Big Ass Fans® Announces Strategic Partnership with Xtralis® to Deliver the Latest Innovation for Huge Ceiling Fans


Big Ass Fans® are Now Available with VESDA® Early Warning Smoke Detection for Warehouses, Distribution Centers, Equine, Manufacturing and other Large Facilities.

(Lexington, KY - September 18, 2008): Big Ass Fan Company is excited to announce a new strategic partnership with Xtralis®, a leading provider of intelligent fire detection and security solutions, to provide advanced smoke detection solutions for Big Ass Fans.

Big Ass Fan Company is the preeminent designer and manufacturer of huge ceiling fans for industrial, institutional, agricultural, and commercial facilities worldwide. Used year-round to improve occupant comfort through gentle air movement, these 6 ft. to 24 ft. diameter fans are a cost effective and energy efficient alternative to conditioning large spaces.

The Xtralis VESDA (Very Early Warning Smoke Detection System) provides for the earliest possible warning of an imminent fire hazard. With the world's widest sensitivity range, VESDA produces multi-level warnings at the earliest stage of an impending fire. This provides the valuable time necessary to initiate a flexible, appropriate response. Within the incipient stage of a fire, VESDA easily detects minute levels of smoke present in the air and offers up to three levels of alarm, all with adjustable thresholds, before there is visible smoke, flaming fire, or intense heat and often long before disruption, damage or injury can take place.

Because the VESDA system is a proven solution in high volume spaces, it is the perfect complement for a Big Ass Fan. The VESDA system works with the Big Ass Fan by detecting smoke at the earliest stages, and then sends a signal to automatically shut the fan down. This automatic shutdown feature is designed specifically as a safety precaution that will eliminate any potential effect with a facility's ESFR (early suppression fast response) fire sprinkler system. Recent independent testing at the Southwest Research Institute proved that point using a 20 ft. Powerfoil® from Big Ass Fans and the VESDA VLF.

"It was extremely important for us to not only select the most trusted name in the smoke detection industry, but to select a technology that was proven," states Carey Smith, President of Big Ass Fans. "Additionally, by detecting the earliest possible sign of smoke, customers now have the potential of early warning, providing the opportunity to address an event earlier in its cycle, " adds Smith.

"We are excited about this new partnership with Big Ass Fans," states Ian Ehrenberg, General Manager of Xtralis, Inc. "We are certain that the integration of the VESDA system with Big Ass Fans will be an effective solution for our mutual customers. It is imperative in these large facilities that production does not stop and the VESDA system can help by detecting smoke at its earliest stages, effectively avoiding any losses in productivity," adds Ehrenberg.

For more information on how to purchase a Big Ass Fan with the new VESDA system, please call Paul Lauritzen, Director of Sales for Big Ass Fans at 1-800-977-1351.

About Big Ass Fans
Since 1999, Big Ass Fan Company has sold over 35,000 Big Ass Fans to customers around the globe. In addition to thousands of manufacturing plants and distribution centers, Big Ass Fans customers include horse arenas, dairy barns, produce storage facilities, football and baseball stadiums, retail stores, shopping malls, restaurants, health clubs, high schools and universities, and even zoos. Used where occupant comfort or product integrity is critical, Big Ass Fans have applications where air conditioning is cost prohibitive or existing cooling capacity is inadequate, and where high-ceilinged spaces are difficult to heat and/or dehumidify due to extreme temperature differential between the ceiling and the floor. Incorporating small 1 to 2 HP motors, Big Ass Fans' patented, innovative airfoils circulate the greatest amount of air over the largest possible area at an operating cost of pennies per hour. Big Ass Fan Company products include the Powerfoil®, its air volume leviathan and the most popular air circulator in the industrial market, and the Pivot(TM), the most flexible 6 ft diameter air circulator available for smaller or specialized applications. Focused on engineering the highest quality and most appropriate products for specific applications, Big Ass Fan Company recently introduced the Element(TM), whose sleek and elegant design, silent operation, and available upgrade options, including lighting, color, and finish choices, make it ideally suited for the demanding commercial and designer marketplace. Big Ass Fans and the facilities that use them have been featured in Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and television programs such as Planet Green, the Discovery Channel Canada, and the National Geographic Channel.

For more information about Big Ass Fans, please visit the website at www.bigassfans.com.

About Xtralis
Xtralis is a leading provider of powerful, intelligent, early warning fire and security solutions that help detect threats before they endanger life safety, critical infrastructure and business continuity. Xtralis provides very early warning fire detection and control systems for more than 10,000 customers in 30 countries around the world. Solutions include Xtralis VESDA® Very Early Warning Fire Detection and Control, Xtralis ICAM® Flexible Fire and Environmental Solutions, Xtralis ADPRO® Detection and Analytics Security Products, Xtralis ASIM Traffic Management and Control and Xtralis Security Solutions IP Security Portfolio. Visit www.xtralis.com to learn more.

Big Ass Fans, 2425 Merchant St, Lexington, KY 40511 United States

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