We’ve been making a push into “small fan” territory the last few years. There is no official line in the sand about when a fan is small, medium, or large, but in general AirPro has been defined by the broader market as a medium fan manufacturer. We’ve defined the categorization as follows for industrial centrifugal fans and blowers:
1-50 HP – Small Fans
50-500 HP – Medium Fans
500 HP+ – Large Fans
So why build small stuff?
There are lots of potential strategic reasons to do or not do this, but the biggest reasons we’re doing it are that it is a fun challenge, and it helps provide volume and activity, which are the lifeblood of a productive and growing manufacturing company. This market has a lot of healthy competition and some aggressive price points from worthy competitors who have been at the manufacturing game for a long time. The “small fan” market is also generally comprised of lower frills orders, less specifications, a faster pace, and a feeling of commoditization.
One of our biggest challenges has been that no matter what we design and build, we leave a piece of us with the product.
It’s like the cheesy response you get in interviews when you ask a prospect what their biggest weakness is and they say “Sometimes I just care too much”. We’ve challenged ourselves with the question “how can we make something small and quick and profitable, still build it to last, but not build it way more solid than what the market demands?” The short answer has been, we can’t. We overbuild stuff. It’s just what we do. We’ve been doing it since I started here 16 years ago and worked in design where I learned all the conservative rating, sales, and design rules and principles that still guide our business methodology today.
When you buy a certain amount of air from us, we are bound and determined here to give you at least that amount of air for a long, long, time.
So, the challenge has morphed into “how can we overbuild it and still make money?” Or, “can we get the smaller fan buying market excited to pay a little more for our overbuilt machines?” These are the sorts of challenges I love. It takes me back to my college football days where the nerds from Michigan Technological University tried to strategize and game plan how to beat often bigger, faster, stronger opponents using superior game planning and execution. Sometimes we won, sometimes we lost, but the competition was the real fun.
So what do you get when you buy small fans from AirPro?
You get craftsmanship, and an intelligently designed and built machine that flows through the same business lanes as a super custom alloy, low leakage, high spec machine. The professionals quoting, designing, fabricating, painting, assembling, and balancing the machines are all the same. Same thinkers from start to finish. It’s like you’re getting a Honda Accord off of a Porsche 911 factory line. You get our best, no matter what you buy. We simply enjoy the challenge of making a great machine that is built to last. The size, features, and dollar amounts aren’t terribly relevant to our producers.
You also get quick response information and servicing from our sales, service, and order handling groups, so if you have any needs before, during, or after the buying process, we’re here to help.
