BIG ASS FANS
“ WE HAVE BEEN REVAMPING OUR FRONT-END TOOLS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ACCURATE DATA ASSURANCE . CLEAN DATA IS IMPERATIVE IN ANY DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ”
KIMBERLY EUBANK CHIEF DIGITAL INFORMATION OFFICER , BIG ASS FANS
But before we get to automation and AI , we must talk about the company name …
Comfort without Compromise at Big Ass Fans Big Ass Fans was first formed in 1999 as HVLS Fan Co ., yet customers kept asking for “ those big-ass fans ”. In 2001 , the company changed its name to ‘ Big Ass Fans ’ feeling that this suited the irreverent culture at the Lexington , Kentucky , headquarters - and from the factory floor all the way to Eubank ’ s office , they ’ re proud of it .
“ It is just an extraordinarily memorable - and also an accurately descriptive - name ,” she shares . “ We have fun with it . It is a fun brand , it is a memorable brand , and we don ’ t go very far , very long , without somebody commenting on the name .”
The core mission at Big Ass Fans is to provide comfort without compromise , with its fans , evaporative coolers and range of heating options for use in industrial settings , as well as domestic .
“ We ’ re committed to helping with the wellbeing of both the residential customer and workers in industrial facilities . We are a premium brand , and we pride ourselves on the quality we provide . So , can you get a similarly large fan elsewhere ? Yes , but our quality , performance and engineering are unsurpassed .”
Now owned by Madison Industries , Big Ass Fans aims to take its products and make them better known to more people in a wide variety of industries , as well as in the high-end residential sector . As Eubank began to lead the digital enablement charge , she looked at the entire business and asked three questions :
• What does Big Ass Fans have that the company wants to keep ?
• What needs to be updated ?
• What is missing ?
“ We ’ ve really tackled it from all angles ,” says Eubank . “ We ’ re looking at our core platforms -
58 April 2024