DC Velocity - October 2009

inbound

the Gold standard

If you want to test out some really BIG equipment, you’ll need a really big testing center. And that’s exactly what Big Ass Fans has. The company recently opened what could only be described as a big ass R&D center in Lexington, Ky., where it will evaluate industrial fans that range from 6 to 24 feet in diameter.

The 46,000-square- foot research and development lab is an engineer’s dream, with facilities for air-veloci-ty profile testing, fan assembly and component fatigue testing, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) mapping, and the evaluation of new fan prototypes. The testing space itself features 60-foot-high ceilings and can be reconfig-ured to simulate various applications.

It’s also a showplace of green construction. The lab has earned the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. By following the LEED guidelines, Big Ass Fans designed a building that uses 35 percent less energy, uses 58 percent less water, and required 9 percent less building material than a conventional building of its type, the company says.

The company’s own fans played a role in helping the manufacturer achieve the gold certification. They were used to meet LEED requirements for energy usage and performance, ventilation, thermal comfort, and materials utilization.

To take a virtual tour of the
new fan testing facility, go to
www.bigassfans.com/facility-tour/.

C’mon … ’fess up: You mostly go to our Web site to research a topic or because you can’t lay your hands on an article you wanted to share with your boss. If that’s the case, we understand. But we want you to know that there are now more reasons to go to DCVelocity.com than ever before. We’ve been busy developing new features we think you’ll find relevant, interesting, and even entertaining. Here’s a peek at what you’ll find:

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hey, look us over …

PHOTO COUR TESY OF BIG ASS FANS

Wholesaler-distributors who are looking for a few good ideas on managing through the current recession can now find them online. The Council for Research on Distributor Competitiveness (CRDC) has launched a monthly blog called “Managing in an Uncertain Economy.” It appears online at http://nawinstitute.blogspot.com and is also accessible through the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors’ NAW SmartBrief e-newsletter.

Each blog entry—essentially a full-length article with accompanying graphics—focuses on best practices that can make an immediate difference for wholesale distribution firms. The first installment features Dr. Barry Lawrence of Texas A&M University discussing inventory stratification. The second, by Dr. Lawrence and colleague Dr. Malini Natarajarathinam, addresses customer segmentation. The CRDC was created by the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence and the Supply Chain Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M.