Advanced’s move into Australia with new subsidiary

Fire systems manufacturer Advanced Electronics, which has its global research and development centre in Yorkshire, has formed a subsidiary in Australia.

Advanced employs 20 staff, which is around 15 per cent of its total workforce, at its base in Whaley Road, Barnsley.

Advanced, which has its head office in Cramlington, Northumberland, was formed 15 years ago and has become a major player in the fire alarm systems and life safety products market.

It employs 130 staff and sells to more than 70 countries, with bases across the UK, the US, Middle East, India and Australia.

Advanced has formed an Australian subsidiary and acquired a key regional partner, Fusion Fire Systems PTY, which is one of Australia’s fastest growing fire system providers, to create Fusion Advanced, which has bases in Sydney and Melbourne.

Richard Hitchman, the founder and managing director of Fusion, said: “This is a major step for us. After working for many of the biggest names in the industry, our team has several decades of fire industry experience, which allowed us to adopt a completely new way of doing business.

“We initially chose Advanced as our key supplier because of the quality, reliability and ease-of-use of their products and the partnership we’ve built has been an instrumental part of our grow- th.”

Ray Hope, the managing director of Advanced, said: “It was a very easy deal for us to do and we’re delighted to welcome the Fusion team to the organisation.

“Our business in the region is growing fast and Fusion Advanced will be key in continuing that success.”

Fusion Fire Systems was formed in 2007 and has enjoyed rapid growth.

Fusion has worked across Australia on a number of prestigious projects, including the landmark $1.2bn Westfield development in Sydney.