Made In America: Big Ass Fans in the Bluegrass State

When a consumer buys a product made in the United States, he or she is making an investment in more than just a physical product. The impact of that purchase ripples through a local economy and can stimulate an entire region.

Big Ass Fans has been producing what its name suggests in Lexington, Kentucky for two decades, and its impact on the city goes far beyond the walls of its manufacturing facility.

“We take a lot of pride in that. The fact that we are here in Lexington, we’ve been in Lexington for 20 years, have no plans of moving,” Alex Risen, Public Relations at Big Ass Fans said. “The fact that everyone here has jobs means we get to go out into the community and support other local businesses. That’s really exciting for us.”

The manufacturer began putting fans together for dairy barns and livestock facilities in 1999 but now produces them for 10 different types of businesses.

Kentucky is home to several American-made staples, and Big Ass Fans hopes to become to its industry what the state’s bourbon, bluegrass music, and horses are to their respective fields.

“It’s about quality,” Risen said. “We want premium products. Just like folks that might think Kentucky bourbon is high quality, Big Ass Fans, same thing. Kentucky is high quality.”

Consumers seem to agree. The company reached the 500-employee mark in 2014 and has since opened an office in Canada (it also has offices in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia).

MarketScale Media Producer Tyler Kern toured the Big Ass Fans Lexington, Kentucky headquarters to see how their industrial-sized products are pieced together. He also got a look at the company’s research and development facility to get a glimpse of what the future holds for Big Ass Fans.