Our Story:

Air Flow is a Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) manufacturer’s representative serving Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Founded in 1973 by Allen Gelin and Neil Drees, Air Flow has earned its reputation among its customers in the commercial, industrial, and institutional marketplace.

Air Flow has over 25 employees and operates out of a 54,000 square foot facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We represent over 50 manufacturers of HVAC equipment and thousands of individual products.

Why Air Flow?

We know your customer is your priority, not us. We also know all reps look alike. We offer similar products, at similar prices, with similar services. So what makes us different? As President Tom Gelin puts it, we have a patented system of “Give-a-sh**-ology. Yep, we really do give a sh** about your project.

That means we do the little things others aren’t willing to do, so you can have a successful project, get home in time for supper, and sleep well at night.

Any company can sell you HVAC products, but only Air Flow delivers the Range, Support, and Experience you need for lasting success.

For Our Engineering and Contracting Customers:

• We provide design assistance and compliance information for engineers.
• We help educate the industry on our products and in HVAC in general.
• We provide proposals for publicly bid and privately negotiated projects.
• We provide product data and coordination specific to your project.
• We sell, order, and ship HVAC equipment
• We provide logistics for those products so they arrive on time.
• We are the experts in the products we represent.
• We are committed to your success as we are as committed to ours.

For Our Manufacturers:

• We serve as an extension of your company.
• We learn your products inside and out.
• We both identify and create opportunities for your products and solutions.
• We identify, prevent, and solve problems that arise
• We are committed to your success as we are as committed to ours.

Get to Know Air Flow

Air Flow Doesn’t Bundle Like Those Other Guys

Our parody video pokes fun at our HVAC competitors who ‘bundle’ their equipment together. Bundling may be great for keeping insurance premiums low, but it’s not great for HVAC contractors or their customers. It’s why we don’t bundle. Remember, we’re the give-a-sh** company.

Air Flow Tackles Bundling

When you hear Patrick Mahomes talk about “bundling” in those insurance commercials on TV, he’s referring to good news for customers. However, bundling is a bad word in the commercial HVAC world. This video shines a spotlight on the HVAC industry practice of bundling equipment and products in a bid. Bundling favors the manufacturer, not the customer. And we think it’s wrong. So Air Flow doesn’t bundle. Watch as the Air Flow football team tackles bundling. You might even recognize a few references to those insurance commercials.

The 8 Rules of (Fight Club) Air Flow

You’ve never heard corporate values delivered quite like this.

We promise you. Our version of Fight Club packs a punch.

How Air Flow Got to 50

Some would argue this company shouldn’t be here.

Would you be resilient enough to persevere through this rocky story? Be honest now!

2023 marks Air Flow’s 50 th Anniversary. Don’t miss Tom’s reflections on what it took for AFI to get to where it is today and where the company is headed. It was a bumpy ride so fasten your seat belt.

Range. Support. Experience

Any rep can sell you HVAC equipment. At Air Flow we deliver the range, support and experience you need for lasting success.

Want to get Rid of your Delivery Headaches?

Undoubtedly, you’ve managed or been on a project with a lot of grilles, fire dampers, sheet metal accessories, fans, terminal boxes, and other equipment. Coordinating the arrival, inspection, unpacking, sorting, and distribution of all these materials is challenging enough.

To complicate matters further, many manufacturers have multiple plants, so a single order placed by a rep will involve multiple deliveries of the same product type. (Example – curtain fire dampers come from one plant, multi-blade fire dampers from another, and fire-smoke dampers from a 3rd)

Air Flow – Warehouse Inventory

Need HVAC products when you’re in a pinch? Thanks to our warehouse, we can help you. 

Air Flow – Grand Opening!

On May 15, 2015 we opened the doors on our new facility. The result? An awesome day of PDH Classes, Manufacturer demos, and a makeshift HVAC drum set.

Airflow Grand Opening: The Fun Committee

In order to prepare for our Grand Opening on May 15, 2015, we appointed Caleb the head of the Fun Committee. That may have been a mistake.

Tom Gelin Unusual Road to Entrepreneurship

This video is from a speaking engagement at our industry convention in January 2012. The subject is my unusual entry to becoming an entrepreneur, followed by the address of growing pains that don’t go away with success. There are also some ideas for help that I received through various sources.