About Ventry Solutions, Inc. - OEM of portable gas-powered VENTRY Fans and LENTRY Generator Lights

Our Philosophy

Mission statement: To build the best equipment—in safety, quality, and value—while keeping the designs simple for minimal maintenance and intuitive, cost-effective operation.

Our goal is to build safety equipment that lasts forever! Like the 1941 Ford 9N Tractor we use at the shop for plowing snow, we want VENTRY and LENTRY Units to perform safely and effectively for a very very long time. Our designs are driven by customer needs and feedback, in an unending pursuit of innovation and improvement. As a result, we make our living selling our products, not their parts! We believe this is good business, proven by the loyalty of our customers and the track record of our products.

History

Ventry Solutions, Inc. has been family owned and operated since 1968. We were originally incorporated in 1972 under the name Quality Builders Inc of Bozeman. The dba J. Neils Enterprises, Inc. was adopted after we began manufacturing fans. In the year 2010, we have officially changed the business name from Quality Builders Inc. dba J Neils Enterprises to Ventry Solutions, Inc. (Why did we change it, you ask? Click here for the press release.)

Our products are engineered and manufactured in the USA at our Hauser, Idaho facility and we are very efficient so five of us keep everything running smoothly and get products out the door fast. All of us volunteer in our community, and four of us are volunteers with the local fire department. Quite a bit of our manufacturing process involves other members of the department, the local community, and various small businesses. In this way, our livelihoods are interconnected with many others’ which serves as a driving force in making only products of the highest quality and efficacy to ensure safety and continued demand.

We are privileged to serve brave, hard working customers across the United States and Canada and to be expanding internationally every year. We hold ourselves and our dealers to the highest ethical standards and appreciate every single order, taking special pride in earning repeat business. It is our great and sincere pleasure to produce products we know save lives and contribute to the betterment of communities both local and worldwide.

Top of page

Windjammer Fans

We built our first PPV fan in 1989, when John Neils first joined the Hauser Lake Fire Department. Since then, VENTRY® Fans (originally known as Windjammer™ Fans) have become well-known in the fire fighting industry for their durability and effectiveness. Our second product line, LENTRY Generator Lights, arose from one of our sharp customers who was so impressed with the legs on the fans that he told us, “You’ve got to put those legs on a generator light!”

Thank you to our fellow firefighters, hot air balloon pilots and others around the world who have supported us over the years and given generously of their input, suggestions, and expertise.

Top of page

Veteran Owned Small Business

John Neils served in Vietnam during the 1968 Tet Offensive. He was a heavy equipment mechanic with the 864th Engineer Battalion, Company A. As a result of John’s service, Ventry Solutions, Inc. is a Veteran Owned Small Business.

Solar Miser®

For those interested in solar energy, we offer the Solar Miser® window energy meter, which John Neils invented many years ago. It is an insolation meter which tells you the net energy flow through windows, helping you take advantage of energy gains when heating and energy losses when cooling.

Fun Stuff

William goes with Aunt Joan to photograph his Dad and Grandpa doing a deer rescue James is the one in yellow.

James, Dad, Ken and Doug are volunteers for many years with the local FD. James (right photo, in yellow on the ice) and Dad (with the beard, left photo) responded to rescue a deer this December.

Joan (the Web Admin) left the office with her nephew William (James’s son, above left photo foreground) to take pictures. The deer had simply fallen and could not get up. Once scooted to dry land, she seemed likely to recover with no apparent broken legs or wounds, just exhaustion.

[Update: A photo of this rescue, taken by Brian Plonka, made it to the national news! James, as Assistant Chief, and Captain Gary Mobbs were featured in the photos of the week. I am not sure how long this link will work but it is fun to see while it lasts.

Around the Office

Upper left: James’s two sons, Walter and William, often join us in the shop. In this picture, they help their Aunt Joan load a mailer into her car as Dakota the dog looks for treats.

Upper Right: Our office has served as home for several frogs over the years, including the little guy at right we’ve named Fred. He lives in the plumbing core, accessible via a small hole under James’s desk. Fred ventures out at night and is often seen hopping home when Joan and Ken arrive at 7 am. He often voices his opinion in the background while we speak on the phone. Don’t take it personally.

Lower left two: While John and Paula Neils were on vacation, their cat “Boots” stayed with us at the office and made herself comfortable. She is a rather large cat who was bound and determined to stuff herself into small spaces, including Joan's desk drawer.

Fred the Office Frog

Office window is excavated

Right middle and lower: Boots was only visiting, but James's dog “Dakota” spends most days with us at the shop. In the pictures at right, during a particularly harsh winter, he stands outside the office and lets us know he'd like to come inside. Sometimes the office window must be dug out to let in the sunshine!

Home | Top of Page