An interview with Josh Evans
Continental Fan, comprised of Continental Fan Canada and Continental Fan Manufacturing Inc., was founded in 1986. The company’s U.S. office oversees U.S. sales, marketing, and engineering initiatives, and the Buffalo, New York location holds the warehouse for American sales. Both companies are divided into three sales divisions: The industrial fan division (IFD), which manages industrial application sales and manufacturer reps; the WPD division, which manages the company’s residential and commercial wholesale market; and the OEM division, where businesses incorporate Continental Fan Manufacturing’s fans into their products.
A Solution for Any Application
Continental Fan offers everything from small residential bathroom fans to high-volume, low-speed ceiling fans. For applications with high volume and low static pressure, Continental Fan provides fans utilizing axial impellers. Fans that utilize a backward-curved centrifugal impeller work well with higher pressure and lower volume applications. Continental Fan Manufacturing’s fans that offer a mixed-flow impeller are a solution for an application that requires a combination of the two.
Centrifugal blowers can be configured with a backward-curved, radial blade or forward-curved impellers. Evans states, “The backward curved blowers are the most efficient, and they do not overload, allowing the user to adjust the speed easily.”
The company’s panel and flange fans are used in a wide variety of applications, including industrial/commercial ventilation, or as a component in an OEM application, such as a condensing fan.
Additionally, many different configurations of roof ventilators are available, such as up and down-blast or hooded roof ventilators in either direct drive or belt drive. “The benefits of the direct drive option are that it requires less maintenance and is typically quieter,” Evans says. “On the other hand, the belt drive option keeps the motor out of the airstream, which is beneficial when facing adverse conditions, like elevated temperature, corrosive chemicals, or a hazardous location.”
The company offers other options as well. Fans with spark-resistant motors are well-suited to hazardous applications that have the potential for explosions. Cast aluminum pressure blowers are also ideal for spark-resistant construction requirements.
Continental Fan Manufacturing’s radial blade blowers are typically used when particulates are in the air stream because the blade is self-cleaning. “The other types of centrifugal impeller have the potential for debris buildup,” Evans explains.
Forward curve blowers are effective in high volume, low-pressure applications. “These products are usually the least efficient and loudest option,” Evans notes, “but they are also the least expensive, so they are recommended for clean air applications only.”
Another Continental Fan category is motorized impellers. It includes a broad range of products that use an external rotor motor instead of a traditional internal one. External rotor motors are paired with either an axial, centrifugal, or forward-curved impeller. These products don’t require as much space and are available with an A.C., D.C., or E.C. motor. “The A.C. motors are probably the most common and least expensive of the three,” says Evans, “while the D.C. and E.C. motors are more efficient. It’s also easier to control the speed with a D.C. or E.C. motor.”
Pharma and Healthcare Applications
Ventilation for pharmaceutical and healthcare is highly dependent on the specific requirements of an application. Continental Fan works with OEMs that utilize its products for pharmaceutical and medical applications. Evans says, “Continental Fan has successfully applied IRIS dampers in many pharmaceutical labs over the years. The dampers give the user the ability to measure, balance, and regulate airflow with a single device. The time required for the labs to perform their routine certified air is significantly reduced.”
CFM Select: Developed for the Customer
Using internal process reviews and customer discussions, Continental Fan continually strives to improve and exceed expectations. “Several years ago, quite a few customers requested a fan selection program with pricing capabilities,” says Evans. “Our previous software was dated. It had very limited functionality. And so, we listened to them and developed a new online program called CFM Select.”
CFM Select is an online application that enables customers to select and price fans online, send requests for a quotation, and submit purchase orders.
Additionally, CFM Select allows the user to manage projects and add multiple fans. “If customers are quoting against a fan schedule, they can select everything they need and add it to the project,” Evans explains. “They can also upload any external documents. It is basically a repository for their projects.”
“We take pride in collaborating with our customers to develop custom products to solve their specific needs,” Evans adds. “We aim to develop solutions that check off as many boxes of the customer’s application as possible, rather than to rely on a one size fits all approach.”
Want to Learn More About Continental Fan?
Coward Environmental Systems, Inc. is proud to represent Continental Fan in the Philadelphia region, Central PA, Delaware, and Maryland. Contact us today to discover how Continental Fan can be a part of your next project.
