Development and manufacturing of variable pitch reversible fans for diesel engines in work machines.
Flexxaire Inc.
Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) · Switzerland (European branch)New on Amplifa
About Flexxaire
Flexxaire Inc. is a Canadian manufacturer of variable pitch reversible fans for engine cooling of diesel work machines. The fans reverse the airflow direction within one second to automatically clean coolers of dust and dirt, and deliver on demand exactly the amount of air the engine needs – this lowers fuel consumption and increases available engine power. The company develops and manufactures the fan systems, which are operated hydraulically, pneumatically or as hybrid variants, as well as its own FlexxControl control system, whose essential components are produced in-house. More than 4,000 customer-specifically engineered retrofit fan kits for individual machine models and OEM integrations complement the offering. An in-house wind tunnel (in operation since 2015) is used for testing blade geometries, optimizing the design software, and direct comparison measurements with production fans. Production takes place in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) on a fully robot-controlled production line; since 2015 there has been a branch office in Switzerland. Customers come from agriculture, construction, forestry, mining, landfill operations, power generation and municipal technology, including Caterpillar, Versatile, PrimeTech (FAE Group), Eco Log, Tana, Roberine and Mantsinen.
- Site
- T5S 1C3 Edmonton, Alberta
- Processes
- Reversible fans for coolers with variable blade pitch (hydraulically driven), Pneumatic reversible fans (AX Pneumatic series, mountable on existing fan drive), AX Hybrid reversible fans (pneumatically/hydraulically driven), OEM integration / custom engineering of fan systems, Retrofitting (over 4,000 customer-specifically engineered retrofit fan kits), Wind tunnel testing (blade geometries, design software, comparison measurements against production, Development and production of the FlexxControl control system (in-house manufacturing of components), Quality assurance / rigorous and regular testing of every shipped fan
- Materials
- FlexxControl control system, FlexxPerformance blade, Mark III digital fan control, AX Pneumatic fan series, AX Hybrid fan series, FX fan
- Certificates
- Wind tunnel testing, Regular final inspection of every fan, Comparison measurements against production fans
- Founded
- 1989
- Industries
- Agriculture, Construction, Forestry, Mining, Landfill operations, Power generation
- 01
Engineering & custom design
- 02
Manufacturing of fan components (robot-controlled production line)
- 03
Assembly of the fan system
- 04
Manufacturing of control components (FlexxControl)
- 05
Wind tunnel testing and airflow design
- 06
Final inspection of every fan
- 07
OEM integration / retrofit installation (adapter plate, 2-step mounting)
Processes & Technologies
FlexxControl control system
Self-developed, certified control system; essential components are manufactured in-house.
FlexxPerformance blade
Patented blade design that increases fan performance and efficiency and enables larger diameters.
Mark III digital fan control
Processor-based digital fan control system, in use since 1996.
AX Pneumatic fan series
Pneumatically driven fan, mountable on the customer's existing fan drive.
AX Hybrid fan series
Same design as AX Pneumatic, but with hydraulic actuation.
FX fan
Hydraulically driven reversible fan – the first commercial fan with hydraulic adjustment of blade pitch.
Locations
Edmonton, Alberta
CAHeadquarters and production plant
- Robot-controlled production line
- Wind tunnel
- High-tech quality assurance
- Solar panels
Switzerland
CHEuropean branch
Components
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reversible fans for coolers with variable blade pitch (hydraulically driven)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pneumatic reversible fans (AX Pneumatic series, mountable on existing fan drive)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| AX Hybrid reversible fans (pneumatically/hydraulically driven)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| OEM integration / custom engineering of fan systemsEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Retrofitting (over 4,000 customer-specifically engineered retrofit fan kits)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Wind tunnel testing (blade geometries, design software, comparison measurements against productionTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Development and production of the FlexxControl control system (in-house manufacturing of components)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Quality assurance / rigorous and regular testing of every shipped fanTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
2 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robot-controlled production line | – | – | – | – | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Wind tunnel | – | – | – | 2015 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality
Every fan that leaves the plant is subjected to rigorous and regular testing. The in-house wind tunnel, operated since 2015, enables blade geometry testing, optimization of the design software, and direct comparison measurements with production fans.
| Evidence | Edmonton, Alberta |
|---|---|
| Wind tunnel testing | |
| Regular final inspection of every fan | |
| Comparison measurements against production fans |
History
- 1983
Development of the first functional reversible fan by Clarence Isert for a CAT D6D.
- 1989
Founding of Flexxaire Manufacturing by Clarence Isert and local investors.
- 1993
First OEM contract with Caterpillar Inc.
- 1996
Introduction of the Mark III digital fan control system.
- 1997
Move to the new production facility in Edmonton, Alberta.
- 2000
Introduction of the hydraulically driven FX fan.
- 2002
Introduction of the pneumatic AX fan series.
- 2008
Introduction of the AX Hybrid series with hydraulic actuation.
- 2010
Acquisition by new owners; renaming to Flexxaire Inc.
- 2012
Introduction of the angle position sensor (blade pitch angle sensor).
- 2015
Completion of the in-house wind tunnel and opening of a branch office in Switzerland.
- 2018
Occupancy of the new permanent building for the wind tunnel.
- 2019
Market launch of the certified FlexxControl control system and the patented FlexxPerformance blade.