Cyclo Fans a Force in Commercial Kitchens

Engineering, affordability and Australian made products are keys to the continuing success of a 60 year old Victorian company facing growing competition.

Commercial kitchen fan manufacturer Cyclo Fans was founded in 1947 by Alan Dowse and bought by current owner and manager Vanessa Makris and her father and brother 10 years ago.

"Cyclo Fans was the first company in Australia to manufacture exhaust fans specifically engineered for commercial kitchens," Vanessa says. "It used to be a small operation with a customer base limited to Victoria. However, over the years I've introduced customers from interstate and New Zealand."

Vanessa says Cyclo Fans' products have set an industry benchmark, particularly in Victoria, where most hotels, restaurants and food chains have installed at least one of the company's exhaust fans.

"Some of our customers include Domino's Pizza, Bakers Delight, Brumby's, Noodle Box, Nandos Chickens and Fast Eddies," she says.

The company's exhaust fans, which sell from A$300 to A$1,800, are distributed directly through Cyclo or Fantech one of the largest distributors of fans in the southern hemisphere, and sold to an Australia wide network of sheet metal fabricators who fit them to canopies or rangehoods in commercial kitchens.

"In a restaurant, the canopy or rangehood sits over the stoves, with middle ductwork leading to the rooftop where the exhaust fan or fans are installed," Vanessa says.

The high performance fans are light, easy to install and maintain, weather proof, and predominantly made from BlueScope Steel's GALVABOND® G2 steel, a hot dipped, zinc coated commercial forming steel with a spangled surface. In combination with other products, the fans are built to handle fumes, grease and high temperatures associated with commercial cooking.

Vanessa says fan sizes vary according to the size of the canopies, and each size has an individually designed impeller to maximise airflow.

"The fans' classic design is so good there's been no need to improve it, we have only made minor improvements over the years," she says.

"We manufacture the housing, internal casing and flange from GALVABOND® G2 steel because it's the ideal material, and because it's quality, Australian made steel."

Vanessa says Cyclo Fans has raised product prices only twice in 10 years. "We're working with the same number of employees and the same amount of machinery in our Brunswick East (Melbourne) workshop, but we're working more efficiently."

"We've established a great reputation, and have a 12 month goal to further develop our relationship with our distributor Fantech and with Ventilation Warehouse, Fans Direct and our customers across Australia and New Zealand."

Cyclo Fans is a member of the STEEL BY™ Brand Partnership Program.

"We do everything we can to support Australian made products like our own," Vanessa says. "We've used BlueScope Steel products for 10 years, and we believe the quality of Australian made steel is far superior to that of imported steel because it can withstand our fabrication processes."

Vanessa says Cyclo Fans sells its fans with STEEL BY™ stickers attached to the fans' housing to demonstrate the company's support for Australian made products.

For more information contact:
Vanessa Makris
Cyclo Fans
Ph: 03 9383 6668
www.cyclofans.com.au