Precision in Motion – Inside American Fan’s Mission to Support the U.S. Navy Fleet

In Fairfield, Ohio, a 75,000-sq. ft. facility hums with energy and precision, not only from the fans it produces, but from the people who make them. American Fan, now a key part of Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), has carved out a specialized, high-reliability niche supporting the U.S. Navy with critical ventilation and exhaust equipment across nearly every class of vessel in the fleet.

Paul Brown, Vice President and General Manager, together with Finance Director Greg Lewis and longtime Manufacturing Manager Sam Bellamy, offered an inside look into the company’s operation, evolution, and relentless focus on quality, precision, and data-driven improvement.

Serving the Fleet

American Fan has historically served a range of marine and industrial markets, but today a driving focus is its U.S. Navy and government customers. Roughly 60% of the company’s annual output is new original equipment (OE), with the remaining 40% in aftermarket service and repair — a deliberate balance, according to Lewis. “We’re in it for the long haul. When we get our equipment on a ship, we want to support that vessel through its entire lifecycle; not just at delivery, but for decades.”

That commitment extends beyond supplying fans, it includes rigorous documentation, engineering support, and a robust repair and testing program. “Some of our units are life-critical,” Bellamy explained. “There’s no margin for error.”

Tight Tolerances, Trusted Teams

American Fan’s products are deceptively complex. Though the raw materials — steel, aluminum and copper — are familiar, the final assemblies are tightly engineered systems that must perform to exacting standards. Tolerances are often measured in thousandths of an inch. Tip clearance, for example, is tight enough that “a dollar bill wouldn’t pass through if it's right,” Bellamy noted. “It has to be welded perfect; it has to be fabricated perfect; it has to be assembled perfect.”

The company maintains four Certified Welding Inspectors (CWIs) on-site and all 14 welders on staff are qualified for U.S. Navy work. One in every 12 fans is rigorously tested in an on-site performance lab to ensure compliance with volume, pressure, vibration, and acoustic targets.

Bellamy adds, “Every weld, every joint, every bend must be flawless. It’s the only way to hit the performance specs our customers depend on — especially in life-safety or mission-critical applications.”

“So it really comes down to taking, what at a high level is very basic processes – we bend metal, we cut metal, we weld metal – [and delivering] the tight tolerances, the testing and quality control. In the end, that is what differentiates our fans from others,” Brown summarized.

Building on Data and Discipline

While the fabrication process may look conventional at a glance — cutting, forming, welding — the culture driving it is anything but. American Fan has adopted a robust Lean Daily Management system with layered accountability and KPI tracking across every department. Leaders meet daily and weekly to review metrics and deploy countermeasures when targets fall short.

“I want the right data in the right hands at the right time to make the right decisions,” Brown said. “It helps align the team, drive accountability, and improve continuously.”

“Generally, data doesn't lie, it points you in the right direction,” said Brown, ensuring that the entire team is “rowing in the same direction,” allowing more efficient decision making and manufacturing.

Data even informs capital investment. “Managing our tooling, which is across many foundries is a challenge,” said Brown. “It's hard to justify six-figure investments for products that I might only run single digit numbers over a course of years,” Lewis adds. With low-volume tooling needs, American Fan is exploring 3D printing as a way to replace costly patterns and molds, a strategic advantage for small-run, high-value Navy components.

The Talent Pipeline

With skilled welders and assemblers in high demand nationwide, American Fan is making deliberate moves to strengthen its local pipeline. The company has a close partnership with nearby Butler Tech, a local vocational school whose welding instructors are former employees. A co-op program for high school and adult students is being expanded, allowing students to get hands-on experience under the mentorship of qualified Navy-certified welders.

“It’s not just about hiring a welder,” Brown emphasized. “We’re building pride, community, and long-term careers. We want every employee to know how what they do supports national defense.”

American Fan also partners with a Navy Talent Pipeline initiative — aimed at improving recruitment, onboarding, and retention. From welcome programs and onboarding buddies to long-term training plans, the company has revamped its front-end HR processes to reduce early turnover and foster engagement from day one.

While welders are an important part of the process, finding quality talent throughout the manufacture process is essential. “We need good people to fabricate, we need good people to assemble. We need good people in the front offices, which goes back to what we talked about; investing in our facility, giving the people the tools they need, train them up, develop them, make them proud of where they're working,” said Brown.

Forecasting Demand, Managing Supply

Looking ahead, American Fan’s leadership is cautiously optimistic about Navy demand — but also realistic about the challenges ahead. “There’s strong momentum behind fleet growth, but it requires the funding and capacity to match,” Brown said.

The company holds “a very healthy backlog” and is agile enough to shift its production focus between ship classes as needed — DDGs, FFGs, LPDs, and aircraft carriers, amongst every vessel type across the fleet.

“Sam and I meet twice a week on forecasting,” Brown said. “We ask: Do we have the people? The supply chain? The capacity? Our job is to make sure the answer is yes — before the order hits.”