San Jose’s ATS Air Celebrates 40 Years of Excellence
All Temperature Service Air Conditioning, Inc. began earnestly in 1984 in founder Richard Lowder’s living room in his family home. As business expanded ATS moved on to much more illustrious locations, like the family garage and a storage unit.
In all seriousness, business grew as word of the company’s excellent work spread, and call after call rang into the ATS offices in San Jose.
Richard’s son, current ATS President James Lowder, got his start in the business early. Like 8 years old early. His family likes to recount how at that tender age he impressed a potential client at a trade show so thoroughly with his knowledge of HVAC that they hired ATS on the spot! It was only natural then for James to start working for the family business when he was old enough. When his father passed away unexpectedly on a service call in 2004, James not only promptly finished that job, he stepped up to follow his father’s footsteps as the leader of ATS, with his brother Stephen eventually coming on as vice president of operations.
James changed ATS’ direction slightly once he took the helm, shifting focus from residential service to commercial business-to-business projects, construction and pre-fab services. Later, the company expanded its services to include commercial HVAC and plumbing services. These were wise moves; the Silicon Valley Journal recognized ATS earlier this year as one of the top family-owned businesses in Silicon Valley, ranked by 2023 revenue. The Journal also recognized the company this year as a Bay Area Best Place to Work. ATS has been a Bay Area SMACNA member since 2009 and currently employs some 120 workers.
“What truly sets ATS apart is our focus on relationship building, supported by our core values of integrity, reliability and transparency,” ATS’ Senior Marketing Manager Jennifer Vega says, noting the company’s 40-year history has sewn long-lasting relationships with clients, partners and communities. “By prioritizing personalized attention and understanding our clients’ unique needs, we consistently exceed expectations and build lasting trust.”
With their reputation for excellence, ATS gets offered some interesting projects like designing, building and installing an HVAC system for a building with no straight walls!
The Ohana Center for Child Adolescent Behavioral Health in Monterey recently won the Silicon Valley Structure Award for its unique, serpentine-like design. ATS used leading-edge technology, working closely with skilled craftsman to build piping and ductwork that met the precise curves the structure required. The Ohana Center utilizes a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system for HVAC, which offers exceptional energy efficiency.
Speaking of VRF, ATS designed and built a VRF system for Archer Aviation’s aircraft assembly lab, electric engine lab and high-volume battery pack lab. Archer is developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis. ATS was happy to provide this high-tech, high-efficiency company with a matching HVAC system. It’s no secret ATS embraces technology, so it should come as no surprise that they’re utilizing AI to help streamline their operations. “In our service department, we use AI to generate tailored digital reports after each service call.
These reports are delivered directly to the client’s inbox and provide a detailed visual overview of the work performed, including photos and videos,” Vega says. “This enhances transparency and helps clients better understand the recommendations and completed work, no matter where they or their units are located.” Artificial intelligence is cool and all, but can it handle a grill? ATS’ human staff can, and with consummate skill!
“A fun fact is that many members of our team are award-winning chefs, with a particular passion for BBQ,” Vega says. “We love using our culinary skills to support local events such as the Silicon Valley Pig Jig, an amateur BBQ competition where all proceeds benefit youth battling rare kidney diseases.”
Community support is huge for ATS. Beyond charitable BBQing, the company regularly makes donations to local schools and cancer foundations, and sponsors little league teams, rodeos and more.
