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.

“I had never even heard of testing, adjusting and balancing,” Larsen said with a laugh. “That first time I saw a large airhandling unit, I thought it was a semi-trailer.”

Larsen was tasked with creating opportunities and building relationships to increase demand for TAB in Northwest Indiana. He threw himself into the assignment, bouncing between field work and traveling to places like Tennessee and Iowa for training.

“When I started, the TAB industry wasn’t all that big in this area,” he says. “I started taking information to engineers in Chicago, Illinois, and other places. I would go in with a brochure, and I had many say they had never had a TAB guy come there before.”

By the early 2000s, he had become certified by TABB after passing an exam at the Detroit testing facility. He spoke to community members about TAB and was appointed to the boards of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and Sheet Metal Workers Local 20’s training center in Indiana.

After four years of successful growth, Larsen saw the next step was to buy Mechanical Test & Balance Inc. There were ups and downs, but after all the hard work and sacrifice Larsen is an outspoken advocate for the entire TAB industry.

“Figuring out a building is like solving the best puzzle,” he said. “It’s a rewarding situation for those of us who never quit. I tell young people, ‘You’re getting into one of the best fields out there. If you can master TAB and service work, you can get a job anywhere.’”

Larsen promotes the industry every chance he gets, giving talks and presentations to any group or individual that shows an interest. One trait he shares with the other Hall of Fame honorees is a willingness to help.

“I have mentored a number of individuals over the years because I have learned I have nothing to hide,” he says. “I have never been afraid they would steal my sales pitch. In fact, I would tell it to them.

“My competitors would say, ‘Why are you sharing your secrets?’ I would tell them, ‘I don’t have any. Maybe I can learn from you.’ If I can make things easier for them, maybe they won’t have to go through all the challenges that I did.”

For anyone considering a career in sheet metal, Larsen says, “Go for it and give it 100%, all the time. If you work hard and learn the trade, you will always have a job.”

He has gratitude for all the opportunities the sheet metal industry has offered and for the people who helped him along the way.

“I met my good friend Ralph Neff, who owns Mechanical Concepts, when we were five years old, and we have been best friends for 60 years. He helped me get started in this business, and he taught me that when doors open up to you, you go through them. I can’t thank him enough.” ▪

Jessica Kirby is editor-publisher for Point One Media, a small but sturdy family-owned trade magazine creator representing some of North America’s best construction associations. She can usually be found among piles of paper in her home office or exploring British Columbia’s incredible wilderness.