About Starfire > Starfire's History

Solid Beginnings in the Fire Protection Industry

Starfire, Incorporated was started by owners Raymond J. Malek and his wife Vi Malek back in 1987. Located at 3550 South Iowa Avenue in St. Francis, WI and at 1391 North Kraemer Boulevard in Anaheim, CA, Starfire started as a distributor for Star Sprinkler, Mfg., with additional lines such as Ward Mfg., Potter Electric and Milwaukee Valve. Today, Starfire, Inc. distributes over 100 manufacturers' products.

Ray Malek has been in the fire industry for almost 50 years. He started his career with The Grunau Company and ran their Fire Protection Contracting Division. From there, he went to Star Sprinkler where he was involved with the operations and manufacturing of fire protection valves and sprinkler heads. He was also instrumental in working with research and development. In 1987, Star Sprinkler decided to sell through distribution. At this time, Ray bought Star's warehouse centers in Wisconsin and California and started Starfire, Inc. Currently, Starfire, Inc. employs 14 hard-working and committed employees.

In the past 16 years, Starfire, Inc. has survived the conglomeration of the large supply houses that sell pipe, valves and fittings at low margins with high volumes. The reason that we at Starfire, Inc. have survived is because of our knowledge and service. Starfire, Inc. has especially excelled on knowing specialty items used in fire protection systems. Some examples of these items are: ITT A-C and Floway fire pumps, Young Engineering bladder expansion tanks for antifreeze systems, Protectowire linear detection and AFFF Foam Systems, as well as many others. Starfire, Inc. also manufactures the Sprink-Off Emergency Sprinkler Stoppers and Starfire-Safe pre-assembled pre-action systems.

Starfire, Inc. takes pride in working with our customers, regardless of how large or how small their operations may be. We treat everyone as equals. We are committed in our efforts of service and of making sure you will talk to a person when you call -- instead of a telephone answering system.

Starfire, Inc. strives to offer the complete package of fire protection products that any contractor needs for their specific projects. We keep this idea in perspective: Not only are we in business to make a profit, but we are certainly a part of an industry that is committed to saving property and most importantly LIFE!!!

 

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