91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ has come a long way since 1947 when it began business as a tiny sheet metal shop in Schofield, Wisconsin. Founders Bob and Bernie 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ promoted a business philosophy based on two main concepts — continuous improvement and the determination to be the easiest company to do business with. That approach drove the company's growth to become a global leader in the air movement, control, and conditioning industry. Bob and Bernie’s philosophy is captured in our motto “building value in air”… it’s our commitment to our customers and it remains the fundamental driving force behind our company’s mission and success.
Today, 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ fans, energy recovery ventilators, packaged ventilation, make-up air units, dampers, louvers, kitchen ventilation systems, laboratory exhaust systems, and rooftop units are shipped worldwide. You will find our flagship ventilation products behind walls, in ductwork, and on the roofs of hospitals, office buildings, hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, schools, industrial plants, warehouses, data centers and other commercial buildings. The function of each is to move air in, out and around a building — making life inside a lot more pleasant.
Vision, Purpose & Values
Our Vision
To be one of the most revered companies in the worldwide HVAC and food service market space, respected for outstanding product quality, market-leading innovation, superb customer service and insight, and a results-oriented, entrepreneurial culture.
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Our Purpose
To operate profitable business focused on delivering the most effective and efficient products, services, and systems to ensure air quality and comfort in the world's buildings.
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Our Values
Easy to do business with
Ongoing investments in people and operations
Making a difference in the community
Mutually beneficial partnerships with sales partners and suppliers
Integrity and professionalism
Continuous improvement through learning, innovation, and teamwork
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Investing in Ourselves
91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ's continued success is due to ongoing investments in our operations and employees. Major investment in expansion and new facilities allow us to serve customers better. Manufacturing space has steadily increased, adding thousands of square feet of capacity in Schofield, other U.S. locations and in other countries. This growth is in response to ever-increasing demand for products that move air in, out, and through buildings. 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ also makes significant investments to attract, develop and retain employees. Leadership and career development, training opportunities, special events and wellness programs are reasons 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ employees rank among the best.
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Leading in Innovation
There is a reason 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ is an industry leader. It’s because of our commitment to provide solutions to new industry challenges. Making ventilation and related equipment more energy-efficient, quieter, easier to install and maintain, and capable of the highest performance standards makes 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ the manufacturer others look to for the latest advances and ideas.
Robert C. 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ Innovation Center
91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ’s own development and testing facilities at its U.S. headquarters are acknowledged as the industry’s best. Here, new designs are explored, placed through comprehensive and demanding evaluation procedures and rated for specific performance
requirements.
Our dedication and commitment to creating and building innovative solutions is constant and evolving. The Robert C. 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ Innovation Center, a 72,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art research and testing facility, uses sound, airflow measurement, and
psychrometric labs; product prototyping, and dedicated space to develop and fine-tune manufacturing processes. It also includes office space to support our technical employee growth and foster an environment for collaboration and innovation.
Manufacturing Leadership
91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ continually looks for ways to improve and innovate throughout the company. Improving operational efficiencies has been a critical factor to our success. It is driven by a corporate strategy to achieve Operational Excellence.
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Year-over-year productivity improvement has enabled 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ to offset the impact of increasing costs and still provide competitively priced products toÌýour customers. This in turn has allowed the business to grow and to capture increased market share.
Great strides have been made toward our Vision of Operational Excellence through:
Sustaining our continuous improvement initiative, the 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ Performance System (GPS).
Investing capital aggressively back into the business providing state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and tooling.
Partnering with suppliers to optimize value throughout the entire supply chain.
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Through these strategies, 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ is blending best manufacturing practices to create flexible, low-cost processes that provide unmatched value to our customers. 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ's Vision of Operational Excellence consists of a well-trained workforce, easily visualized systems and cost-effective equipment focused on value-added operations.
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Value Engineering - Assuring Suppliers’ Processes Deliver Maximum Value
Reducing cost is important. 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ constantly searches for savings through internal and external value engineering, or securing cost reductions. We partner with our suppliers to ensure components purchased and installed in their products deliver optimal value for our customers.
We have applied many significant process improvements over the past few years. At 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ, continuous improvement is a journey, not a destination.
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91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ Performance System - A Continuous Improvement Initiative
The 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ Performance System (GPS) initiative educates employees and implements the proven methodologies of Design for Excellence, Maintenance Excellence, and Lean Manufacturing throughout the organization. Each of these methodologies directly correlates to the manufacturing processes employed.
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For example, through Design for Excellence Strategies, 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ challenges itself to deliver maximum value to customers through our product designs. This product design strategy uses cross-functional teams to exploit manufacturing processes and creativity. Our Maintenance Excellence Strategy strives for optimal equipment repeatability and availability. The equipment employed must be dependable and capable, especially as inventories are reduced and move closer to just-in-time production with single-piece flow. Through Lean Strategies, we focus on maximizing the value in each value stream eliminating waste and non-value added activities.
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Bernard A. 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ Education Center
The Bernard A. 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ Education Center features 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ air movement, conditioning and control products. This facility on the Schofield campus offers a tremendous learning experience for visiting
Mechanical engineers
Contractors
Architects
Manufacturer’s reps
The center offers visitors information on product features and applications. Learning is heightened with the use of simulated and virtual installations along with working product displays. There are several meeting rooms and a main presentation room complete with full multimedia capabilities. It is an ideal training site for thousands each year.
Delivery is the Key
Many of 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ's customers rely on next-day delivery. That's not a problem, thanks to the company's hugely successful Quick Delivery program. 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ stocks thousands of its most commonly requested ventilation products at five major U.S. distribution centers located in Schofield, WI; Dallas, TX; Sacramento, CA; Miami, FL; and Greensboro, NC. Orders received in the U.S. before 1:00 pm Central Time are shipped the same day. 91¹ú²ú͵ÅÄ that are not in stock can be built to customer specifications in 1-day, 3-day, 5-day, 10-day, 15-day and 25-day cycles.
