Protec Fire Detection PLC - Experts & Thought Leaders

Bosch Building Technologies completed the full acquisition of Protec Fire and Security Group Ltd. on November 30, 2021. Before this, the relevant antitrust authorities had approved corresponding applications. The corresponding agreements were signed on October 22 of this year. With the acquisition of Protec, one of the UK's systems integrators for security and fire detection technology with an innovative product portfolio, Bosch Building Technologies is strengthening its European business. Protec has around 1,100 employees and, according to preliminary figures, generated annual sales of GBP 125 million (around 142 million euros) in the fiscal year 2021. Introducing innovative solutions "We are very pleased to officially welcome Protec and its highly qualified employees as part of Bosch Building Technologies", says Thomas Quante, president of Bosch Building Technologies. "We will learn from each other and share our respective expertise and many years of experience to jointly bring new innovative solutions to the market for our customers", Quante adds. Protec operates mainly in the UK and, under the brand Hacousto Protec, in the Netherlands and is headquartered in Nelson, Lancashire, UK. Here, the company also maintains its development and manufacturing center. Protec's products and services are used in transportation and industry, among numerous other sectors.

Bosch Building Technologies plans to acquire Protec Fire and Security Group Ltd., headquartered in Nelson, UK – one of the system integrators for security and fire detection technology with an innovative product portfolio. Corresponding agreements were signed by Bosch and Protec on October 22, 2021. Protec employs around 1,100 employees at its nine European locations in the UK and the Netherlands and generated sales of GBP 125 million (around 142 million Euro) in the fiscal year 2021 according to preliminary figures. Relevant antitrust authorities “With the acquisition of Protec, Bosch Building Technologies aims to expand its business and grow further in the European market,” says Thomas Quante, President of Bosch Building Technologies. It has been agreed that the purchase price will not be disclosed. The acquisition is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities. Protec is one of the system integrators for security and fire detection technology in the UK Protec is one of the system integrators for security and fire detection technology in the UK – the largest market in Europe besides Germany. Bosch Building Technologies currently has the focus of its European system integrator business in Germany and the Netherlands. In addition, the Bosch division is also active as a system integrator in the USA and Asia. Highly experienced management “With its market presence in the UK, Protec is an ideal complement for Bosch Building Technologies. Together, we want to continue to expand the business, building on Protec’s strong brand with an innovative product and service offering, the highly experienced management that is committed to the company, and the employees who have in-depth industry knowledge and a high level of customer service,” explains Quante. Protec Fire and Security Group Ltd. was founded in 1968 and looks back on a successful company history of over 50 years. “With Bosch, we found a great partner who values our history, brand and our extraordinary team. I believe this cooperation will open up great opportunities for our company as well as our employees and lead into a successful future,” says Barrie Russell, Founder and Chairman of Protec Fire and Security Group Ltd. Fire detection technology Protec maintains five sales locations in the UK in addition to its corporate headquarters The company’s services and products are used in numerous sectors, for example in industry, airports and railway stations. Alongside the UK, the Netherlands is another important market for Protec, accounting for the largest share of its overseas sales. Here, the company is mainly active under the brand Hacousto Protec. “In the Dutch market, Protec and its complementary customer and competence structure is an excellent expansion of Bosch Building Technologies’ current business. The acquisition will significantly strengthen our joint market position in the security and fire detection technology sector, create a broader service offering for our customers and expand the product portfolio in the Security & Life Safety area,” adds Quante. Protec maintains five sales locations in the UK in addition to its corporate headquarters with an affiliated development and manufacturing center in Nelson, Lancashire. Further, the company has three locations in the Netherlands.

