April 8, 2013

Re: Breaking News

United Enertech is announcing its largest expansion in corporate history. This multi-direction expansion involves the purchase of adjoining real estate to increase our Chattanooga operations, as well as the most new product lines and additions to our current line that we have ever announced at any one time.

The newly purchased property will allow us to almost double the size of the Chattanooga plant in phases as needed by production demands. We are currently applying for a State grant to help us clear the land and make it ready for the building construction. Watch the "News" section in the near future for updates on the progress.

Of course the biggest news is our product expansion. We have never been more proud of our Sales, Engineering, Plant and Purchasing staff for working as hard as they have to make this happen. Bill Tate has always pushed the company to expand our product line faster than all of our competitors combined. Offering new products has always been a challenge when you're just trying to keep up with production. With Mike Dean and Curtis Jackson leading the engineering team we finally have the right people in place to get these projects moving. The buzz around the industry is always "What will United Enertech do next?" We are here to answer that question. The following products will be available within the next few months:

• The ICBL-20-WR is the industry's first Weather Louver, Blast Damper and FEMA Grille all in a singular product. The ICBL-20-WR is licensed by AMCA for water and air performance, ARA third party certified for blast resistance, and FEMA 361/ICC-500 compliant.
• Three new Blast Resistant Weather Louvers, the largest offerings of louvers for this purpose in the industry, have been sent to ATI labs for shock tube testing, then after that will be headed to AMCA for large missile impact testing.
  • BR-FL-D-4 for 8-psi blast pressure
  • BR-FL-D-6.1 for 8-psi blast pressure
  • BR-SED-5.1 for 10-psi blast pressure
• A full line of AMCA licensed Indoor Air Quality damper systems as well as stand-alone air measuring stations are currently under development. These can be stand-alone systems with and without economizers, or can be used just to communicate flow and temperature to a building control system. We have decided to go forward with a microprocessor pressure transducer system. We have done in house testing and monitored the industry to learn to stay as far away from glass thermistor systems as possible due to dust buildup and their loss of accuracy over time.
• The Wood Truss Fire Damper is a damper that our customers have needed for a long time to compete in the multi-family/condo market. We have already worked out the design and will be sending this to UL for testing soon.
• United Enertech has committed to UL to update our entire line of Fire and Fire/Smoke Dampers for increases in maximum size and pressure. This will enhance our product line and put us more in line to meet or exceed our competitors. We will be testing many new actuators and this will include a modulating actuator to add to the Fire/Smoke Line. The Belimo FS-TF will also be tested to allow us to be more competitive in the under 2 s.f. size.
• The Architectural and Sunshade division is taking off and we will be showing at the AIA show in June. At the show you will be able to see all of our new offerings as well as our announcement of our full line of quick ship "on site" or "contractor" assembled sunshades. We have decided to fill request from glazing contractors to be able to assemble on site the sunshades for an entire building while they are constructing the curtain wall at the same time. The need for field verified dimensions and signed drawings, as well as a 4 week or more lead times will no longer be issues they will need to deal with. The brackets, extrusions and fasteners will all be sent to them to be cut and assembled as needed. These will also have engineering calculations done for loads most jobs will require.
• We have started the process to become ISO-9001 certified. This is another quality control standard that will be in addition to the UL and Miami-Dade standards we already have in place. This is in direct response to requests from our reps that feel we need ISO-9001 to help sell our products in today's market.
• Duct Silencers and Sound Attenuators are products we have been asked to build for years and finally have decided to produce. We are currently doing sound testing at INTERTEK sound labs and once testing is complete they will receive an AMCA license. We will be supporting custom builds for this product through our engineering department.
• The following dampers have all been sent to AMCA this quarter to be licensed for leakage and air performance:
  • TB-155 Thermally Broken Damper
  • CD-150-LL Aluminum Airfoil Blade Damper with TPV or silicone jamb seals
  • CD-160 Steel Airfoil Blade
  • CD-110 Steel 3-V Blade
• The SED-5.1 is being check tested by AMCA this month, and we are anticipating better wind driven rain performance data.
• An all-new louver, the D-HV-4 is a Combination 4" horizontal blade in the front that all the architects like, with a rear vertical blade that the engineers like for wind driven rain performance. It is off to AMCA right now to be licensed for wind driven rain, water penetration and air performance.
• Model HD-DF-3 and HD-DF-5, are new heavy duty industrial single and double deflection diffuser grilles rated for velocities up to 2200 FPM.

The engineering staff have been using our former AMCA/ETTF lab as an invaluable tool for development of many of the new products listed above. It has been modified with a plenum in front of the fan that will allow for intake testing as well as water penetration testing for louvers. We intend for it to become an AMCA certified lab in the near future, and may rent it out for testing and product development for other manufacturers.

New mechanical and architectural catalogs with all of the new products will be coming out soon and we will let you know when those are available.

We strive to be a company on the move, and I think that we have shown you that personally over the years. I think this proves that we have listened to our reps and it has made us both successful. Please continue the level of communication and trust that you have given to us, and we will do our best to give you the best products and service possible.

Andy Schwall
Chief Operating Officer
United Enertech