S.C. company manufactures ‘green’ fan

Thursday, 09 August 2007

By Kristen Poland BLYTHEWOOD -- When “going green” became a popular business trend, Vance Patterson smiled to himself, knowing he was ahead of the game. Patterson’s company, Patterson Fans, was in the process of developing an energy efficient product that would fit right in with the movement toward more eco-conscious business practices. Patterson Fans recently introduced its green hybrid fans, which are 16% to 20% more energy efficient than their predecessors that, according to Patterson, already used less energy than competitors’ fans. Research on the new fan began about two years ago because of customer requests for a quieter fan, and also because a competitor introduced a fan similar to Patterson’s trademark blue fan but began selling it at a cheaper price. Rather than lower his prices, Patterson decided to rev up his product. “As a company, we promote the value of using fans efficiently to enhance air movement and ventilation in manufacturing and distribution facilities. Our products help customers achieve their goals by moving columns of air, at high velocity, over long distances,” Patterson said. “The hybrid design has been two years in process and we are pleased with how the performance fits into our philosophy.” The hybrid was developed by adding a “gill” to the hull of the company’s traditional fan in order to allow better air flow and also reduce noise by two to six decibels. The resulting hybrid retained the look of the traditional Patterson fan, as well as offering a more efficient, high-performance product. The green fan is currently available in the 10-, 18- and 22-inch models. Eventually, Patterson hopes to convert his entire product line to hybrids. Patterson is still waiting on approval for an American patent, though his patent request idea has been approved overseas. Patterson is also in talks with Wal-Mart about converting the mega-retailer’s fans to green hybrids. “We’ve always had a good relationship with Wal-Mart, they have thousands of our fans already,” Patterson said. “We never expected anyone to stop using their old fans, but Wal-Mart wants a program through which they can trade in the ones they have in stock for new hybrid fans. It fits in with the sustainability program they’re working on.” Patterson Fans, based out of Blythewod, has been manufacturing and direct selling industrial high velocity fans, ventilation fans and portable evaporative coolers since 1989.