Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregg Burnett.
Gregg, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Dust Free® is a family owned and operated business headquartered in Royse City, TX, just 40 miles east of downtown Dallas. Dust Free® was established July 1st, 1982 as a manufacturing company specializing in air filtration equipment designed to benefit allergy patients who required a clean indoor environment.
The company was founded by my mother and father, Jane and Gil Burnett, after an undetected gas leak in our home severely affected their health. They became extremely sensitive to dust, pollens, and molds and my father’s health deteriorated to the point that he was forced to walk away from a very lucrative telecommunications career. As his health began to improve, Gil began to look for products that could help clean up the invisible contaminants in the air but found that the products available at that time were either too expensive, ineffective, or toxic due to the materials used in their construction. He knew that he needed to breathe clean air and he knew that he still had to provide for our family. Gil began designing air filters in our home in Rockwall Texas, and constructing the filters in our garage in May of 1983. His doctor at The Environmental Health Center of Dallas, Texas, began promoting the filters and referring his patients with similar health issues to Dust Free for products. The company grew rapidly over the next few years and Jane and Gil purchased a 4000-sq. ft. building in the Industrial Park in Royse City, TX which moved the filter production out of our garage.
I began managing the company as CEO when my parents retired in 1999. My wife Heather, joined me in managing and operating the business in 2013. Dust Free still manufactures the same filters I helped my father build in our garage, however we have expanded to offer a full range of Indoor Air Quality Solutions. By far, my favorite role at Dust Free is designing new products. We have a great team of people that work very hard building and supporting products that clean the air inside people’s homes and business. Our ability to be innovative and flexible in an evolving industry, has also given us the opportunity to work as an Original Equipment Manufacturer for the largest furnace and air conditioning equipment manufacturers. Dust Free’s OEM customers are the most popular brands you find on the HVAC equipment in homes all over the USA. The company also provides indoor air quality training for its distributors and has a very active research and development program designed to meet the indoor air quality needs of the future.
Demand for our company’s products has required Dust Free® to obtain a larger manufacturing space which, when completed, will provide Dust Free with over 80,000 sq. ft. located on Industrial Drive in Royse City, Texas. Today, Dust Free® manufactures a wide variety of air purification equipment designed to help people breathe cleaner air in both residential and business locations.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course anyone in business knows there are always day to day challenges successfully growing a business in today’s marketplace.
The biggest struggle was funding our growth with self-generated capital and re-inventing the business model as the company moved from a low volume, niche air cleaner manufacturer to a medium volume, full line IAQ product supplier to the OEMs.
We have had some fairly aggressive head winds created by some unscrupulous competitors, but in the end we competed fairly, and won substantial market share.
Please tell us about Dust Free.
Dust Free® gathers and researches pertinent information regarding global air quality concerns. We continuously develop and manufacture innovative air purification products based on the needs of our customers.
I believe education is crucial in this industry. Consumers are becoming more health conscious every day and bad air quality is not something you continuously hear about. If someone was offered 2 glasses of water, one with particles of dust sprinkled in it, and one without, which one would they choose? The same concern should be considered for air quality. Even though we usually cannot see what is in the air, we are breathing harmful particles into our bodies at an alarming rate daily.
Positively impacting our consumers health, that is what makes me proud of what we do. When I hear that we have made a difference in the life of a child with asthma, or an elderly person with high sensitivity to air pollutants, I know we are making progress in this industry. When a customer comes to us with concerns about their and/or their family’s health, and our products positively impact that concern, not only am I proud but, I know we have done our job.
Based on personal experience, I have seen up close and personal the harmful effects of bad air quality on someone’s life. Dust Free has spent the last 35 years designing products and developing manufacturing processes that set us apart from our competition. We look forward to continuing this trend for many more years.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would not have pursued any other business opportunities outside of the clean air business.
Contact Info:
- Address: Dust Corporate Office and Factories
1112 Industrial Drive,
Royse City TX 75189 - Website: dustfree.com
- Phone: 1-800-441-1107
- Email: marketing@dustfree.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dustfreetx/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1903539/
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