Potter Electric Signal, LLC. - Experts & Thought Leaders

FirePro’s master distributor in Egypt, Advanced Systems, participated in the HVAC-R ASHRAE Cairo Exhibition, which took place between 23rd and 25th May at the Egypt International Exhibition Center (EIEC) in Cairo. The HVAC-R ASHRAE Exhibition is the 6th International Exhibition & Conference for Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration, Thermal Insulation, and Energy, and is Egypt’s only event dedicated to this industry. Hosting several seminars This year’s exhibition included more than 200 exhibitors and welcomed around 15,000 visitors. It also hosted several seminars and workshops, offering FirePro the great opportunity to showcase its products and technology to the local market. This year’s exhibition included more than 200 exhibitors and welcomed around 15,000 visitors Advanced Systems was joined by their Senior Business Development Manager, Demetris Constantinou, to present to visitors the FirePro technology, products, and solutions as well as their various uses and applications in a number of industries. Organizing exclusive seminar Mr. Constantinou, along with Eng. Yasser Samir from Advanced Systems, Mr. Hussein Fouad from Potter Signal, and Mr. Ludovico Mion from DAB Pumps, also took part in an exclusive seminar for Electrical, Mechanical, and Fire Consulting Engineers and Contractors. This event was held at the Intercontinental Cairo City stars Hotel and was attended by 100 industry experts. FirePro extends its gratitude to Eng. Yasser Samir and his entire team at Advanced Systems for the impeccable organization of both events, as well as for their loyalty and dedication to the FirePro brand over the years.

Potter announces the acquisition of three mainstay product lines in the fire alarm industry: Harrington Fire Alarm, Evax Systems, and CPG Signals. The acquisition of these three product lines will not only strengthen Potter’s position in life safety products, but will also broaden the range of products and services available to customers in order to meet all their fire protection needs. By incorporating the technologies of these products, Potter will expand its fire system and voice product lines, providing customers even greater access to the markets they serve. Customer service staffs Dick Eisenlauer, President of Harrington Signal Inc. said, “We at Harrington Signal look forward to the benefits that this acquisition will offer our customers. The corporate values established in the early 1900s by both Charles Potter and Fred Harrington continue to this day. Potter has demonstrated standards such as providing an excellent work environment and focusing on outstanding customer service; leaving us certain that our customers will be in good hands.” Potter has demonstrated standards such as providing an excellent work environment" Potter expects the transition of buying products from Harrington Signal, Inc. and Evax, Inc. to Potter to be relatively seamless. The excellent customer service staffs of Harrington Signal, Inc., Evax, Inc. and Potter will be available to ensure that all new purchasing occurs without a glitch. The exceptional product and support, for which these three brands are well known, will be further enhanced by Potter’s unequaled customer service and tech support. Voice system solutions Dave Kosciuk, EVP of the Fire/Security Division at Potter said, “The acquisition of Evax, Harrington Fire, and CPG is exactly what Potter needed to fill in the gaps in our product line. We have been continuously updating and moving our product line up market and this accomplishes many of the requests from our dealer base as we add networking, smoke control, and low and high rise voice to our product portfolio.” “We look forward to bolstering the relationships that have already been established and making them a part of the Potter customer family. Being the only independent manufacturer with a full line of fire alarm and voice system solutions, Potter looks forward to strengthening our footprint in the life safety market and continuing to build on the successes we’ve had.”

