• Floratech • Cleanroom Systems • Guardian • OEM and Custom Products

Winter 2009

Air Innovations Father and son entrepreneurs President and CEO Mike Wetzel (left) create wine cellar cooling system and Larry Wetzel, chairman, are he founders of Air Innovations, father-and-son licensed personally involved T professional engineers Larry and Michael Wetzel, have in preserving their spent most of their careers designing and manufacturing customers' valuable niche market and refrigeration equipment. wine investments They are also both passionate about collecting fine . It became only a matter of time before they applied their expertise in both subjects to a better wine cellar cooling system. The result is Wine Guardian®, a commercial-grade unit sold in North America and Europe, first introduced by the company in 1998. The Wetzel family’s first wine cellar was hand-dug by Larry and a teenaged Mike under their 1820’s farmhouse , utilizing the natural coolness and purchase, the Wetzels determined they could build a better from the earth and stone surrounding it. From that date product, and soon Wine Guardian was born. forward, wine cellars became an essential part of their Larry, an active member of the international burgundy future residences. wine organization, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, The first attempt at providing artificial cooling came has a WG-controlled 900-bottle cellar in his Cazenovia, New about in Larry’s 1989 renovation and involved using York and another 200-bottle cellar in his second home a home air conditioner—still the basic framework for many on Nantucket. Mike, who lived in Strasbourg, France for sev- wine cooling units today. It soon became apparent that the eral years and is particularly knowledgeable about the wines unit couldn’t adequately keep the recommended 55 degrees of the Alsace, recently installed a 600-bottle Wine Guardian nor could it provide a level of humidity. It was also cum- controlled cellar in his home on Skaneateles Lake, one of the bersome and noisy. After studying what was available for wine-producing Finger Lakes in Central New York. 

Innovations’ capabilities range from concept development to prototyping and testing, from made-in-the USA manufactur- ing to regulatory submissions and international distribution. Air Innovations is a preferred small business provider to U.S. Department of Defense prime contractors. As such, the company undergoes rigorous supplier certification proce- dures. Several key Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM) customers, which are exclusive sole-sourced contracts, also have conducted on-site evaluations of AI’s quality, produc- tion and financial capabilities and have certified the company for long-term (e.g., 10+ years) support of their needs in these areas. We are also proud of our repeat customers in the floral Air Innovations: The big picture supermarket and wine cellar cooling industries, and for their referrals, which we consider the best example of the confi- Here is a brief overview on AI to better acquaint recently dence they place in our technical capabilities and value-add- subscribed newsletter readers: Air Innovations designs and ed partnership. manufactures specialized air conditioning systems and envi- In-house, our company measures customer satisfaction in ronmental control equipment for a variety of industries that key business areas such as on-time delivery and quality and are installed worldwide. The company, established in 1986, we have instituted a method for tracking vendors’ work and is known for its expertise in applications that require precise issue scorecards on their quality. Throughout the company, control of temperature, humidity, pressure and filtration. Air continues on back page Floratech around the world Update on HEPAiRx product A Floratech® Low Profile development was recently installed by the Swiss floral HEPAiRx® air purification and ventilation units continue to company Blume 3000 be tested in a variety of envi- in the Flughafen Kloten ronments, including: Shopping Center located • Stennis Space Center in in the Zurich Airport. Mississippi where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Other recent installations National Aeronautics and Space Administration are conducting include supermarkets in sampling in mobile used to shelter citizens displaced Ecuador and Russia. by natural disasters (installation shown above) • A pathology laboratory at a major medical university Here in North America, Floratech provides • Syracuse’s Near Westside neighborhood, in conjunction with a variety of Always Open® floral coolers to major a Center of Excellence community redevelopment program supermarket chains, including Low Profiles in Results of these testing programs will be released later in 2009. island configurations, EuroVues and of Colors In December, results of Clarkson University’s HEPAiRx testing in for in-line or wrap-around layouts, and point-of- the homes of 30 asthmatic children were presented to the U.S. purchase Checkstands. Environmental Protection Agency and Syracuse Center of Excel- lence’s Scientific Advisory Council. Technical papers summarizing FloratechEurope customer support team expands: the findings are being prepared for peer review. Highlights-to-date Henrik Bloch Hansen is a new sales assistant can be found at www.airinnovations.com/hepairx. HEPAiRx is a working in FloratechEurope’s Copenhagen office. registered trademark of Air Innovations and patent pending.  Henrik previously worked for a floral distributor in Denmark and speaks Danish, German and English. AI expands OEM aerospace portfolio An explosion-proof environ- mental control unit required Air Innovations in the community to operate in a corrosive The majority of Air Innovations’ products are destined to go atmosphere and provide low to markets outside of its regional headquarters. Nevertheless, humidity is being built by Air the company maintains a strong sense of commitment to Innovations. The ECU, ap- Central New York. In addition to the many personal volun- proximately the size of a Smart teer activities of its employees, the company has a Charitable Car, is designed to control the Contributions Committee (C3) that directs its support of atmosphere inside a cleanroom community organizations and acknowledges employees’ being used during the con- volunteer and fundraising efforts. struction and payloading of a The committee’s job is to coordinate rocket. The rocket, over 200 company volunteer activities feet high, is surrounded by and establish guidelines for enclosed scaffolding and decks Boeing disbursement of funding. Since during assembly. Because the © the beginning of our fiscal year cleanroom is located on the

