Breakthrough is backed by Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder and billionaire now focusing on philanthropy.
Matt Damschroder, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, with Nick Miller, director of member services for the Ohio Manufacturers Associaton, are set to visit Aeroseal Friday, meeting Mark Keeton, the company’s vice president and general manager.
The visit is timely for two reasons. October is National Manufacturing Month. And Ohio has had more job openings than job candidates in recent months. With record-low unemployment, finding the right people can be tougher than ever.
“The right people are finding us,” Keeton said in an interview Thursday. “We’re able to sort through really great candidates to find the people who really want to work here.”
When it comes to finding the right people, Keeton said a mix of methods has worked: The company asks current employees to refer new prospects and relies on local colleges. The positive news Aeroseal has seen this year hasn’t hurt.
“We already are getting some attention, just because of things like the investments we’re receiving,” Keeton said.
The firm has a “pretty regimented” process when it comes to evaluating candidates. Aeroseal needs employees who aren’t afraid of hard work and are ready to do things differently, he said. The company puts a premium on candidates’ attention to engineering and a desire to better themselves.
“We work most of our lives, right? Work isn’t intended to be easy,” Keeton said. “It’s intended to be a little bit challenging. But there’s a balance to that challenge and reward.”
The reward lies in “doing something new, groundbreaking, changing the world.
“It’s also a little challenging, and that’s a good thing,” he added.
The housing industry has been “a little bit tough,” but Aeroseal is overcoming that and seeing growth, Keeton said. “We’re having a great year.”
When it comes to salaries and wages, Aeroseal’s philosophy is simple.
“We try to stay on market,” Keeton said. “I’ll just say that.”
Aeroseal says its technology zeroes in on residential energy leaks by pressurizing ductwork or a building itself to carry a non-toxic, water-based sealant formula to any leak point.
Amit Gupta, chief executive of Aeroseal, bought Aeroseal when it was a division of air conditioning company Carrier, moving the business in 2011 to the Dayton area. In 2019, the company moved from Centerville to the former Evenflo building on Byers Road.
Aeroseal has about 220 employees today, about 75% of them in the Dayton area. But Gupta told the newspaper in August that Aeroseal’s impact is bigger: Aeroseal works with close to 1,300 dealers, who buy the company’s machines, and has trained some 5,000 technicians, with more employees trained to sell Aeroseal products.
“This is just the beginning,” Gupta said when when the Breakthrough Energy Ventures/Climate Investment funding was announced.
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