This year, Eldridge will celebrate its 75th year in business! Thank-you to all the customers, suppliers, and employees that have contributed to our success over the last three quarters of a century.
Founded in 1946 by Len Eldridge, the company started out as manufacturer’s representative in Dallas selling fans. Len was joined by Walt Leseman in 1952 who had left his position at Hydril and moved to Houston to open a satellite office. After Len passed away in 1956, Walt purchased the company and Houston became the headquarters for the company.
Under Walt’s leadership, Eldridge established its expertise in ventilating mobile offshore drilling rigs when the offshore drilling industry was in its infancy. Over the next five decades, Eldridge would become the leader in ventilation systems for the offshore drilling industry. At one point, over 70% of the world’s active fleet had an Eldridge ventilation system.
After a brief time in the air force, Walt’s son, Gary, joined the business. The father and son team continued to grow the company and expanded into new industries such as mining and took on new equipment lines such as desiccant dehumidifiers.
Joe Davis joined Eldridge as a salesman in 1997 and would become the fourth owner of the company. He brought an expertise in noise control from his time with Universal Silencer. Together with Gary, they established the Eldridge Design Group that would use its expertise to solve industry’s toughest ventilation and noise control problems. The success of Eldridge’s innovations and designs led to seven US patented products.
In 2015, Joe and Gary established the Eldridge Fan brand. In the ensuing five years, Eldridge Fan has grown to provide a complete line of marine and industrial fans and accessories.
“We are incredibly appreciative of the client trust and support that has allowed us to be in business for 75 years,” said Eldridge President Joe Davis. “As we celebrate our 75th year in business, we are proud of the achievements we’ve made, and we look forward to building on our legacy by creating successful work environments for our clients for many years to come.”