{"id":41460,"date":"2026-04-20T15:50:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=41460"},"modified":"2026-04-20T15:50:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:50:46","slug":"north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"North East Fire Protection Systems Plans Succession To Next Generation Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_41461\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41461\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-41461\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth-v-225x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth-v-225x300.png 225w, https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth-v.png 563w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-41461\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stacey J. Fantauzzi will take over leadership of North East Fire Protection Systems Inc.<br \/>Courtesy North East Fire Protection Systems Inc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>By Susan Elise Campbell<\/p>\n<p>Over the next year, the leadership of North East Fire Protection Systems Inc. will transition to Stacey J. Fantauzzi, whose parents started the company in 1978.<\/p>\n<p>Jimmy Fantauzzi has been building the company he founded for nearly 50 years and is ready to hand over the presidency to his eldest daughter. The Ballston Spa-based company designs, fabricates, installs, inspects and maintains sprinkler systems for commercial and light industrial buildings and residential developments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m in no rush to get him out of the company. He\u2019s a great asset,\u201d said Fantauzzi.<\/p>\n<p>In the upcoming year, the elder Fantauzzi will extend his expertise to the next generation of estimators, training them the way he did estimating: drawing by hand. His sketches are then input into a CAD system, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo understand the whole process at that rudimentary level is a gift to the young folks we have in our office,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJimmy is also helping us with those areas of the business that determine where we are moving forward,\u201d she said. \u201cBut at the end of the day, the decisions are mine as to what projects we will take.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fantauzzi said her father \u201cnever clipped my wings or said I couldn\u2019t do something.\u201d There was no expectation that she or her siblings would join the family business.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t remember him telling me \u2018No\u2019 very often. It was, how are you going to do that?\u201d Fantauzzi said. \u201cHe thought it was fabulous that I took my 10-speed bicycle apart and wrote an entire school paper about how it worked. He still likes to learn new things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"><span class=\"\"><b><span class=\"s1\"><span class=\"s2\"><!--more--><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span>Around fourth grade, Fantauzzi thought she might become an interpreter for the U.N. In college, she intended to study geography or become an attorney but earned a degree in business.<\/p>\n<p>As a young person, she enjoyed going to construction sites and learning about fitting pipes and the business. Over the decades, as the economy fluctuated, she also learned from her parents how to weather the storms of small-business ownership.<\/p>\n<p>Her career took her to a Fortune 500 company, the construction industry and another fire protection company. Then, 14 years ago, she joined the NEFPSI team and advanced to vice president. As president overseeing 23 employees, she is making several enhancements.<\/p>\n<p>One is changing the way the company hires.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead of people who have experience in the fire protection trade, I\u2019m looking for problem solvers,\u201d said Fantauzzi. \u201cFind me good, earnest people and we will train them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The American Fire Sprinkler Association has an apprenticeship program that NEFPSI runs out of its office for employees, with Fantauzzi as instructor. The company also has AFSA\u2019s support for those pursuing different tracks such as sprinkler system design or inspection, testing and maintenance through the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies.<\/p>\n<p>Fantauzzi\u2019s relationship with AFSA gives her a network of expertise to share ideas and experiences, she said. She sits on its board and continues a 40-year association with the trade organization.<\/p>\n<p>Another enhancement is a new financial relationship with Pioneer Bank.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsually a business has to approach the bank, but in this case they sought me out,\u201d said Fantauzzi.<\/p>\n<p>Both enterprises have interest in local mixed-use development and light industrial manufacturing, a construction boom Fantauzzi believes is good for the community and will help her company stay competitive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJen and Kathy said, \u2018we like construction, we like you, and we want to see what our team can do for you,\u2019\u201d Fantuzzi said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe people at Pioneer have a great pulse on the local economy and they have tools to make us a better business,\u201d said Fantauzzi. \u201cThey helped us buy two new vehicles in one day and even found a program that helped reduce the interest rate on our loan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not every fire protection company fabricates its own systems, often outsourcing that responsibility to reduce overhead. NEFPSI makes all systems in-house, which, according to Fantauzzi, benefits the company and clients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have nobody to blame but ourselves if there is poor quality, but you don\u2019t get the next job unless you perform well on this one,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen we test our installations, we don\u2019t get leaks because we know what we\u2019ve made from the raw material.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe people in the fabrication shop are part of our team,\u201d said Fantauzzi. \u201cI don\u2019t have to wait in line to get my job done. If there is a schedule change, I can slow down one job and pull in another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most valuable business experience I\u2019ve gotten is sitting in with our controller and our banker and approaching cash flow and management in a far easier way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>North East Fire Protection Systems Inc. \u201cpassionately supports\u201d Ronald McDonald House in Albany, BOCES and the Malta Veterans Association, which Jimmy Fantauzzi helped found to provide housing for veterans in the Malta area, she said.<\/p>\n<p>Visit NEFPSI.com for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Susan Elise Campbell Over the next year, the leadership of North East Fire Protection Systems Inc. will transition to Stacey J. Fantauzzi, whose parents started the company in 1978. Jimmy Fantauzzi has been building the company he founded for nearly 50 years and is ready to hand over the presidency to his eldest daughter. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":41462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>North East Fire Protection Systems Plans Succession To Next Generation Leadership - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"North East Fire Protection Systems Plans Succession To Next Generation Leadership - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan Elise Campbell Over the next year, the leadership of North East Fire Protection Systems Inc. will transition to Stacey J. Fantauzzi, whose parents started the company in 1978. Jimmy Fantauzzi has been building the company he founded for nearly 50 years and is ready to hand over the presidency to his eldest daughter. [&hellip;]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-20T19:50:46+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth_fi.png\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/\",\"name\":\"North East Fire Protection Systems Plans Succession To Next Generation Leadership - Saratoga Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth_fi.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-20T19:50:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth_fi.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth_fi.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"North East Fire Protection Systems Plans Succession To Next Generation Leadership\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Saratoga Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\",\"name\":\"Jake Van Ness\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jake Van Ness\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"North East Fire Protection Systems Plans Succession To Next Generation Leadership - Saratoga Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"North East Fire Protection Systems Plans Succession To Next Generation Leadership - Saratoga Business Journal","og_description":"By Susan Elise Campbell Over the next year, the leadership of North East Fire Protection Systems Inc. will transition to Stacey J. Fantauzzi, whose parents started the company in 1978. Jimmy Fantauzzi has been building the company he founded for nearly 50 years and is ready to hand over the presidency to his eldest daughter. [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/","og_site_name":"Saratoga Business Journal","article_published_time":"2026-04-20T19:50:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth_fi.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jake Van Ness","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jake Van Ness","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/","name":"North East Fire Protection Systems Plans Succession To Next Generation Leadership - Saratoga Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth_fi.png","datePublished":"2026-04-20T19:50:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth_fi.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/04\/staceynorth_fi.png","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/04\/north-east-fire-protection-systems-plans-succession-to-next-generation-leadership\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"North East Fire Protection Systems Plans Succession To Next Generation Leadership"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/","name":"Saratoga Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86","name":"Jake Van Ness","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jake Van Ness"},"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41463,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41460\/revisions\/41463"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}