KCC Companies Accelerates Direct-to-Market Growth, Opens Channel Partner Conversations Across North America

Employee-owned Kentucky manufacturer cites surge of inbound interest across its integrated portfolio of commercial outdoor air systems, roof curbs and adapters, and adjacent HVAC infrastructure; expansion follows Simpsonville campus investment and partnership in next-generation thermal energy storage.

JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky., June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- KCC Companies, the 100 percent employee-owned manufacturer entering its 50th year, today announced an accelerated expansion of direct commercial engagement across its integrated portfolio of commercial HVAC equipment, dehumidification and energy recovery systems, and roofing infrastructure products. The company cited a sharp increase in inbound interest from specifying engineers, mechanical contractors, and channel partners, and confirmed it is actively building out an independent partner network across North America to meet the demand.

"For 50 years, KCC has built a reputation in the specifying community for engineering depth, manufacturing precision, and the kind of accountability that comes with being employee-owned," said Joel Strieter, President of KCC Manufacturing. "We are entering our next chapter with the conviction that our partners, and the engineers writing the specifications, want to work directly with the company that designs, tests, and builds these systems. The level of interest we are seeing this month tells us the market is ready."

KCC Manufacturing's commercial air management portfolio includes AHRI 920–compliant dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS) delivering up to 100 percent conditioned outdoor air with the ability to maintain supply dewpoints down to 43°F, at all ambient conditions. Part-load performance is where the specification is won: the integrated seasonal moisture removal efficiency (ISMRE2) ratings that drive ASHRAE 90.1 and IECC compliance are measured across the part-load curve, and KCC's DOAS units were proactively engineered to exceed those benchmarks. The company manufactures DX, chilled-water, and air- and water-source heat pump configurations specified into K-12 and higher education, healthcare, laboratories, data centers, multi-family residential, hospitality, and high-performance commercial buildings, alongside dehumidification and energy recovery equipment engineered for controlled environment agriculture and specialized industrial applications.

The company's roofing infrastructure division is one of North America's leading manufacturers of metal and conventional roof curbs, curb adapters, and roofing accessory products including stainless-steel gutters, skylights, smoke vents, roof hatches, and walkways. The division has supplied national HVAC equipment manufacturers and metal building systems leaders for nearly four decades and was awarded the Butler Lifetime Partner Award by Butler Manufacturing in 2019, the first such recognition Butler had ever issued. Together, KCC's air management and roofing infrastructure businesses give specifying engineers, contractors, and building owners access to a single, vertically integrated source: the equipment that conditions the air, and the structural curb that anchors it to the roof.

The expansion follows a series of public investments in capability and innovation. KCC is currently on track to open a $100 million, 80-acre campus that includes a dedicated research and development operation supporting next-generation product development and 360,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Simpsonville, Kentucky. In April 2026, KCC Manufacturing announced a $2 million strategic investment in Rebound Technologies, deepening a preferred manufacturing partnership for Rebound's IcePoint® thermal energy storage system, a technology designed to decouple cooling production from cooling demand for data centers, food processing, and district cooling applications.

"Inbound interest from across the commercial buildings market has been extraordinary," said Cole Fisher, Vice President of Sales for KCC Manufacturing. "Specifying engineers, mechanical contractors, and rep firms are reaching out to learn how to work with us directly. We are actively in conversations with prospective representatives and distribution partners in markets across the United States and Canada, and the window to be part of this next chapter is open right now."

KCC's technical credibility is anchored in active leadership across the industry's principal standards bodies. More than twenty KCC engineers participate in ASHRAE technical committees governing dedicated outdoor air systems, energy recovery, indoor air quality, and the method-of-test standards that underpin AHRI certification. Among them, Kevin Muldoon, Director of Research & Development at KCC, started and chaired ASHRAE's Multidisciplinary Task Group for Controlled Environment Agriculture and was Vice-Chair of ASHRAE SSPC 198, the method of test underpinning AHRI 920 certification for DX-DOAS equipment. Muldoon was also a voting member of AHRI's Applied Sector Leadership Council overseeing the DX-DOAS rating program. He currently serves on 3 Society level committees at ASHRAE: Handbook, Technical Activities Committee (Section 9 and MTG Section Head, and Region VII CTTC RVC. Within AHRI, Kevin currently chairs the DX-DOAS Certification Task Force. Other ASHRAE involvement includes: 90.1 Consultant and Vice Chair TC 8.10.

KCC will be sharing further details on its expanded commercial program with the engineering, contracting, and distribution community in the months ahead, including planned engagement around the 2027 AHR Expo and ASHRAE Winter Conference in Chicago this January. Rep firms, distributors, mechanical contractors, and specifying engineers interested in opening a direct conversation with KCC are invited to contact the Sales team at [email protected] or 502-694-3449.

About KCC Companies: KCC Companies is a 100 percent employee-owned company founded March 1977 by current CEO, Al Fiorini, and headquartered in Jeffersontown, Kentucky. With more than 1,000 employees and approximately 800,000 square feet of manufacturing space across four facilities in Jeffersontown and Simpsonville, KCC offers a vertically integrated portfolio for the commercial buildings market: dedicated outdoor air systems and air handling equipment, roof curbs, curb adapters, and roofing accessory dehumidification and energy recovery solutions for controlled environment agriculture and specialized industrial applications. KCC has been an ESOP since 2008 and is ranked #13 among Louisville's largest private companies. Learn more at kccmfg.com.

Media Contact:
Becky McClellan
KCC Companies
[email protected]• 502.493.5768

Curran Ethridge
Circuitry Media
[email protected] 706.495.4100

SOURCE KCC Manufacturing