Running on full

Firman Power Equipment helps you keep the lights on

Electricity is one of civilization's greatest inventions, and we long ago developed a dependence on it. So when it comes to outdoor activities, as well as temporary power outages, people often turn to portable generators.

Firman Power Equipment, a relative newcomer to the market, caught Costco buyers’ eyes as a growing company that was not just providing a solution, but continually looking for improvement.

Firman Power Equipment, a relative “We started [our company] in October of 2015,” says Greg Montgomery, Firman’s president and CEO. “We had an opportunity to start something new and to try to solve a lot of the needs and [provide] solutions we felt weren’t being answered in the category.”

The company’s products, Montgomery explains, focus on three areas. The first is providing needed power. The second is run time. “Most customers are looking for a long day of tailgating, a hard day of work. They want to get through 10, 12, 15 hours over a long weekend of camping, and they’re going to use it five, six hours a day,” he says.

The third area is a major source of pride for Firman: service. Generators may not be new, but many of Firman’s customers are buying one for the first time.

“Our goal is making sure that we have folks on our end who can answer the phones and provide expertise,” says Montgomery.

Customers have various needs for portable power. For the recreation crowd, it’s “the campers, the tailgaters, the folks looking to take their indoor theater outside to the deepest part of their backyard to have a night of camping with their kids,” Montgomery continues.

Then there are the workers. “These are the guys on their ranch, or [in] their barns, or contractors around the city who are making sure that they have the tools they need to get the job done on-site when there’s not power available,” Montgomery says.

Finally, there’s anybody who needs help in a storm: “We don’t want to sell fear, but storm support is a huge part of the sales,” notes Montgomery.

Growing up, growing safe

If not used properly, with proper ventilation, a generator can be dangerous. That’s because portable generators create carbon monoxide (CO).

To address this danger, Firman builds CO shut-off systems into most of its products, and plans to include the feature in every system it sells within the next year.

“We’ve been driving the process with several other companies in the industry and making sure that all generators going forward have this in their mechanics, so that if the particulates of carbon monoxide get too heavy around the generator itself, it will shut itself down and you won’t be able to restart it for a period of time,” explains Montgomery. “It will save a lot of lives.”

Into the future

Firman’s goal is not just delivering what customers want but innovating for the future, with an eye on sustainability. Firman was the first company to offer a tri-fuel generator. And, according to Montgomery, Costco was the first company to introduce it; the product was exclusive to Costco for the first six months.

“We kept it exclusive to Costco because we value the relationship,” Montgomery says. “And nobody does a better job of taking care of its members.”

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