Big Ass Fans

Great story about a small company making big fans.

Forbes’ Karsten Strauss writes:

Within a year of launching the HVLS Fan Co. back in 1999, Carey Smith began the process of changing the company’s name to Big Ass Fans . Why? Because that’s what his customers were calling it. “We would answer the phone and say, ‘This is the HVLS Fan Company,’ ” remembers Smith, smiling behind his neatly trimmed beard. “ They would inevitably pause and say, ‘Are you those guys that make the big-ass fans?’ ”

They do indeed make big-ass fans – their largest is 24 feet in diameter and starts at $4,850 – and today those fans hang from the ceilings of stores like Target and Whole Foods, and factories run by Boeing, Coke and Amazon. “
Throughout your day,” says Smith, 62, whose business cards proclaim him “Chief Big Ass,” “most of the things you touch have been either manufactured or boxed for distribution under our fans.”

But the industrial and commercial cooling-fan industry isn’t the gold mine you might expect. Last year Big Ass, privately held and based in Lexington, Ky., took in $165 million in revenue, up 35% over 2013, and its gross profits were an estimated $74 million–not a huge number for a company that thoroughly dominates its market.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.