Circulating Air Inc.

In 1965 Susan and Joe Gallagher founded Circulating Air, Inc., which offers heating, air conditioning, ventilating and sheet metal to private and public sectors. After 45 years, the Southern California-based company remains a very successful and stable company.

According to Susan, Circulating Air’s success is due in part to its business philosophy. “We have a lot of integrity in doing only what is necessary, while never cutting corners,” she explains. This approach to work supports Circulating Air, allowing it to remain active, even during the recession.

Cooling and Heating California

“We have been involved in every facet of the HVAC business. We’ve done residential, multi-family, condos and tract homes in the past. Now we mainly do public work – schools, hospitals and other civic buildings,” Susan shares.

Although Circulating Air is still busy, the economic slowdown has affected the business. Right now the company has around 100 employees, which is half the personal it had at the end of 2008.

The lowered numbers don’t equate to reduced in-house capabilities, however. “We manufacture and install our own ductwork … we only sub out insulation, controls and air balance,” Susan says. “We have a good ongoing relationship with our subcontractors and vendors of many years.”

The company’s employees are split between two locations, both in California. The North Hollywood location is the original head office. The Lancaster location opened more than 28 years ago and has about 24,000 square feet of space, and the company’s manufacturing is done there. Most of Circulating Air’s work is done in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernadino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Riverside and Kern, creating annual revenue of about $35 million.

Exceeding Expectations

The services Circulating Air provides are heating, air conditioning, piping and sheet metal.
Selections of these services were put to use on Circulating Air’s recent projects. “We did some renovations at a federal building in Los Angeles and completed the new Life Science building at UCLA,” Susan shares.
Circulating Air has a large portfolio of projects. “We’ve been in business a long time. Years ago we did interesting work at Universal Studios when the amphitheater was open air. We installed heat on the outside stage and air-conditioned the tour lines. It’s all changed now, but it was something very different [to complete],” Susan recalls.

Even with its repertoire of services and long history, Circulating Air has noticed recent changes in the market, making business more of a challenge. “The economy has been tough. We have people come in from out-of-state to compete for projects. We continue to bid a lot of work – in this economy though the percentages of bids to actual contract awards are a lot lower than they’ve ever been,” Susan shares.

At the moment, Circulating Air does not see many changes in the economic climate ahead. “I try to remain positive, but it’s not always easy. I feel it’s going to be another tough year ahead,” Susan admits. “On the upside, though, the tougher economy has allowed Circulating Air to finely tune the organization.”

Despite the challenges, Circulating Air is positioned to further its already impressive project history by consistently providing the same array of quality services to its valued customers.