Tate as well as Vanguard leader Rick Knipp. Based on strong recommendations from Knipp, as well as other industry leaders, they decided to enter conversations with Pye-Barker Fire & Safety.

Beginning late 2022, Tate Thomas and the family's long-time attorney, Donald Duba, met with Pye-Barker leadership.

"We've been thoroughly impressed with the respect and professionalism of Pye-Barker's leadership, starting with Bart Proctor, Jason Brinkman, Chuck Reimel, down to their legal counsel.  We're thrilled to align with Pye-Barker and their perfectly matched business values," Diane Thomas said. 

"Like Vanguard and the Thomas family, Pye-Barker is committed to customer service excellence and offering a company culture that provides professional advancement for its team members," said Pye-Barker CEO Bart Proctor. "We're honored the Thomas family chose to partner with us and we thoroughly enjoyed working with the family attorney, Donald Duba, who helped facilitate a smooth diligence process and closing."