STAMFORD, CT — First Service Networks, an outgrowth of Sure Air Ltd. here, has closed a $35 million private placement equity financing led by Grotech Capital of Hunt Valley, MD, together with Zero Stage Capital of Cambridge, MA, and AMC Capital Management of King of Prussia, PA.

Sure Air (now First Service Networks) is a 35-year-old company offering maintenance management services to national, multisite organizations.

“Obtaining this significant level of financing — particularly in the current market conditions — is a strong endorsement of our success legacy of the past, our new business model, and our exceptional team,” explains Jim deGraffenreid, ceo and president of First Service Networks.

The contractor is using a new, Internet-enabled communication and data-handling system “to bring new levels of services and efficiency” to customers that include The Bombay Company, General Electric, Williams-Sonoma, and Regis Corp.

“We will use this financing to implement our Web and wireless technology with current customers, and to take this unique model to new markets that are equally in need of our services,” deGraffenreid said.

The “interactive customer relationship management software system” is said to link First Service to its customers and network of more than 30,000 service technicians. “The system enables us to dramatically enhance the way we serve customers for their scheduled maintenance, emergency repairs, and installation services,” said deGraffenreid.

First Service Networks has more than 3,500 service contractors who serve 200-plus customers in 40,000 individual site locations. Services include hvacr, plumbing, power generation, glass, asbestos removal, gates and grilles. The company said it will relocate from Stamford, CT, to Maryland in 2001.