Fire-Dex: Feeling the Heat - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing - American Executive

Fire-Dex: Feeling the Heat

Manufacturing
Written by Eric Slack
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Bill Burke explains how this manufacturer of firefighting apparel rose from nowhere to third in the industry. While most garment designers dream of outfitting the winner of “America’s Next Top Model,” some companies have more noble pursuits in mind. For Bill Burke, president of Medina, Ohio’s Fire-Dex, his clothes aren’t likely to end up on the cover of Vogue. Instead, Burke’s clothing will save someone’s life. Bill Burke, President of Medina, Ohio Fire-Dex is a 25 year-old manufacturer of firefighting clothes. The company got its start with an office in Cleveland and a manufacturing plant in Rome, Ga., making welding gloves. However, welding glove manufacturing was rapidly shifting overseas because of high labor costs. Firefighter gloves also have high labor costs, but Burke said simple logic dictates why those products didn’t follow the welding glove exodus. “Firefighter’s gloves are both high labor and high material costs, so it is more likely the gloves would be manufactured here because of US requirements,” Burke said, noting countries without heavy American and English influence don’t protect their firefighters nearly as well. “Also, the US fire service still prefers products that are made in America. They care what country it came from.” Since welding gloves and firefighter’s gloves are both made out of leather, it was a natural diversification of the business from the start. In 1984, the company started making knit hoods and gear bags for firemen, and a few years later added coats and pants to its repertoire. Welding gloves were dropped from the portfolio as the company became dedicated exclusively to firefighting apparel. Entering the business was a gamble, as the two industry leaders each have more than 100 years of service to the industry. That gave those companies an edge over Fire-Dex in both experience and established relationships. The company knew in order to compete and grow in a small niche market with only 15 companies servicing the industry, its products and services had to be of a higher quality then anyone else in the business. Fire-Dex invests about 5% of its annual revenue in research and development. Burke said the company has its own lab on site where it can constantly test new fabrics and designs to exceed the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) standards. Burke is a committee member with the NFPA and helps set the standards for America’s firefighting clothes, so the company knows full well how high the bar is raised. This commitment to quality helped Fire-Dex see nine consecutive years of double-digit growth, raising its position to third in the industry with 10% of the market share. “Continuing that growth is a challenge, but one we don’t even think about backing off of. It is part of our company policy,” said Burke, noting the company has a goal of becoming number two in the industry in the next decade. “It will take some more doubling, but at only 10% we still have lots of room to grow.” Fanning the flames In 1997, Fire-Dex instituted a company-wide program called Opportunity for Improvement (OFI). The OFI program mandates each company employee to submit eight suggestions per year on ways the company can improve in areas including, safety, material usage, labor efficiency, and maintenance. With 100 employees, that is 800 suggestions annually. The company is usually able to respond in 48 hours, and implements about 70% of the ideas. Employees must take part in the program if they wish to be included in profit sharing. The company also invests in training programs for its factory workers and its distribution network. Fire-Dex has the latest equipment for cutting material, and according to Burke not much has changed in sewing technology. While the company is always on the look out for new methods of manufacturing, the key is ensuring its people are skilled with the equipment it has in place. New employees work in a training cell workstation for weeks or months until they are ready to join a regular work team. Similarly, the company’s 10 person sales staff works tirelessly to be sure its distribution network has the knowledge needed to sell Fire-Dex equipment to fire departments around the country. The company works with distributors in classrooms and boardrooms to teach them everything about Fire-Dex products and how to sell them. “We also have a Web portal distributors can access for data on order processing, sample requests, and trade show material,” Burke said. Part of increasing its revenue involves creating more public awareness about the nature of America’s fire departments. Only 20% of US firefighters work for cities. The rest are part of volunteer fire departments. Many of its distributors are off-duty firefighters looking for work in their spare time. Although most fire departments are publicly funded, some of the volunteer groups actually have to resort to pig roasts and pancake breakfasts to raise funds to buy newer equipment. New suits are essential to a firefighters safety. In fact, the NFPA recently mandated that departments are non-compliant if their gear is more than 10 years old. While New York City fire suits would never last that long, often times seeing 100 calls a month, volunteer firefighters may not see that much action in 10 years. Suits may still look as good as new, but light, air, and time attack the suit and cause it to deteriorate and lose its protective qualities. While the company does sell some of its gear to fire departments in Canada, Australia, and South America, the bulk of its business will continue to come from American fire departments. Burke says even many European countries have standards well below American safety requirements. With its 25th anniversary in 2008, the company has plans to unveil some newer offerings at a large industry trade show in April. But the biggest question for Burke as he looks down the road is an old one for America’s firefighting industry–funding. “Our suits can last five years, but they cost up to $2,000, which is expensive,” said Burke, noting a federal program enacted before 9-11 pumped billions into the industry. “We need to make sure municipalities allocate enough funds so fire departments can have the most current equipment in working order and help protect people’s lives.”

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