History of Personnel Safety Enterprises

Personnel Safety Enterprises (PSE) was founded in 1972 in response to the OSHA regulations that were passed in 1971.  These regulations required that every employer was required to “do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect life and safety of employees.”  (http://www.turnbow.net/osha.htm)

The company was founded by Robert Jacobs, his stepfather Jake Harris, and his mother Evelyn Harris.  At the time the company was founded, Robert was newly graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in marketing, but had no clear vision on the direction of his future.  His stepfather, Jake Harris, had an insight into the new regulations that were being passed in workplaces across America.  A new regulatory agency, OSHA, had been formed and was requiring all employers to provide environments that were safe for their workforces.  Jake saw this as a business opportunity because prior to this time safety equipment was not required at job sites.  He knew that with the advent of these new regulations companies would need a place to purchase safety equipment in order to be in compliance with the government’s OSHA standards.

The family banded together and decided to develop a company that could be a one-stop shop for companies in the Northern Arizona region to purchase safety equipment.  They made it their personal mission to be the OSHA “experts” and provide businesses with not only safety products, but a door-to-door service and vendor/customer relationships that couldn’t be purchased elsewhere.  In an attempt to expand their product offerings, PSE also became a Zee Distributor in 1972.  PSE was a front runner in this field in the Northern Arizona region and had found a niche that would make the business prosper.

PSE has now grown to serve all of Northern Arizona, parts of New Mexico and Colorado.  The company has grown to encompass two different divisions, a safety and a fire division.  The workforce has grown to over 30 employees and over 300 different product lines are represented.  The company was founded on the principles of family, hard work, communication, relationships, and trust and these principles continue to be the lifeline of the business today.

Personnel Safety Enterprises Timeline

• 1972 – PSE became a Zee distributor.
• 1973 – PSE landed their largest customer to date, Peabody Coal Company.
• 1975 – PSE hired its’ first employee.
• 1976 – Robert Jacobs partners with John Robinson.  
• 1980 – The first sales manager was hired.
• 1984 – PSE became an Ansul Fire distributor.
• 1990 – Robert Jacobs bought out his partner and became the sole owner of PSE.
• 1997 – PSE celebrates its’ 25th year anniversary.
• 2002 – PSE is awarded Zee Distributor of the Year.
• 2004 – Construction of the new building is completed; separating the fire and safety division.