What Air Control Industries does

Air Control Industries (ACI) is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of industrial air movement products, founded in 1969 and headquartered in Axminster, with a wholly-owned US subsidiary in Windsor, Maine. The company's portfolio spans centrifugal fans (forward curved, backward curved, and radial bladed), axial fans, multi-stage blowers, side channel blowers and exhausters, ATEX/IECEx/UKEX-certified explosion-proof fans, air knife drying systems, and the JetBlack Safety range of personnel cleaning booths. ACI also holds UK and Ireland distribution rights for Euroventilatori, ebm-papst, and italBlowers, giving it a catalogue of 550+ centrifugal fan configurations with flow rates from 600 m³/hr to 212,000 m³/hr and pressures up to 300 mBar.

The business operates a hybrid go-to-market combining direct field sales to OEMs and multinational enterprises with a global distributor and agent network covering more than 40 countries, supported by an online Fan Selector tool for self-service sizing and quote-based pricing on standard and engineered-to-order units. Revenue is generated primarily through hardware sales, complemented by custom fan design services and the resale of distributed partner brands. The company is structured as a private limited company in England and Wales (No. 959711) and is an employee-owned business under the Employee Owned Association, with no parent company, venture capital, or institutional investor ownership disclosed. Certifications include ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, CE, UKCA, and ATEX/IECEx/UKEX hazardous-area ratings, with in-house test facilities conforming to BS EN ISO 5801:2017.

ACI serves a diverse industrial customer base across aerospace (Airbus), beverage processing (Coca-Cola, Britvic, Heineken, AB InBev, Fosters), pharmaceuticals (GlaxoSmithKline), automotive (Jaguar, Dana), energy and process industries (ThyssenKrupp), construction materials (Marshalls), agriculture (SUMO), marine (Global Marine Group), and government healthcare (NHS Supply Chain). Vertical focus areas include agriculture and food processing, general industrial manufacturing, hazardous environments (oil, gas, petrochemical), OEMs, packaging lines, pharmaceutical/laboratory environments, and energy/environmental applications. In 2026 the company launched its first Engineering Graduate Programme to address sector skills constraints.

Name

Air Control Industries

Legal name

Air Control Industries Ltd

Website

https://aircontrolindustries.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Air Control Industries designs and manufactures industrial centrifugal fans, axial fans, side channel blowers, and ATEX/IECEx-certified explosion-proof equipment for OEM and industrial customers in sectors including aerospace, beverage, pharma, and petrochemical, distributing to 40+ countries from its Axminster, UK headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Fans and Blowers

NAICS

Industrial and Commercial Fan and Blower and Air Purification Equipment Manufacturing (333413)

SIC

Industrial & Commercial Fans & Blowers & Air Purifing Equip (3564)

akta.pro primary industry

Fans, Blowers & Ventilation Units (Supply/Exhaust/Inline) (IMADANAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Ventilation, Ducting & Air Distribution Equipment (IMAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Industrial centrifugal fans
• Axial flow fans
• Side channel blowers
• Explosion-proof fans
• Air knife systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Axminster

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Industrial Fan Sales: Sales of standard and custom centrifugal fans, axial fans, and blowers for industrial applications. Includes various configurations (direct drive, belt-driven) and materials (aluminium, stainless steel, mild steel).
2. Air Knife Systems: Sales of complete air knife systems for drying, cooling, and cleaning applications including drying systems, turnkey solutions, and custom system design.
3. JetBlack Safety Products: Personnel cleaning booths and stations providing safer alternatives to compressed air for de-dusting and clean down operations.
4. Spares & Accessories: Replacement parts, filters, belts, and accessories for all fan and blower product lines. Includes filters, additional silencers, pressure gauges, hoses, manifolds, safety valves.
5. Custom Engineering Services: Design, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing services for custom fan solutions. Includes in-house laboratory testing and witness testing services.
6. Distribution of Partner Brands: Revenue from distribution of third-party brands including Euroventilatori, ebm-papst, and italBlowers products in UK & Ireland markets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Air Control Industries designs, manufactures, and supplies industrial air movement products, with a portfolio of over 550 centrifugal fans plus axial fans, side channel blowers, multi-stage blowers, and air knife systems. The company specializes in ATEX/IECEx/UKEX-certified explosion-proof equipment for hazardous areas and offers custom fan design, OEM white-label manufacturing, and in-house performance testing to BS EN ISO 5801:2017. It also distributes third-party brands (Euroventilatori, ebm-papst, italBlowers) into the UK and Ireland markets.

Product overview

Air Control Industries (ACI) is a manufacturer of industrial air movement products with over 50 years of experience. The product portfolio centers on centrifugal fans (small/medium HF, VBL, VBM, VBW, VB Slimline, MR, QB EC, EP10A series) and large centrifugal fans (EV AP/APE, APF, EU/EUM, MPR, BPR series), complemented by multi-stage blowers (MS8, MS11/080, MS11/168, MSX, 5MS11F), side channel blowers, and axial fans. Specialized offerings include ATEX/IECEx/UKEX explosion-proof fans and custom fan design services. ACI also distributes Euroventilatori, ebm-papst, and italBlowers branded products, and offers air knife systems through its JetBlack Safety subsidiary. The portfolio is supported by a fan selector tool, in-house testing services, and spares/accessories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JetBlack Safety: A product range offering blower-driven personnel cleaning booths and stations as a safer, more cost-effective alternative to compressed air for de-dusting and clean-down operations.

