Corporate
Profile:
A.J. Antunes & Co. is
a prominent manufacturing company that distributes products all over the world.
The company headquarters is located in Carol Stream
Illinois, a
suburb of Chicago
in the U.S.
In business since 1955, the company is privately held, and family run. A.J. Antunes & Co. divisions
include; Antunes Controls which manufactures OEM electronic controls and
air and gas pressure switches; Antunes Foodservice Equipment which
manufactures products for the foodservice industry, and the newest division; Antunes
Filtration Technologies which manufactures filtration products that
remove particulates, bacteria, and viruses from water.
Company
History:
A. J. Antunes & Co. was founded on September 1st, 1955
by August J. Antunes. Originally, the company was started as a manufacturer’s
representative sales organization calling on customers in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan,
Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. At that
time, the company concentrated sales efforts on industrial clients. Some of the
companies represented were Mid-Continent, Ensign Ribbon Burner, Ajax Electric
Company, and Pyrometer. One of the factories represented, Mid-Continent, had a
food service equipment division. As luck would have it, this product line
became available and we expanded our marketing focus to include several
foodservice equipment manufacturers including EmberGlo,
Frymaster and Robot Coupe.
An industrial sales background resulted
in giving A. J. Antunes & Co. it’s start as a
manufacturing company. Underwriter’s Laboratory created a new safety standard
for industrial ovens. This standard required flame-heated ovens to sense the
air flow and gas pressure. While this was a great safety feature, no practical
device was available to perform this function. Therefore, the design engineers
at these companies had to figure out a way to comply with this standard. Many
of the companies affected by this new standard were clients of A. J. Antunes
& Co.
As they say, “Necessity is the mother
of invention” and A. J. Antunes & Co. saw this as an opportunity to create
a simple and affordable component that complied with this new requirement. A prototype device was built and shown to the
various other manufacturers in the territory. Soon orders started to arrive and
the company expanded it’s business focus to include
manufacturing. This manufacturing business was called Chicago Safety Products Company.
Since 70% of the industrial oven manufacturers were located within the
company’s marketing territory, A.J. Antunes & Co. was able to maintain the
manufacturer’s representative business while now manufacturing the air flow and
gas pressure safety switches.
The original Chicago Safety Products
switch was called the Model D-1. The Model D-1 was a differential air pressure
switch developed primarily for the industrial combustion market. The D-1 air
switch was used to sense air-flow across a burner. The first customer was Despatch Industries in Minneapolis Minnesota
with an order for 100 switches. Despatch continues to
be a loyal customer of Antunes Controls to this day.
Following a process of
continuous improvement, the second generation of this air-flow switch was soon
introduced. This model was called the JD-2. The model was named as the second
(2) generation of the differential switch (D). What does the J stand for?
Always a strong family man, August Antunes used this opportunity to name this
product for his children, Jim and Jane. To compliment the air differential
safety switch, gas pressure switches were soon added to the product line. These
gas pressure switches are designed to sense gas pressure being supplied to a
gas burner.
Following on the heels of the
successful switch business, the foodservice equipment group began to grow. In
1969, the company created a prototype hot dog grill. August Antunes showed this
prototype to the various manufacturers of the product lines that he already
represented however none of these companies saw the potential of this product. Convinced that a market existed for this unique grill, A. J.
Antunes & Co. decided to manufacture this product in house. This was
the beginning of the Roundup brand of equipment.
Eventually, the need to focus attention on the manufacturing business ended the
manufacturer’s representative portion of the business in 1974. With full
attention on the manufacturing business, both Roundup and Chicago Safety
Products grew successfully.
Many of the foodservice products that
the company was now manufacturing contained electronic controls. A.J. Antunes
& Co.’s commitment to quality led them to design and manufacture these
components in house rather than use an outside supplier. By adding a design
engineer and a small assembly staff, the company greatly reduced development
time, shortened lead-time, and improved component quality.
Realizing that other manufacturers
could benefit from the company’s new expertise, A.J. Antunes & Co. began
developing electronic controls for outside clients. Combining the electronics
group and Chicago Safety Products Company led to the evolution of the Antunes
Controls division. This has given Antunes Controls a larger product
base and the ability to branch into many new markets. It has also allowed the
company to capitalize on new business opportunities.
In
2000, A.J. Antunes & Co. unveiled their newest division Antunes
Filtration Technologies. Partnering with companies from around the
globe, Antunes Filtration Technologies has created a water filtration system
that removes particulates and bacteria, and can substantially reduce the amount
of viruses that can enter a typical water supply. Using the latest in
ultra-filtration membrane technology, Antunes Filtration Technologies division
has applications in numerous markets including foodservice, the soft drink
market, healthcare, schools, laboratories and the HVAC industry. A. J. Antunes
& Co. has a worldwide reputation as a quality manufacturer.
Company
Vision:
For many years, business operations
were divided in several buildings in Addison Illinois. Since August 10th, 1999, all U.S.A.
operations were combined into one large, modern manufacturing facility located
in Carol Stream Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. This facility consists of 114,000
square feet of manufacturing space and offices with another 30,000 square feet
of planned expansion. This state-of-the-art facility has improved efficiency,
lowered lead-times, allowed better communication with all departments, and greatly
improved response time to customers. This allowed the company to profit by
record growth in 2001, and to build a base for continued growth in the
foreseeable future.
International sales are important to
the on-going success and future growth of the company, and A.J. Antunes &
Co. has invested significant resources in these markets. In 2000, 32% of total
sales came from international business and this percentage continues to grow.
Today products from all three divisions are sold in over 130 countries, and
A.J. Antunes & Co. will continue to invest resources in emerging markets as
a vehicle for growth.
July
8th, 2003 A.J. Antunes & Co. opened their
new facility in Suzhou
China.
Antunes Equipment Manufacturing (Suzhou) Company Ltd. The new facility is
strategically located in the Suzhou New District, a high-tech industrial
development area about 50 miles west of Shanghai
and on the outskirts of one of the most affluent cities in China. Initial
operations will include assembly of the company’s unique corn cookers for the
foodservice market, water filtration systems for the removal of bacteria,
particulates and viruses present in a typical water supply, and air and gas
pressure switches.
The vision for the future is to continue to operate as a
family run business, and to grow the company by providing innovative designs
and reliable quality built products for the industries served by all three
divisions. The company’s commitment to quality, customer satisfaction and
continuous improvement will remain the focus for the future.
