Company History

The journey began as Premier Fire Systems was created on 16th February 1998. Operating from a small industrial unit in Southend this was the starting point for what the company became in the years to come.

Following the growth of the company we leave the smaller industrial unit we started at, into a larger premises at 19 Station Road, Thorpe Bay. This move allowed the Company to continue to grow and hire additional skilled staff to push us forward. This would remain the Company’s home for the next 10 years.

In 2007 we became members of the National Security inspectorate. NSI are recognised as one of the most prestigious accrediting bodies for the Fire & Security industry and PFS Group were one of the earliest companies to join the scheme.

As part of our growth in becoming a pre-eminent company within the Fire Alarm industry we began a relationship with one of the largest manufacturers of Life Safety Systems in the UK, GENT by Honeywell. Since 2008 our relationship has gone from strength to strength and we have worked together to deliver numerous high quality projects over the years.

All businesses need to ensure they have access to the latest support and guidance for their industry, alongside the ability to work alongside like-minded companies to improve the industry. These elements played a large part in why we became ECA members in 2009.

In 2015 we changed our name from Premier Fire Systems to PFS Group. Over the 17 years since 1998 when the company was first founded we’d undergone considerable change, no longer purely operating in the Fire Alarm industry, we believed the company needed a fresh look and feel, and changed our name to what it is today. We also changed our logo to enhance our modern image.

In 2015 we joined the Fire & Security Association. The FSA operates as a specialist group within the ECA offering national representation and the highest level of expertise for those who design, install, commission, maintain and monitor fire, emergency and security systems.

In 2016 we founded our Engineer Training Programme. We identified a severe skills shortage in the Fire & Security industry and we set about working out how we could help create the next generation of engineers.

Now into it’s fifth year, our trainee programme continues to go from strength-to-strength, and has resulted in a large number of individuals taking their first steps in the industry.

PFS Group has seen consistent healthy growth throughout our time in business and we have improved and enhanced our strategies and targets throughout the preceding years to ensure we could continue to develop and grow. In 2017 we expanded our fleet of vehicles and hired additional engineers to join our business so we could keep meeting customer demand.

With the company growing in size we had once again exceeded the capacity of our current office and required a new larger premises. Work had begun over the previous couple of years to develop our new home on the Towerfield Estate. In October 2017 we moved in and are currently operating from this premises.

We are constantly looking for ways to improve the standards we set across the business. In 2018 we decided to become JIB members. JIB membership benefits the company and the employees and assures clients that they are engaging qualified staff, with technical competence and customer service that only a motivated workforce can provide.

Following another few years of consistent growth the Company once again expanded it’s fleet and team of engineers. These additional resources allow us to continue to offer fast attendance times for call-outs, highly skilled engineers for preventative maintenance, as well as a robust and knowledgeable installation team for small and large scale projects.

After several months worth of work to design our new online home we have now successfully completed the transition to our new site. With a more modern and updated fresher look it will further strengthen the company’s position in the industry. With more regular updates, more industry news and also a look into the services and products we offer, we shall be able to offer customers a greater insight into PFS Group.

We are officially recognised as Siemens Solution Partners starting our relationship with the Siemens team. This exciting new partnership will mark the second major Fire alarm system manufacturer that we work closely with, allowing us to continue to expand the services and support we can offer to our clients.

We launched our new portal system, PFS Cloud. The portal provides intuitive access to our customers to their data, allowing them to easily access jobsheets, quotes, invoices and asset testing history among many other features.

We have further strengthened our manufacturer partnerships by becoming Kentec Installation Partners. We have worked with Kentec products for many years but we are excited to now be working with their great team and products as an official partner. Combined with our existing partnerships we have further positioned PFS Group to provide great service and product options to our clients.

Cyber Essentials is a Government-backed, industry-supported scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common online threats. By having this certification we can more easily demonstrate to our customers that we take cyber security seriously.

We always want to be part of any conversations that progress our industry forwards and having seen some of the great work being done at the FPA, we decide to join their list of member companies.

After being founded in 1998, this year we reached 25 years in business and celebrated with an event for our amazing team.

The purpose of the IFSM is to raise awareness of fire safety at a local, national and international level, promoting fire prevention, fire protection and reducing the risk from fire as far as reasonably practicable.