Products and services

• Centrifugal Fans Forward curved, backward curved, and radial bladed industrial centrifugal fans in small, medium, large, and multi-stage configurations with flow rates up to 212,000 m³/hr and pressures up to 300 mBar. Available in 1 and 3Ph, DC, 400Hz, and ATEX/IECEx rated versions. Designed for general industrial ventilation, OEM integration, and process air applications.
• Axial Fans Direct drive and belt-driven axial flow fans for low pressure, high flow rate applications in general industrial ventilation and process cooling.
• Side Channel Blowers Single and double stage regenerative/side channel blowers and compressors for pulsation-free vacuum and pressure applications, available in 50Hz and 60Hz versions for industrial OEM integration.
• ATEX/IECEx/UKEX Explosion-Proof Fans Explosion-proof centrifugal fans, axial fans, and side channel blowers manufactured to ATEX Directive and IECEx standards, covering categories 2G (Zone 1-gas), 2D (Zone 21-dust), 3G (Zone 2-gas), and 3D (Zone 22-Dust). Flow rates up to 200,000 m³/hr and pressures up to 150 mBar. Designed for hazardous area operators in oil & gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and chemical processing.
• Air Knife Systems Complete air knife systems for process drying, cooling, and cleaning of conveyed products, including drying systems, air delivery systems, turnkey solutions, and system components. Targets food & beverage, packaging, and industrial processors replacing compressed air drying with up to 90% energy savings.
• JetBlack Safety Personnel Cleaning Systems Blower-driven air cleaning booths and stations for personnel de-dusting and clean-down operations. Provides a safer alternative to compressed air for removing dust, fibres, and water in industrial workplaces, enabling 20-30 second clean-down cycles.
• OEM Fan Supply Service Custom fan engineering and manufacturing service for original equipment manufacturers, providing design expertise, fan sizing, and white-label solutions with IP ownership. Targets multinational OEMs across aerospace, automotive, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.
• Custom Fan Design Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 90% energy reduction compared to compressed air systems
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EuroventilatoricoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAir Control Industries is the UK distributor for the Euroventilatori range of low to high pressure radial and axial fans. Euroventilatori, established in 1981, is one of the leading designers, manufacturers and distributors of industrial fans in Europe, trading in more than 15 countries. The partnership extends ACI's product portfolio with airflows from 120 to 270,000 m³/h and pressures from 5 to 5,000 kgf/m².
• ebm-papstcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorACI is a well-established UK distributor for ebm-papst, having worked in partnership for over 20 years. The partnership provides customers with expert technical knowledge in the Industrial Engineering sector, offering centrifugal fans, axial fans, compact fans, tangential fans, gas blowers, and hot-air blowers with GreenIntelligence EC technology.
• italBlowerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAir Control Industries is the official UK & Ireland distributor for the italBlowers range of side channel blowers and exhausters. The products are used where pulsation-free air for vacuum and pressure applications is required, available in ATEX 2G/3G versions with compressors delivering pressure up to 650 hPa(g) and exhausters achieving -450 hPa(g).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cincinnati Fan: Manufacturer of industrial fans, blowers and air handling systems for OEM, process and material-handling applications — directly comparable centrifugal and axial fan range with custom engineering capability.
• Howden: Global manufacturer of industrial fans, blowers, compressors and heat exchangers serving cement, mining, power, oil & gas, and process industries — directly comparable to ACI in centrifugal/axial fans and hazardous-area product scope.
• FläktGroup: European-headquartered supplier of fans, air handling units and HVAC solutions for industrial and commercial buildings. Overlaps with ACI in industrial centrifugal/axial fans, ATEX-rated equipment, and custom engineering for OEMs.
• Greenheck: US-headquartered manufacturer of fans, blowers, dampers, louvers and air-handling equipment for commercial and industrial applications — directly comparable catalog and custom centrifugal/axial fan offering, including hazardous-area and OEM variants.
• Euroventilatori: Italian designer/manufacturer of industrial radial and axial fans with airflows up to 270,000 m³/h — overlaps with ACI's centrifugal/axial catalog and is distributed by ACI in the UK & Ireland.
• Robuschi (Gardner Denver): Italian manufacturer of side channel blowers, centrifugal fans and industrial vacuum/pressure equipment; closely comparable to ACI's side channel blower line and Italian distribution adjacency via the italBlowers partnership.
• Loren Cook Company: US manufacturer of centrifugal fans, axial fans, blowers, laboratory/exhaust fans and related air movement products; comparable catalog breadth, custom engineering services and industrial OEM focus.

Broad incumbents

• CECO Environmental: Provider of air quality and fluid handling solutions including industrial fans, blowers and filtration, serving process, energy and environmental markets — comparable industrial fan + engineered-systems footprint to ACI.
• Atlas Copco (Industrial Air division): Global industrial air solutions provider covering compressors, blowers, vacuum and on-site air treatment; side channel blowers and oil-free blowers overlap with ACI's side channel and energy-efficiency positioning.
• ebm-papst: World-leading manufacturer of efficient EC motors, centrifugal fans, axial fans and compact fans. ACI distributes ebm-papst in the UK but the principals compete in many of ACI's core industrial segments globally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aircontrol1969
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/aircontrol01/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/aircontrolindustries
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/air-control-industries-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/aircontrolindustries

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Air Control Industries