Company: Big Ass Fan Company
Company Description: The Big Ass Fan Company has been the preeminent designer and manufacturer of large diameter, low speed fans since 1999. Our never-ending commitment to quality and innovation keeps us at the leading edge of a burgeoning industry. With an eye to helping our customers, and a strong sense of corporate responsibility to the local community, Big Ass Fans is redefining the way business is done.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Company of the Year - Manufacturing

Nomination Title: Big Ass Fan Company

Tell the story about what this nominated organization achieved since January 1 2011 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

The Big Ass Fan Company has been the preeminent designer and manufacturer of large diameter, low speed fans since 1999. The never-ending commitment to quality and innovation keeps Big Ass Fans at the leading edge of a burgeoning industry. With an eye to helping customers, and a strong sense of corporate responsibility to the local community, Big Ass Fans is redefining the way business is done.

Over the course of the past year Big Ass Fan Company has introduced two (2) new products to its international fan market. In March of 2011 the company introduced its Yellow Jacket fan and in early February of 2012 introduced Haiku, a residential ceiling fan with industrial roots. The introduction of the Yellow Jacket fan into the market was brought mainly by several recognized concerns from the market. The problems stemmed mostly from high speed fans being noisy, heavy, and consuming a great deal of energy while only offering a single speed option. With Yellow Jacket, Big Ass Fans offers a variable speed fan that with six different mounting options and in a half horsepower motor. In addition, the Yellow Jacket fan provides operant cooling without making a lot of noise.

One of the most promising aspects of the new Haiku fan is its sustainability in the production world. Haiku looks different than conventional ceiling fans because it is different. Designed by a team of engineers who recognized an opportunity to create performance art for the ceiling, Haiku’s revolutionary technology hides inside the seamless fit and finish at its center. The sleek look conceals patented electronics and a cool-running inverter motor that delivers an 80 percent improvement in energy efficiency over conventional ceiling fans. Before being confirmed by ENERGY STAR® as the most efficient ceiling fan, Haiku had already won the prestigious international LiveEDGE award acknowledging excellence in electronic design for the global environment and recently won the Red Dot Design Award for product design.

Haiku airfoils are made of Moso bamboo, a sustainable resource with the tensile strength of steel that renews itself every five years. After multiple quality inspections and a seven-pass, solvent-free finish to highlight the natural grain, five thin sheets of bamboo are bonded in a hot forming press, then cut and sanded by hand to create airfoils that meet the strictest quality standards.

Upload a collection of supporting files and web addresses to our server to provide more background information to the judges. You may upload any number of attachments and URLs through the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above. (Do NOT list your URLs below.)

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated organization:

Big Ass Fans’ founder, Carey Smith, embraced not only the early growth of his company, but also the learning experiences that positioned him for future success.

Early on, Smith set out to bring a ceiling fan to market that could create a paradigm shift in the ceiling fan industry. Since the design of the ceiling fan has been practically untouched for more than one hundred years, Smith realized it would take a product with sound engineering and research to support any changes in consumer behavior.
With four consecutive years of growth, Smith views change as a good thing.