Midland firm firing on all cylinders

Management recruits for Black Country fire protection firm.

Stourbridge-based Argus Fire has responded to a rapidly growing order book by boosting its workforce with a trio of senior new appointments.

The leading independent fire protection, detection and suppression specialist has appointed Andy Webb as Senior Project Manager, and Martin Waite and Curt Lycett as Estimator and Project Engineer respectively. They are among 17 new staff recruited by Argus Fire since January 2015, bringing its current headcount to 107, and their arrival follows the announcement of a record turnover by the company of more than £19m for 2015-16.

With more than thirty years’ experience in the sprinkler industry, Andy Webb has returned to the company that he served for 18 years to manage fire protection projects from initial order to final handover. A former apprentice, Andy has worked in all areas from commercial and special projects to storage and power generation, and during his original stint at Argus Fire he was responsible for serving major vehicle plants in the UK and Germany. Andy, who lives in Shropshire and previously worked as a contracts manager for another fire services contractor, was instrumental in Argus Fire being awarded the OHSAS 18001 international health and safety management standard.

Martin Waite, who has over 25 years of experience in fire services, was previously senior estimator for a company in Worcester. He began his career in 1990 as a trainee with a firm in Birmingham where he went on to be a design and project manager and then special works manager. Martin, who lives in Willenhall and was trained in mechanical engineering and advanced sprinkler design at Walsall College and Matthew Boulton College in Birmingham, will be responsible for assessing, costing and preparing tender bids for a wide range of commercial, residential and office applications.

Curt Lycett was previously a design and project engineer for Project Fire, a Staffordshire-based company with which Argus Fire has signed a reseller agreement for its innovative cost, water and energy saving fire systems technology, and where he began his career as a trainee eight years ago. After training in sprinkler system design at Kingsmead Technology College in Cannock, he is now focused on supporting works for major London construction schemes including London Wall Place, Rathbone Place and Principal Place. Curt, who lives in Cannock, has worked projects including House of Fraser refurbishments, Wagamama restaurants and WH Smith stores nationwide.

Matt Lincoln, Managing Director of Argus Fire, said: “The experience of Andy, Martin and Curt will prove invaluable in boosting our capacity to meet ever-increasing demand for our services.”