MINNEAPOLIS — In a move designed to secure its trajectory across both traditional and emerging industrial markets, Twin City Fan Companies Ltd. (TCFC) has officially announced a pivotal leadership transition. Effective Tuesday, September 1, James Larson—formerly the company’s Chief Operating Officer—has stepped into the role of president.
Larson succeeds Michael McCann, who has successfully guided the organization through a transformative five-year tenure as president. McCann will not immediately depart the company; instead, he will transition into an advisory role until his planned retirement in February. During this interim period, McCann will focus heavily on supporting the leadership team, fostering key customer relationships, and driving business development initiatives, particularly within the company’s rapidly expanding data center cooling segment.
The leadership handoff is the culmination of a meticulously crafted, two-year succession plan orchestrated by the executive board and CEO Michael Barry. By pairing Larson’s extensive manufacturing background with McCann’s institutional knowledge during a brief overlap period, TCFC aims to ensure operational continuity while aggressively pursuing future market opportunities.
Main Facts: The Leadership Shift at a Glance
The transition at Twin City Fan Companies Ltd. brings together decades of industrial management experience and marks a deliberate strategy to sustain the company’s post-pandemic momentum.
- The New President: James Larson officially assumed the presidency on Tuesday, September 1. He brings more than 30 years of operational and manufacturing leadership experience to the position. Prior to becoming TCFC’s president, Larson served as the company’s COO starting in March 2025.
- The Outgoing President: Michael McCann led TCFC as president for five years, navigating the enterprise through the unprecedented economic turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic and modernizing its operational framework.
- Transition Timeline: McCann will remain with the company in an advisory capacity until his official retirement in February, focusing specifically on high-value client accounts and the burgeoning data center market.
- Corporate Structure: TCFC operates as an umbrella organization encompassing three industry-leading brands—Twin City Fan & Blower, Aerovent, and Clarage—collectively manufacturing a comprehensive portfolio of industrial air-moving, ventilation, and air-pollution control equipment.
- Strategic Focus: The leadership shift is engineered to capitalize on surging demand in high-tech sectors, most notably critical infrastructure and data center climate control.
Chronology: From Pandemic Navigation to a Planned Handover
To fully understand the significance of this executive appointment, it is helpful to examine the timeline of events that shaped TCFC’s recent history and paved the way for Larson’s promotion.
The McCann Era (2020–2025)
When Michael McCann assumed the presidency five years ago, the global manufacturing sector was bracing for the immediate and long-term disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under McCann’s guidance, TCFC not only weathered global supply chain fractures and labor shortages but emerged with a leaner, more disciplined operational model. Over the next half-decade, McCann introduced rigorous standardization and professionalization across TCFC’s manufacturing plants, transforming the organization into a more agile competitor. Recognizing the need for long-term organizational stability, the executive leadership and board quietly initiated a multi-year succession planning process roughly two years prior to McCann’s anticipated departure.
The Arrival of James Larson (March 2025)
As part of the deliberate succession roadmap, James Larson was brought into the organization as Chief Operating Officer in March 2025. Tasked with diving deep into the daily operations of Twin City Fan & Blower, Aerovent, and Clarage, Larson spent months aligning production capacities with shifting market demands. His intimate familiarity with the company’s plants, supply chains, and workforce laid the groundwork for a seamless transition into the top executive seat.
September 1: The Formal Handover
With the arrival of September 1, the formal baton passed from McCann to Larson. While Larson assumes day-to-day administrative and executive control, McCann’s ongoing advisory presence through February ensures that vital institutional relationships—particularly with major institutional clients and data center developers—remain uninterrupted.
Supporting Data and Executive Profiles: A Legacy of Operational Excellence
The transition represents a seamless blending of operational pedigree. Both McCann and Larson bring elite-tier manufacturing expertise to the table, positioning TCFC to maintain its competitive edge in the heavy-duty air-moving equipment sector.
