CaptiveAire Systems is the largest

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

of commercial kitchen ventilation systems in the US and a manufacturer of

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

equipment. The company, founded by Robert L. Luddy in 1976, is headquartered in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. Since its inception, the company has expanded from fire suppression to a wide array of products including exhaust, pollution control, fire suppression and prevention, HVAC, and utility distribution. In 2018, CaptiveAire brought in over $500 million in revenue.

History

In November 1976, Luddy started Atlantic Fire Systems, which sold automatic dry chemical fire systems to

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s and industry. Sales for the first full year in business reached $297,000. Luddy developed a relationship with James Maynard and Bill Carl, co-founders of the

Golden Corral Golden Corral is an American restaurant chain which offers an all-you-can-eat buffet and grill. It is a privately held company headquartered in the U.S. city of Raleigh, North Carolina, with locations in 43 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. History ...

restaurant chain which started in nearby Fayetteville. In 1978, Ben Maynard, James’ father, suggested to Luddy that he open a

sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes. Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...

shop to manufacture ventilation hoods and integrate the fire system. Sales reached one million in 1979. In 1981, a separate company was formed for the ventilation business with the name “CaptiveAire". The company has continued to expand, acquiring several ventilation companies in order to expand its product line. In 2017, CaptiveAire entered the HVAC market with the release of a dedicated outdoor air system.

Company and products

CaptiveAire has over 1,300 employees in its network of over one hundred sales offices in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and six manufacturing plants located in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The company’s clients, made up of independent restaurants and national chains, include many well-recognized names in the national

food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditiona ...

. The company also services public and private institutions such as industrial,

correctional In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agency, government agencies, and involving the punishment, ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, and

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

facilities. CaptiveAire’s integrated ventilation packages include hoods, exhaust fans, electrical controls, direct-fired heaters,

grease duct A grease duct is a duct that vents grease-laden flammable vapors from commercial cooking equipment such as stoves, deep fryers, and woks to the outside of a building or mobile food preparation trailer. Grease ducts are part of the building's pas ...

systems,

fire suppression system Fire suppression systems are used to extinguish, control, or in some cases, entirely prevent fires from spreading or occurring. Fire suppression systems have an incredibly large variety of applications, and as such, there are many different types ...

s, grease filters, utility distribution systems, dedicated outdoor air systems, and internet based control systems. CaptiveAire Hood

Community and awards

* One of the top 500 fastest growing private companies in America, '' INC.'' magazine * Voted "Best in Class" for ventilation systems by industry dealers and consultants (eight times), ''

Foodservice Equipment & Supplies ''Foodservice Equipment & Supplies'' is a trade publication serving the information needs of dealers, broadline distributors, consultants and multi-unit operators who specify and purchase foodservice equipment and supplies. History and profile Est ...

'' magazine * Voted "Best in Class Overall" for ventilation systems 2013, ''

'' magazine] * One of the 100 largest private companies in North Carolina, ''Business North Carolina'' magazine * One of the top 50 fastest growing private companies in the Triangle (North Carolina), Triangle area, ''

Triangle Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Captiveaire Systems Manufacturing companies of the United States Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning companies Companies based in Raleigh, North Carolina Manufacturing companies established in 1976 1976 establishments in North Carolina