BY KAREN CHANEY
Vent-A Hood employs 100 people in Richardson.
Technology has advanced with the times at Vent-A Hood.
Ralph Eli has worked at Vent-A Hood for over 25 years. He’s one of dozens that have reached 20+ years with the company.
PHOTOS BY KAREN CHANEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
Vent-A Hood grows through multiple generations
While speaking about Vent-A Hood—a company founded in Dallas in 1933 and relocated to Rich- ardson in 1961—Vice President of Sales Miles “Bill” Woodall IV, a Marine Corps veteran, oscillates between exuding family pride and industry insight. The facility features a hallway with an image-cen- tric timeline, including a portrait of Woodall’s great-uncle Carr P. Collins, Sr. who nanced Vent- A Hood in 1937 and recruited his nephew, Miles Woodall Jr. to manage the company. In a nutshell Vent-A Hood manufactures home kitchen ven- tilation and range hoods. Bill Woodall said 93% of the canopies produced at Vent-A Hood are standard shapes but they have developed a reputation for creating custom shapes and those requests make up about 7% of their canopy production. Bill Woodall points to their patented Magic Lung as being a major factor in the company’s longevity. The blower system uses centrifugal force to separate all grease from cooking vapors and removes smoke, steam, odors, heat and harmful gases from the kitchen air without a conventional lter. Zooming in Situated on 9-acres on Greenville Avenue, a Vent- A Hood employee hall of fame plaque lists 35 people reaching their 20+ year mark and many others lling in the 25-50+ year categories. Ralph Eli recently celebrated his quarter-century
mark with the company. “I have known Eli since I was a little boy. I’ve gotten marriage advice from him,” Bill Woodall said. “We have an expression here: If you make it past your 90 day point, you’ll probably make it past your 20 year point.’” The second oor of the factory is where product design and training departments are housed. Product training includes an interactive demon- stration proving Vent-A Hood hoods will keep ames from going into pipes causing an attic re. Meet the CEO Miles “Skip” Woodall III is Bill Woodall’s father and the current CEO of Vent-A Hood. Just like his son, Skip Woodall started working at the family business as a child and is also a Marine Corps veteran. “I was 12 years old when I started working here in 1958,” Skip Woodall said. “I worked in the stock room. I worked days, nights—my dad pushed me harder than anybody.” As the CEO, Skip Woodall oversees nances. “[Skip Woodall] doesn’t believe in debt. He has structured it so that we can weather the storm whenever we need to. He’s very responsible with that,” Bill Woodall said. “There’s a lot of companies that have to shut down when something happens. He’s always big about keeping rainy day funds and acting responsibly. I don’t think we would be here without that.”
The Vent-A Hood factory includes packaging, shipping and manufacturing departments.
The Vent-A Hood management team including Skip Woodall, third from left and Bill Woodall, far right.
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1000 N. Greenville Ave., Richardson www.ventahood.com
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RICHARDSON EDITION
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