Texas’ hot market for fans leads company to breeze into Fort Worth, open manufacturing plant 

Texas’ hot market for fans leads company to breeze into Fort Worth, open manufacturing plant 

Ken Walma, center, CEO of Big Ass Fans, cuts the ribbon on a new manufacturing facility in west Fort Worth on Aug. 28, 2024. (Courtesy image | Big Ass Fans)
” data-image-caption=”” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Big-Ass-Fans_Fort-Worth-Ribbon-Cutting-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Big-Ass-Fans_Fort-Worth-Ribbon-Cutting-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>Texas is hot, so it makes sense that Lexington, Kentucky-based Big Ass Fans, a  producer of high-volume low speed designs, has opened a 210,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Fort Worth at 3001 Northwest Centre Drive on the city’s west side. “Texas is our number one market and home to several of our largest customers — it’s also where many of our valued suppliers are based,” CEO Ken Walma said during opening ceremonies on Aug. 28. Walma said the company is initially hiring about 100 employees for the Fort Worth facility, but expects that number to grow to as many as 400. Big Ass Fans was founded 25 years ago as HVLS Fan Co., largely serving the farming sector. That history also ties into Cowtown,  as the company was founded on research that keeping cows cooler means they will produce more milk. After building a market for dairy barns and then factories, HVLS Fan Co. expanded into other industries based on word-of-mouth. “A lot of our business is still word-of-mouth,” Walma said. “People like our product.” And much of that business has come from Texas, which is the top market for the company’s products. Walma said the company’s mission is to make the world healthier, safer and more productive by providing air temperature comfort in complex environments. “We have fans in warehouses, mines, amphitheaters, ballparks, all these places that we’ve all sweated in and thought, ‘There’s nothing I can do.’ Yeah, you can, and that is to use our Big Ass Fans,” he said.As to the name, it came about when customers would call and ask, “Are you the ones who make those big ass fans?” Big Ass Fans has since become an iconic brand, with industry-leading products, a mascot named Fanny and a customer base known as “raving fans.” The company produces products for schools, churches and other more sensitive environments with the product name less prominently displayed. The company has grown its sales every year, save three, in its 25-year history, Walma said. “This year is going to be a record year,” he said. The company was acquired by Chicago-based industrial holding company Madison Industries in 2021. Walma said the company’s growth is driven by the increase in extreme temperatures. “Labor is becoming more precious, so we help companies make a better environment, so they reduce absenteeism and improve job satisfaction,” he said. “When a company buys our products, you get better productivity.”Fort Worth, Walma notes, is in the center of plenty of warehouses and manufacturing plants — a prime customer base for Big Ass Fans. “With all the activity in reshoring and e-commerce, well, it’s a roomy environment. Those are all good macro factors for us in the Big Ass Fans business,” he said. Are homebuyers playing a waiting game? Pending home sales fell 6.9% during the four weeks ending Aug. 25, the biggest annual decline in nearly a year, according to a new .Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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