Protectowire

Established in 1938, the Protectowire Company has grown to become the global leader in linear heat detection systems for the fire protection industry. The company employs 36 people at its headquarters in Pembroke, and exports worldwide. In fact, over 60% of the company’s revenue is derived from export markets.

The Massachusetts Export Center has provided some international business development support to Protectowire in recent years and has also helped the company to take advantage of the STEP Grant program. In late 2021, the Export Center nominated Protectowire for the SBA Massachusetts Small Business Exporter of the Year award, which was presented to the company in early 2022. Protectowire exports to over 60 countries, but its largest export market is Russia.

In early 2022, when the U.S. tightened sanctions and export controls against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, Protectowire reached out to the Massachusetts Export Center for support. Realizing that there would be greater scrutiny of export transactions involving Russia and wanting to ensure that its export operations were fully compliant with U.S. export regulations, Protectowire engaged the Export Center to conduct a comprehensive export compliance risk assessment and a thorough review of Protectowire’s export compliance protocols, including export control classification, screening, end use and end user due diligence, distributor awareness on compliance, and more. The Export Center’s support enabled Protectowire to complete a critical $1M+ shipment to provide fire protection equipment for the Moscow subway system.

Moving forward, the Massachusetts Export Center is helping Protectowire to stay updated on ever-tightening sanctions against Russia to ensure that the company’s export operations remain compliant. The Export Center is also helping Protectowire to formalize its export compliance operations through development of an Export Management and Compliance Plan (EMCP). The EMCP will further enhance Protectowire’s global competitiveness by ensuring the sustainability of its exports, which account for the majority of the company’s revenue.