SmallBiz: Filter systems battle mold and air quality problems

photo Charles Parent, owner of Environmental Air Filters, speaks about his air filtration methods at his warehouse in Hixson. Parent's business services the Tennessee Aquarium, Komatsu, and several other large companies in the Chattanooga area.

Name: Environmental Air Filters

Location: 4604 Hixson Pike

Contact information: Owner Charles Parent, 423-876-1776

Products/services: Three-stage air filter instillation and maintenance, custom made to the needs of particular customers

Age: 15 years

Getting started: Parent decided to get into air filtration after his 1-year-old daughter was hospitalized with a respiratory infection. About a month after she recovered, Parent came down with the same thing. He eventually got around to checking his air system and found thick black mold covering his filter. Soon after, he started his own air filter company so others can avoid the problems his family faced. "No one should have to go through this stuff and breath this stuff," he said.

Air filter benefits: Parent's filters are custom-designed to filter out pollutants in multiple stages, helping trap unwanted particles before they even enter the air system. Clean air systems don't just improve air quality, but have added effects such as lower power consumption.

Steady growth: Parent had only a few hundred dollars when he started his business. He worked hard, he said, and has seen steady, double-digit growth almost every year since then. Parent said his product quality and customer service helped him become the air filter supplier for major Chattanooga businesses such as the Tennessee Aquarium and Komatsu. The hours are long -- it took him more than a decade before he could afford to take the time off for a vacation -- but he said the work is worthwhile. "I've always liked people, and this is a people business," he said. "You've got to love what you do."

Future goals: Parent hopes to continue his growth by hiring a few more employees and moving from his Hixson warehouse to a bigger storage space in the next year or so. One day he would like to franchise his system.

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