The Ponchartrain Hotel in Detroit, Michigan, named for the original title given to the area by French settlers, was erected in 1965. After going through many ownership changes, name changes, and eventually closing in 2009, the 25 story tall, 367 room luxury hotel was resurrected in 2012 by Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts. The Crowne Plaza Ponchartrain Detroit was officially opened for business on July 17, 2013. Just as the once distinguished Ponchartrain Hotel had succumb to years of neglect, so had its fire system. The dated, conventional, non-addressable system proved to be a hindrance to the building as it looked towards success as the new Crowne Plaza Ponchartrain Detroit. Audio voice evacuation Fire Pros, the contractor for the project, needed an addressable system that would allow for easy implementation in such a large space. There was THHN wiring installed throughout the entire building. This made it a simple choice for the contractors to use an addressable panel that could communicate using the existing wiring rather than having to rewire the entire building with all new twisted, shielded cable. Potter’s P400 Fire Panel was championed for this job due to its retrofitting capabilities Potter’s P400 Fire Panel was championed for this job due to its retrofitting capabilities, allowing it to easily function using the pre-existing THHN wiring. The original system had a zone configuration with selective signaling (floor above/floor below) and was configured with audio voice evacuation capabilities. There were typically three zones per floor; one for water flow, one for common area or general alarm, and one for the guest room smoke detectors. Distributing intelligent power This zoned configuration made it extremely difficult to determine the exact location of an alarm or trouble on the system. This also made performing the NFPA 72 required smoke detector sensitivity test a substantial disruption to business, as well as time consuming and expensive. The Potter P400’s ability to distribute intelligent power and system expanders throughout the facility on a simple 4-wire bus, made it very easy to configure the entire 1290 point system that included analog addressable smoke detectors and sounder bases. With the detectors and bases connected to the Potter P400, the required sensitivity testing can now be easily accomplished by utilizing software from the main control panel, saving the Crowne Plaza Ponchartrain time and money. Fire alarm systems Fire Pros technicians were able to easily install nine PSN-1000(E) power supply units Fire Pros, led by Bob Proos, was overwhelmingly pleased with the P-Link flexibility offered by Potter’s fire alarm systems, “It is a benefit to have the Potter P400 able to support all NAC’s and SLC cards on P-Link as opposed to peer to peer like many other networks.” Fire Pros technicians were able to easily install nine PSN-1000(E) power supply units, twelve remote SLC cards, two Remote Annunciators, and Voice Evacuation throughout the building due to the flexibility of the P-Link circuit on the Potter P400 panel. It was also very easy for them to incorporate firefighter telephones and elevator recall to ensure the safety of patrons as well as firefighters. The usability of Potter’s panel programming software was found to be especially helpful by Proos and his crew as they programmed their Potter fire alarm system with ease and efficiency. Programming entire system “The software for the P400 Panel is excellent. Our technicians had no trouble programming the entire system.” At one point, after Fire Pros technicians had programmed the system completely, they were notified that due to a requirement allotted by the more stringent Crowne Plaza safety standards, a re-working of the entire system was required. The download speed is excellent! It took 15 seconds instead of 15 minutes like other panels" This re-work was not an issue as Fire Pros technicians were able to easily re-program the system without having to remove any hardware. Using Potter’s easy drag-and-drop software, they were able to interface with the system quickly, “The download speed is excellent! It took 15 seconds instead of 15 minutes like other panels,” Proos said. Throughout the entire installation process Proos was able to communicate with the panel in Detroit, via e-mail reporting, while he was at Fire Pros headquarters in Grand Rapids. Minimizing travel time This made it very convenient to assess any issues pertaining to the installation process while minimizing travel time. Management could easily send information to technicians in the field through the panel, and they were able to instantaneously fix any issue. As the Crowne Plaza Detroit looks forward to serving the city as a premier hotel destination, it is important that they provide a safe environment for both guests and employees. The Potter P400 fire alarm system helps guarantee that every inch of the premises is monitored at all times, producing speedy and detailed notifications. Exact alarm locations The panel makes it simple to identify every problem with specificity concerning time and location “I like to be able to get information that tells me exactly where the trouble is located, so we can address it and notify the fire department as well as our entire staff. The Potter P400 Panel gives a detailed description when addressing trouble notifications which is helpful when giving incident reports to our security department,” said LaTina Johnson, Construction Manager for the property. The panel makes it simple to identify every problem with specificity concerning time and location, which is extremely helpful in such a large building. With easily accessible information on hand at all times, the hotel staff can properly manage any potential dilemma. Problems such as guest disputes over smoking in non-smoking rooms, and pinpointing exact alarm locations in a building of such magnitude, can be easily solved with e-mail reporting. Properly managing situation Johnson says, “It is nice to have a technical reference for what has transpired. It really helps us properly manage every situation on site, which is important because our staff wants to stay ahead of any situation; being proactive as opposed to reactive.” With the Crowne Plaza Ponchartrain Detroit carrying on its historical legacy as one of Detroit’s finest hotels, it is important that the standards for Crowne Plaza as well as ‘The Ponch’ are kept in mind. These standards are implemented to serve the customer in the best way possible, and that includes keeping them safe in case of an emergency. The installation of a Potter Alarm Fire System ensures that the safety standards will always be met.