A.J. Antunes & Co.

Corporate Profile:

A.J. Antunes & Co. is a prominent manufacturing company that distributes products all over the world. The company headquarters is located in Carol Stream Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in the U.S.

In business since 1955, the company is privately held, and family run. A.J. Antunes & Co. divisions include; Antunes Controls which manufactures OEM electronic controls and air and gas pressure switches; Antunes Foodservice Equipment which manufactures products for the foodservice industry, and the newest division; Antunes Filtration Technologies which manufactures filtration products that remove particulates, bacteria, and viruses from water.

Company History:

A. J. Antunes & Co. was founded on September 1^st, 1955 by August J. Antunes. Originally, the company was started as a manufacturer’s representative sales organization calling on customers in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. At that time, the company concentrated sales efforts on industrial clients. Some of the companies represented were Mid-Continent, Ensign Ribbon Burner, Ajax Electric Company, and Pyrometer. One of the factories represented, Mid-Continent, had a food service equipment division. As luck would have it, this product line became available and we expanded our marketing focus to include several foodservice equipment manufacturers including EmberGlo, Frymaster and Robot Coupe.

An industrial sales background resulted in giving A. J. Antunes & Co. it’s start as a manufacturing company. Underwriter’s Laboratory created a new safety standard for industrial ovens. This standard required flame-heated ovens to sense the air flow and gas pressure. While this was a great safety feature, no practical device was available to perform this function. Therefore, the design engineers at these companies had to figure out a way to comply with this standard. Many of the companies affected by this new standard were clients of A. J. Antunes & Co.

As they say, “Necessity is the mother of invention” and A. J. Antunes & Co. saw this as an opportunity to create a simple and affordable component that complied with this new requirement.  A prototype device was built and shown to the various other manufacturers in the territory. Soon orders started to arrive and the company expanded it’s business focus to include manufacturing. This manufacturing business was called Chicago Safety Products Company. Since 70% of the industrial oven manufacturers were located within the company’s marketing territory, A.J. Antunes & Co. was able to maintain the manufacturer’s representative business while now manufacturing the air flow and gas pressure safety switches.

The original Chicago Safety Products switch was called the Model D-1. The Model D-1 was a differential air pressure switch developed primarily for the industrial combustion market. The D-1 air switch was used to sense air-flow across a burner. The first customer was Despatch Industries in Minneapolis Minnesota with an order for 100 switches. Despatch continues to be a loyal customer of Antunes Controls to this day.

Following a process of continuous improvement, the second generation of this air-flow switch was soon introduced. This model was called the JD-2. The model was named as the second (2) generation of the differential switch (D). What does the J stand for? Always a strong family man, August Antunes used this opportunity to name this product for his children, Jim and Jane. To compliment the air differential safety switch, gas pressure switches were soon added to the product line. These gas pressure switches are designed to sense gas pressure being supplied to a gas burner.

Following on the heels of the successful switch business, the foodservice equipment group began to grow. In 1969, the company created a prototype hot dog grill. August Antunes showed this prototype to the various manufacturers of the product lines that he already represented however none of these companies saw the potential of this product. Convinced that a market existed for this unique grill, A. J. Antunes & Co. decided to manufacture this product in house. This was the beginning of the Roundup brand of equipment. Eventually, the need to focus attention on the manufacturing business ended the manufacturer’s representative portion of the business in 1974. With full attention on the manufacturing business, both Roundup and Chicago Safety Products grew successfully.

Many of the foodservice products that the company was now manufacturing contained electronic controls. A.J. Antunes & Co.’s commitment to quality led them to design and manufacture these components in house rather than use an outside supplier. By adding a design engineer and a small assembly staff, the company greatly reduced development time, shortened lead-time, and improved component quality.

Realizing that other manufacturers could benefit from the company’s new expertise, A.J. Antunes & Co. began developing electronic controls for outside clients. Combining the electronics group and Chicago Safety Products Company led to the evolution of the Antunes Controls division. This has given Antunes Controls a larger product base and the ability to branch into many new markets. It has also allowed the company to capitalize on new business opportunities.

In 2000, A.J. Antunes & Co. unveiled their newest division Antunes Filtration Technologies. Partnering with companies from around the globe, Antunes Filtration Technologies has created a water filtration system that removes particulates and bacteria, and can substantially reduce the amount of viruses that can enter a typical water supply. Using the latest in ultra-filtration membrane technology, Antunes Filtration Technologies division has applications in numerous markets including foodservice, the soft drink market, healthcare, schools, laboratories and the HVAC industry. A. J. Antunes & Co. has a worldwide reputation as a quality manufacturer.  

Company Vision:

For many years, business operations were divided in several buildings in Addison Illinois. Since August 10^th, 1999, all U.S.A. operations were combined into one large, modern manufacturing facility located in Carol Stream Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. This facility consists of 114,000 square feet of manufacturing space and offices with another 30,000 square feet of planned expansion. This state-of-the-art facility has improved efficiency, lowered lead-times, allowed better communication with all departments, and greatly improved response time to customers. This allowed the company to profit by record growth in 2001, and to build a base for continued growth in the foreseeable future.

International sales are important to the on-going success and future growth of the company, and A.J. Antunes & Co. has invested significant resources in these markets. In 2000, 32% of total sales came from international business and this percentage continues to grow. Today products from all three divisions are sold in over 130 countries, and A.J. Antunes & Co. will continue to invest resources in emerging markets as a vehicle for growth.

July 8^th, 2003 A.J. Antunes & Co. opened their new facility in Suzhou China. Antunes Equipment Manufacturing (Suzhou) Company Ltd. The new facility is strategically located in the Suzhou New District, a high-tech industrial development area about 50 miles west of Shanghai and on the outskirts of one of the most affluent cities in China. Initial operations will include assembly of the company’s unique corn cookers for the foodservice market, water filtration systems for the removal of bacteria, particulates and viruses present in a typical water supply, and air and gas pressure switches.  

The vision for the future is to continue to operate as a family run business, and to grow the company by providing innovative designs and reliable quality built products for the industries served by all three divisions. The company’s commitment to quality, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement will remain the focus for the future.