The Innovation That Built Cleats Manufacturing

This is a profile of Cleats Manufacturing, a Chicago-area sheet metal fabrication company, and its longtime leader Steve Passannante. It traces how the company grew from a small operation making duct connectors in 1964 into one of the largest HVAC ductwork fabricators in the Chicago area, recognized in the Congressional Record by its 50th anniversary in 2014. Over the decades, the company took on more of the work that used to happen on the jobsite, building rectangular duct, spiral pipe, welded duct and other components in its own shop instead, and investing in equipment and automation, including a modern plant with eight loading docks and duct lines that can run at the same time.

For a homeowner, the piece is less about a specific product or program and more a look behind the scenes at where ductwork actually comes from. It's a reminder that the metal ducts running through your walls and attic are typically built in shops like this one, by fabricators who supply the contractors who install home HVAC systems, rather than assembled entirely on site.

There's no rebate, deadline, or technology announcement here that affects your house directly. It's a story about a family-run manufacturer, its history, and the workers and relationships that keep it running, offered as background on the industry that builds the equipment behind your heating and cooling system.