This year, Business NH Magazine decided to highlight companies that had a banner year in 2018. These rising stars may not have the revenue to make the list of the Top 100 Private Companies in NH, but they experienced significant one-year growth. These three stars collectively generated more than $32 million in revenue in 2018, with sales growth ranging from 68% to 77%. They also employ more than 180. Two of these companies, Air Solutions & Balancing and Orion Entrance Control, also made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in the nation this year.
These rising stars represent diverse industries: a company that measures air flow in HVAC systems, a turnstile manufacturer, and a metal fabricator. However, they share common traits that drive their growth—a recognition that employees are key to their success and a commitment to investing in the future of their firms.
Bruce Lee once said, “The successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus.” That aptly describes Olaf Zwickau, CEO of Air Solutions & Balancing in Auburn, who attributes the company’s substantive growth in the past year to prioritizing expansion. “We made a very conscious decision to expand and hire more people and drive more sales,” Zwickau says. “We opened an office in Texas and put more resources and people into our national accounts office.”
The company has been steadily growing, with revenue increasing 77% between 2017 and 2018. Air Solutions & Balancing offers testing, adjusting, and balancing services for the HVAC industry through Airadigm Solutions. It also provides demand-control for kitchen ventilation systems used in restaurants and other commercial kitchen spaces through Kitchen Energy Solutions, another branch of the business.
Zwickau attributes the company’s ongoing success to its staff of 85 and their ability to maintain close relationships with customers. “We’ve set up a system to have a tremendous amount of customer interaction,” he says, so customers always know the status of their project. “It’s part of our value system. No customer should ever be left wondering if we’re working on their stuff.”
The company plans to expand its service offerings and geographic footprint, with a particular focus on fume hood testing in laboratories, pharmaceutical businesses, and hospitals. Air Solutions & Balancing has opened several locations in the past 18 months, and Zwickau says offices in Denver, Dallas, and Cincinnati have “tremendous potential for growth.” It plans to open offices in Houston, Nashville, and Orlando shortly. “We’re looking for new cities to expand into,” he says.