New UK-focused business unveiled for Global Fire Equipment

With its main office located in Havant, GFE (UK) is owned and headed up by Matt Ketley GIFireE MIFSM TMIFPO. Ketley boasts extensive sales experience in the UK fire industry having worked for respected UK-based companies for nearly 20 years.

Speaking about the new venture, Ketley told Fire Safety Matters: “I’m delighted to take on the new role as managing director of GFE (UK) and have an exciting vision for the company. We’re the sole importer of GFE’s equipment into the UK and are working to bring on board key distributors and system partners to ensure that GFE’s products, along with industry-leading technical support, are readily available for all of our dedicated UK customers.”

GFE (UK) has already secured partnerships with STS Distribution Ltd, Illumino Ingis Ltd and Firesense Ltd as specialist distributors, along with F & E Projects Ltd and Safetech Systems Ltd as systems partners. With a view to supporting growth plans and product availability for the UK, GFE (UK) is also working with a number of other interested parties that will be named in due course.

Commenting further, Ketley added: “We mean business. We’re looking for significant and sustained growth within the UK market based on providing successful and mutually beneficial relationships with our customers. We plan to radically increase awareness of the GFE brand and products by ensuring we deliver the fundamental requirements for all long-term successful relationships in the fire safety sector. We are going to be all about the provision of excellent service, quality products and market-leading customer experience, all delivered through effective teamwork.”

He went on to add: “It’s a great time to launch this business with GFE. The forthcoming new product range will further strengthen GFE’s reputation for innovative, high quality and competitively priced fire safety equipment. A number of the new products, such as the new G-One single loop panel, have been designed specifically for the UK market. We’re confident that the new product range will be well received by existing and prospective customers alike.

Growth potential

Ketley is “very much looking forward” to working in partnership with Paul Pope and João Paulo Ajami (managing director of the manufacturing company Global Fire Equipment) in this new venture.

João Paulo Ajami stated: “The UK has always been an important market for GFE and offers a lot of growth potential so we’re delighted that GFE (UK) has taken on the role as our sole importer for this dynamic market. We’re committed to the UK market for the long-term and have set our sights on significant market growth. We believe Matt and his team are ideally positioned to help us achieve these goals and quickly increase our presence.” 

Paul Pope (Group business development director at Global Fire Equipment) responded: “It’s a really exciting time in GFE’s growth plans for Matt to have established GFE (UK). I have had the pleasure of working with Matt for more than ten years now, so I’m particularly delighted that he has taken on this opportunity. He is a great character and is both highly experienced and respected in the UK’s fire sector. I’m sure that he will do a fantastic job in further strengthening the presence of GFE and our products in the UK.”

*Further information on GFE UK is available online at www.globalfire-equipment.co.uk and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-fire-equipment-uk-official/

**For further information on Global Fire Equipment visit www.globalfire-equipment.com