For Johnson Level & Tool Manufacturing Company in Mequon, Wis., just north of Milwaukee, battling the elements was a challenge. Wisconsin weather can be wicked. Winter temperatures can plummet below zero and the wind chill can be dangerous. In the summer, the mercury can soar into the 90s.

“Keeping employees comfortable is a top priority, especially at the dock where weather has an impact on overall comfort and productivity,” says distribution manager Mario Cherubini. “One of our overriding objectives is to ensure that working conditions are at their best even when Mother Nature's at her worst.”

With a 60-year heritage, Johnson Level & Tool manufactures more than 270 types of levels and distributes nearly 900 other hand tools under the Fuller Tool brand. On an average day, workers process between 15 and 20 trailer shipments at its five dock bays.

It takes about 20 minutes to load or unload a trailer, so dock doors are open for 20 minutes at a time. The main dock area would get very cold because there was only one 15-foot tower heater in the center of the 33,000-square-foot warehouse. The forced-air heater draws cold air through the bottom and expels heat from the top, sending it up to the 30-foot ceiling where it would linger.

Cherubini installed a fan with a design that features four aluminum blades, varying in width and pitch angle along their entire length. The design moves air consistently across the whole blade, creating an airflow of more than 360,000 actual cubic feet per minute.

The fan was installed on a day when the temperature struggled to reach 20 degrees and winds were whipping. The fan was up and running within four hours. Then came the first shipment. “We didn't expect much,” explains Cherubini, “but we turned on the fan and the dock area was warm within five minutes.”

Rite-Hite Corporation 888-456-3625, www.ritehite.com