(July 1), AI has sponsored a food decks at the top of the rocket Copyright drive on behalf of the Food Bank where the volatile fuel is of CNY, matched employee contributions in located, everything inside it is required to be rated Class 1, the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Division 2 explosion-proof. Walk-A-Thon, and collected winter wish items for When it is launched, the rocket will circumnavigate the the Ronald McDonald House Charities of CNY. earth traveling by way of the poles, and will carry national The company also provides paid time-off security, civil or scientific payloads. for volunteering and administers a scholarship The ECU posed several technical and design challenges. Because program to help defray the costs of college to any of the location of the launch pad near the ocean, humidity and employee’s child who is named a National Merit scholar. corrosion from salt air had to be addressed. A large desiccant unit Chairman Larry Wetzel remarked, “We are first of all was incorporated into the design to control low humidity levels members of our community, and we believe in giving back required by the client as well as using all copper tube/copper to the best of our abilities to make Central New York a better fin coils. The ECU also has carbon filtration and dual compressors. place to live and work.”  It is the largest air conditioner built by Air Innovations.  Contamination control unit rapidly deploys for emergencies A contamination control unit de- pressure, the unit will veloped by Air Innovations helps help prevent the escape hospitals, clinics, extended care, and of infectious diseases disaster centers quickly expand their and reduce cross- ability to handle surge capacity for contamination risks to isolation, trauma and burn care as well hospital personnel and as increase their preparedness for pan- other patients. When demic influenza. IsolationAir® rapidly used to create posi- deploys to create negative or positive tive pressure, the pressure, improve air quality around unit will help prevent patients and staff, and provide for airborne particles from patient and staff comfort by controlling infiltrating the isola- temperature and humidity in the room. tion room and infecting Because the unit wheels into place on immuno-compromised an as-needed basis, plugs into 110-volt patients. In addition, power and requires no tools for instal- IsolationAir will isolate lation, it easily converts any standard- the patient’s room from sized room—from health care to hotel the building’s central to military base—into an isolation system to reduce cross- room for emergency services. contamination risks The patented unit meets or ex- as well as continually ceeds specifications for isolation space operate when plugged into a room’s The unit, which is designed to established by the Centers for Disease emergency generator outlet. condition spaces up to 375 square Control and Prevention, American In- To expedite installation, Isolation- feet, is ideal for hospitals’ emergency stitute of Architects, and the American Air features adapters sized to preparedness plans because it deploys Society of Heating, Refrigeration and fit most return or supply air grilles, quickly and easily and saves the time Air Conditioning Engineers. flexible ducting to reach anywhere in and expense of undertaking building The unit uses known and accepted the room, and snap on/off covers and modifications or installing permanent technologies for filtering and purifying duct connectors. Easy-to-use controls isolation that may otherwise the air, including highly efficient HEPA track unit performance. All required have very limited use. IsolationAir is filters and ultraviolet germicidal light. accessories are attached to the unit or a registered trademark of Air Innova- When used to create negative room accessible in slide-out trays. tions, patented and ETL certified. air innovations Employee News 1 AI welcomes three new employees: 1 Steve Ragonese, manufacturing assembler 2 Alex Elsbree, manufacturing assembler 3 Andrew Valencia, materials clerk 2

