Our History

Robert (Bob) H. Harris from Jonesboro, Arkansas visited a friend who was having problems with the cost of cooling his home. Bob suggested they look at the ductwork in his friend’s home attic space. When they climbed up the disappearing stairway ladder to inspect the cooling system ductwork. However, they found the supply run-outs to the register outlets had either succumbed to structural pressures or had been badly treated by a technician. Several supply run-outs were knocked loose and the cool air was blowing freely into the attic space. Realizing that this was probably a standard installation, Bob saw a need to make a product available to remedy this problem.

After working relentlessly for a couple of years, in January of 1981, he received a letter from the United States Patent Office. The product design for the air-tight take-off was made official. He proceeded to show the patent papers with the patent number and the design concept of this new and revolutionary take-off to prospective licenses to sell each manufacturer on this great idea.

Innovative Design

This design called for a round take-off with a flange attached to what the HVAC industry calls a metal spin-in with a neoprene gasket between the flange and the duct to which the take-off would be attached. This seemed easy enough to accomplish but the HVAC industry at this time only used spin-in take-offs where such a take-off had been specified by a mechanical engineer for a commercial building. Residential system installers were not even using the TAB COLLARS (starting collars). It was standard practice to snip the ends of pipe or elbows; turn a few of the tabs out and then bend the rest flat to the inside of the main duct or plenum. Some of the more responsible installing technicians would use metal screws to secure the outside tabs to the metal ductwork.

These airtight fittings were shown at all the trade shows and Dealers’ Appreciation Days that he and the licensees could attend. The concept seem to catch on because the round hole in the ductwork could now be slightly larger than the pipe size and needed no taping. It was so much faster than sniping the end of a pipe and then taping the hardest joint to tape; a round pipe to a flat metal surface. As a result, the new fitting became a big hit!!

Bob Harris wanted to expand the coverage and production of this new product to other regions of the country that the presently licensed manufacturers could not serve. In November of 1983, Robert H. Harris with a little help from some business friends started a small company called AirTite, Inc. in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Moving to the Future

Finding that he could not reach all the wholesale distributors that wanted to stock this new product, AirTite, Inc. Therefore, he decided to license even more sheet metal manufacturers. This seemed to help spread the good news of a better way to help the consumer save money operating their heating and cooling systems. This is one of the products that were approved by the government for tax credits as an energy savings device.

AirTite, Inc. grew as a manufacturer and supplier of gaskets of this now command product called AirTite. This growth continued until July 1997. At this time Bob’s son, who had been managing the manufacturing facility ever since Bob’s passing, decided to sell the company.

James Darnell an Architect a silent stockholder was delighted to make this transaction possible. Jim Darnell has transformed this still-small company into a viable and competitive manufacturing facility. New products to meet the HVAC industry’s needs are coming to fruition right now. The square-to-rounds, the high efficiency, and the conical all have the gasket that makes these fittings air-tight and fast to install.