The origins of the design-build concept began after World War II. The wartime economy was adapting to the boom of consumer products, including air conditioning for commercial buildings.

When Navy war veteran Harold Price returned home to Kansas City, he was a registered engineer and HVAC contractor in a skill class of his own. Harold saw the rapidly growing need for a design-build approach to HVAC systems and turned it into the centerpiece of his profession.

“Design-build offered the ideal solution because we sold directly to owners of existing buildings.” according to Harold, “Owners didn’t want to deal with multiple contractors and consultants for these retro projects. They wanted a single source.”

Harold’s early work was the springboard to Airtech’s design-build approach. When the engineers designing an HVAC system are the same contractors that build them, everyone benefits from the level of detail and care. Over fifty years later, the design-build approach still proves the most beneficial way to do business with our customers’ best interest in mind.