Half a Century Old and Better than Ever! Written and photographed by Mary Savage
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hen Randy Repas first went to work for Sprouse Fire and Safety Ltd. in 1975, he had no idea that 21 years later he would own the company. During that time, and under the mentorship of the original founders, Ken Sprouse and Pepper Nicholls, the company would grow to become one of Western Canada’s most iconic and successful businesses in the life-safety industry. “I had the benefit and pleasure of mentoring under the best in the industry with Ken and Pepper,” recalls Randy. “They instilled the value of delivering excellence in customer service while ensuring that our staff was unequalled in their level of industry expertise.” From energy and manufacturing to small business and residential, Sprouse Fire plays an invaluable role in helping to keep people and companies safe. They represent a handful of full-service organizations that provide a comprehensive scope of life-safety services – from portable fire equipment, fire alarms, fire monitoring, sprinkler systems and automatic fire suppression systems to extensive training programs and first aid and safety services and consulting. “We are the best because we have the best people,” explains Randy. “We continue to stay true to our founding roots of excellent customer service provided by the most knowledgeable staff in the industry.” Over the decades, Sprouse Fire has evolved to weather the economic peaks and valleys that are synonymous with Alberta’s boom-bust climate. They have spent 50 years building and maintaining excellent customer relations and today, it comes as no surprise they service over 11,000 customers, annually, in Calgary alone. Today, Randy remains the president and brings nearly 40 years of history and experience to the benefit of both new employees and customers alike. He has worked in every facet of the business and provides an incredible array of insight, knowledge and expertise to the leadership of Sprouse Fire. When Randy and past business partner Larry Holling took over the business in 1996, they had nine employees. Today Sprouse Fire employs over 50 people and they have recently expanded into Edmonton. The key to their success is found largely among the people who call Sprouse Fire home: they are dedicated, accomplished and completely committed to a standard of excellence not readreadily found in the marketplace. “We are truly fortunate to have so many exceptionally outstanding managers and employees on
Randy Repas and Rick Mooers
our team here at Sprouse Fire,” adds Randy. “We offer a level of customer service that is unparalleled, and over the years, we’ve had a lot of knowledge that has been transferred from our managers, past and present, to our employees. It’s our people who have made the company successful,” says Randy. “Many of our people have been with Sprouse Fire for over 20 years and as a result, we have established a tremendously loyal customer base – a customer base that we never take for granted and work hard every day to continue to earn that customer loyalty.” Sprouse Fire is also an innovative company and they have been integrating technology to improve their delivery cycles
Sprouse Fire and Safety | 50th Anniversary