Since December 2016, Pye-Barker has acquired over 30 businesses and added even more locations across the country. A third of those acquisitions have been in the sunny state of Florida, where Pye-Barker has worked hard to establish a firm presence in the state’s various metropolitans. This year we have focused our efforts on the southeastern part of the state and are excited to be ending 2019 with our emergence into the panhandle as well. We look forward to continuing this momentum into the new year, focusing both on establishing new branches and offering a broader range of services as the months progress.
Putting Down Roots in Major Markets
Pye-Barker’s mission to build a larger presence in the Sunshine State began in December 2016. We spent that month and the following year putting down roots in major markets across the state. With the addition of Commercial Fire and Advanced Fire in December, we established ourselves as a premier fire protection provider on both of Florida’s coasts. Through the acquisitions of AAC United in Pompano Beach and Tanner Fire in Bradenton the following year, Pye-Barker had a firm foundation in four “corners” of Florida and shifted to strengthening our presence in those markets.
Establishing a Presence in the Central Gulf
2018 started with an important Florida acquisition. Our purchase of Tampa Bay Fire at the beginning of the year boosted our effort to claim a top spot in Tampa Bay’s fire protection market. This would be complemented by our addition of Hernando Fire in Brooksville and Gulf Coast Fire in Sarasota the following year. We also built up our presence in southeastern Florida through the acquisition of Reliable Fire in Ft. Lauderdale. This acquisition would eventually merge with branches in West Palm Beach and Pompano Beach to form a centralized office in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The formation of this office better enabled Pye-Barker to serve the surrounding areas and concluded our growth across Florida in 2018.
Exploding into Miami and Surrounding Area
The following year was Pye-Barker’s opportunity to dominate the highly sought-after southeast region around Miami. We started with the purchase of Sea Coast Fire in North Miami, a company known as the area’s leading marine fire suppression provider. We followed that with the addition of Triangle Fire in Doral, an acquisition that made a big impression across the industry. Shortly after we announced the acquisition of A Fire Protection Plus and Ace Fire Sprinklers in Hialeah, Florida, which became a new full-service branch for the area and allowed us to offer fire sprinkler and backflow services for the first time in that market. This cluster of acquisitions made a clear statement that Pye-Barker was determined to be the area’s only choice for reliable fire protection services.
Looking Ahead to 2020
We were excited to set foot in the panhandle of Florida in November of this year. We hope the acquisition of Interstate Fire in Tallahassee will be the first of many to come in this beautiful part of the state. As we anticipate the new year, we hope to continue expanding our presence and capabilities in our current markets while seeking to enter new regions. We thank our Florida customers for giving us warm welcomes and even warmer temperatures and look forward to what 2020 has in store for us in this part of the country.