My Journey: Jim Larsen
Owner, Mechanical Test & Balance Inc. and TABB Hall of Fame Inductee By Jessica Kirby
Jim Larsen, owner of Mechanical Test & Balance Inc. in Crown Point, Indiana, was recently inducted into the Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (TABB) Hall of Fame. The TABB Hall of Fame was created by the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) in 2003 to recognize and honor deserving individuals for their dedicated service to TABB and the sheet metal industry. When Larsen received the call that he had been nominated, he was stunned. “I didn’t know what to say,” he said. “I never saw it coming.”
Unlike many of his predecessors, Larsen didn’t take a multigenerational path into the sheet metal industry. His father and uncle were ironworkers, so he followed in their footsteps for the first 20 years of his career. In 1997, Larsen was recruited by a friend who owned a mechanical contracting company in Northwest Indiana. “I was working for a ironwork contractor doing layout for structural projects, and I was top of my game, doing estimating work for the company and setting up crane permits,” he says. “I had two weeks vacation, and during that time, my friend sent me out on a TAB job just to see what I would think of it. When the pipefitter showed me a mechanical room and air handling unit, I was in awe. It felt like a big puzzle to me, and I always liked puzzles.” Larsen was fascinated by the various components and how they work together to help a building stay cool or heated. It was a whole new world. 14 » Partners in Progress » www.pinp.org