Congratulations to Recognizing Workplace Excellence AI employees reaching Jim Penfield, manufacturing electrician, and Johnna Carney, these important service material manager, tied for 2008 Employee of the Year honors milestones: 3 for their outstanding customer service and corporate commit- 15 years ment. Manufacturing employees who were recognized for their Rick Couse, warehouse manager help in reorganizing the factory to accommodate a large Air Bruce Meissner, design engineer Innovations contract included: Frank Canestrare, Brian Clarke, Tom Cocopoti, Rick Couse, Alex Elsbree, Steve Miklajyck (also 5 years November’s Employee of the Month), Paul Monroe, Jim Penfield, Cheryl Gressani, director of Steve Ragonese, Sam Redden, Anson Reed, Dave Stastny, business development Kevin Striep, and Keith Wilson. Spotlight on Air Innovations’ Air Innovations: The big picture Board of Directors continued from front page we follow ISO-oriented guidelines for continuous process AI Board of Directors members are chosen improvements. for their expertise in air conditioning and refrigeration technology and manufacturing. Our most sophisticated products can be designed to In this issue we feature John A. Rizzo. hold close tolerances in temperature (to as precise as +/–0.008°F) and humidity (+/–0.5%). We offer a variety John Rizzo is a lean six sigma (LSS) of filtration, cooling, and pressure control capabilities. consultant for Moffitt Associates with 23 years experience in operations, finance, Some examples of environmental control systems that and sales/marketing. Before joining AI custom builds for OEMs include equipment that: Moffitt, John led lean six sigma transformations at three manufac- • cools the sophisticated electronics in airport baggage turing companies from the roles of director of operations, general screening devices around the world; manager, and president. John has worked or consulted in several • keeps air cool and dry inside a medical testing device different manufacturing and service industries including: precision to ensure process chemical integrity; and, metal working, pharmaceuticals, medical, electrical materials, air conditioning, textiles, and temporary staffing. • protects electronics in unmanned aerial vehicles from John has facilitated several hundred LSS kaizen events/projects. extreme temperature and humidity ranges during He is known as a passionate advocate for continuous improvement deployment in harsh outdoor conditions. and is able to bring together individuals with different agendas. Branded products include those that: John has extensive experience in: strategy deployment, creating flow, material replenishment systems, total productive mainte- • condition critical environments in research laboratories, nance, value stream mapping, mistake proofing, quality function electronics and pharmaceutical companies­—AdvancAir®; deployment, set up reduction, failure mode effects analysis, design • quickly create negative or positively pressurized hospital for manufacturing, and supply chain optimization. rooms to treat infectious disease, burn, trauma or im- John holds a BS from the Schools of Engineering and Business muno-compromised patients—IsolationAir®; at the University of Vermont. He earned an MBA and a Masters in • condition the air in wine cellars —Wine Guardian®; and, Public Administration from Syracuse University. He is a Certified • keep cut flowers fresh longer —Floratech®. Purchasing Manager, is certified by the Association for Operations Management, and is high-level six-sigma black belt. He also has Learn more about our specialized air conditioning and served as chairman for one of the largest manufacturing associa- refrigeration solutions by visiting www.airinnovations.com tions in the country. 

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AdvancAir® Floratech® HEPAir® HEPAiRx® IsolationAir® Wine Guardian® Air Innovations®

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For more information on Air Innovations or its divisions: [email protected] 800-825-3268