The Laurus Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust predominantly based within the Greater Manchester area. The trust consists of seven schools which are: Cheadle Hulme High School, Laurus Cheadle Hulme, Laurus Ryecroft, Didsbury High School, Hazel Grove High School, Gorsey Bank Primary School and Cheadle Hulme Primary School. In 2017, The Laurus Trust, along with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), selected BAM Construction Northwest, based in Salford, to deliver the Laurus Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle Hulme Primary School and Didsbury High School, with the contract valued circa £40 million. BAM also went on to secure the Laurus Ryecroft School, as part of the scheme, with the schools opening between September 2018 and March 2020. Protec’s full turkey solution The Laurus Trust’s group of schools set Protec the task to provide a full turnkey solution for the various life safety systems, installed at three of their schools. All the systems provided would have to meet current British Standard recommendations for the fire alarm and emergency voice communication (refuge alarm) systems, as well as take into account whether any value engineering solutions where possible, so as to ensure costs stayed within the contract budgets. BS5839-1 L2 compliant fire alarm system The scheme called for the installation of a BS5839-1 L2 compliant fire alarm system The scheme called for the installation of a BS5839-1 L2 compliant fire alarm system. The fire alarm systems of the 3 No. schools, all benefitted from the new 6500 main fire alarm panels, provided with ‘open protocol’ capabilities. The fully digital addressable panels would offer the display, control and monitoring of the 6000PLUS series fire alarm devices, fitted throughout the schools. The field devices were made up of digital addressable multi-sensors, heat sensors, beam detection, fire alarm interfaces, voice-enhanced sounders and visual alarm devices. At the tender stage, Protec identified multiple value engineering solutions, whereby a detailed up-front fire alarm system design could cut the overall installation costs. Solutions such as using the fire alarm system to indicate the intervals between classes, by adding a timer to the fire alarm system (i.e. Class Change). Protec 6000PLUS series Talking Sounders As the systems utilized the Protec 6000PLUS series Talking Sounders, this enabled the class change signal to use the ‘Bell Tone’ sound, within these devices, thus replicating the sound of a real bell, in a class change period. With Protec installing a fully digital addressable fire alarm system, this negated the need for providing remote indicator units, as the text on an addressable system shows the location of a fire or fault, on the main fire alarm control panel, for integration by the fire service, maintenance engineer or designated competent person. Lockdown Systems Lockdown Systems are becoming popular within the education sector. Sadly, this is due to the growing number of events that could impact on the safety of pupils and staff. The lockdown system is a means to alert staff of an incident, without causing undue distress to the pupils. In this case, Blue manual call points are installed within strategic locations in the schools, connected directly on the fire alarm detection loops. Upon activation of any blue manual call point, in a ‘lockdown’ event, this activates the coded message to alert all members of staff, so that they can implement the correct lockdown procedures. NACTSO guidelines for use of fire alarms Protec overcame the problem by using their Talking Sounder range of fire alarm devices The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) guidelines state that the use of fire alarms should be avoided, so as to reduce incorrect response to an incident. This statement is down to fire alarm tones being confused with the tones that could be used for a lockdown scenario. Protec overcame the problem by using their Talking Sounder range of fire alarm devices. The system provided enables various messages to apply for each of the different types of scenarios, reducing the risk of confusion. Differentiating between fire and lockdown alarms For these projects, the fire alarm is via a warble preamble, followed by the announcement, ‘Attention please, attention please, fire has been reported in the building, please leave the building immediately, by the nearest exit.’ The lockdown scenario would be initiated via a pulse preamble, followed by the announcement, ‘May I have your attention please, an incident has been reported in the building, please listen for further instructions.’ And finally, the class change is via a ‘Bell’ tone, which is a recorded message that replicates the sound of a traditional type bell. By utilizing the fire alarm system infrastructure for providing the lockdown feature, the system installed has become part of a value-engineered solution for the client. The use of the fire alarm system with the additional devices would mean a dedicated system for the lockdown system would not need installing, thereby, saving costs for the client. Emergency Voice Communication (Disabled Refuge Alarm) Emergency Voice Communication (Disabled Refuge Alarm) is a system used in an evacuation scenario Emergency Voice Communication (Disabled Refuge Alarm) is a system used in an evacuation scenario, so as to assist building management and the emergency services, with the safe evacuation of the building. The refuge intercom system offers a secure temporary ‘refuge’ area for the pupils, staff and visitors, requiring assistance to evacuate to a ground-level via stairs, so that they are able to safely wait and communicate to the emergency services, during a building evacuation. Two-way voice communication The systems across the schools offered two-way voice communication between the outstations, at the dedicated refuge points and the main emergency voice communication control panels. The fire & rescue service would use the main emergency voice communication control panels, which are located at the main point of entry to the building, for ease of access in an emergency scenario. Protec offered a fully compliant BS5839-9 system, across the 3 No. sites, a total of 5 No. 16-way main control panels and 21 No. refuge outstations. Additionally, 20 No. accessible toilet alarms were installed in the accessible WC’s and linked into the refuge alarm system, across the 3 No. sites, as part of a value-engineered solution, to incorporate the toilet alarms and refuge alarm into one complete system. Protec aftercare and service By combining these two systems, this reduced the costs of having a dedicated system for each. Since completion of the 3 No. school sites within this scheme, the Laurus Trust has taken out a PPM service contract with Protec, to ensure that the systems stay correctly maintained and operational for years to come.