James Larson’s Professional Background
James Larson’s appointment is underpinned by more than three decades of hands-on leadership in manufacturing, supply chain optimization, and corporate scaling. Before joining Twin City Fan Companies as COO in early 2025, Larson held several high-profile executive roles across the industrial and precision engineering sectors:
- Cass Precision Machining: Served as president, where he oversaw complex manufacturing operations, quality control systems, and technological upgrades to meet strict tolerance standards for industrial clients.
- King Technology: Served as Chief Operating Officer, guiding production efficiency, product development, and market expansion for specialty water care and manufacturing systems.
- AmesburyTruth: Held the position of COO, directing multi-site manufacturing operations, labor management, and lean manufacturing initiatives for a major provider of window and door components.
This diverse background in precision machining, component manufacturing, and operational scaling uniquely equips Larson to manage the intricate engineering and fabrication processes required across TCFC’s three distinct operating divisions.
Twin City Fan Companies Ltd.: An Industry Stalwart
Headquartered in Minneapolis, TCFC is a recognized powerhouse in the HVAC and industrial air-moving equipment landscape. The enterprise is anchored by three distinct, highly respected brands:
- Twin City Fan & Blower: Specializes in heavy-duty centrifugal fans, axial fans, and custom air-moving solutions designed for power generation, petrochemical plants, and large commercial structures.
- Aerovent: A premier manufacturer of industrial ventilation equipment, including propeller fans, tubeaxial units, and fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) fans engineered for corrosive environments.
- Clarage: A legendary name in heavy-duty industrial fans, custom air pollution control systems, and high-temperature process fans with a history spanning well over a century.
Together, these entities supply critical air-handling systems that keep factories breathing, data centers cool, and complex industrial processes running safely around the globe.
Official Responses: Leadership Weighs in on the Transition
Corporate transitions of this magnitude often signal shifting priorities, but TCFC’s leadership emphasizes that the move is designed to validate and accelerate the successes achieved over the past five years.
In an official press release, Michael Barry, CEO of Twin City Fan Companies, expressed deep gratitude for McCann’s tenure while expressing absolute confidence in his successor:
"I want to thank Mike for his leadership," Barry stated. "He led this business through the COVID pandemic and we came out the other side stronger. He’s brought a level of operational discipline and professionalism to TCFC that has positioned us well for the future. James is inheriting a business that has been genuinely transformed under Mike’s leadership and we’re confident he’ll build on that foundation."
Barry’s remarks underscore the cultural and operational shift that occurred under McCann—moving the enterprise from a collection of strong regional brands into a highly unified, disciplined manufacturing powerhouse.
Reflecting on his time at the helm and the roadmap ahead, Michael McCann emphasized the collaborative nature of the handoff:
"Guiding Twin City Fan Companies through the challenges and triumphs of the last five years has been the highlight of my career," McCann noted. "We have built an incredible team and transformed our operational capabilities from the ground up. Passing the reins to James—someone who already understands our culture, our operations, and our strategic goals—gives me immense confidence. I look forward to supporting him, our clients, and our growing data center initiatives through my retirement in February."
Larson, stepping into the president’s office, acknowledged the strength of the foundation left by his predecessor and pointed toward an aggressive strategy for future growth:
"Mike McCann leaves behind a legacy of resilience, operational excellence, and deep customer trust," said Larson. "Having worked closely with our teams as COO over the past several months, I have seen firsthand the dedication and engineering prowess that drives Twin City Fan, Aerovent, and Clarage. Our focus moving forward will be to honor that strong foundation while scaling our operations to meet the evolving demands of our core markets and rapidly expanding sectors like data center infrastructure."
Implications: What the Transition Means for the Future
As James Larson assumes the presidency, industry analysts and market observers are looking closely at what this leadership shift signifies for TCFC’s competitive positioning in the industrial HVAC and air-handling marketplace.
1. Continuity Meets Acceleration
Because Larson served as COO for over a year prior to stepping up, the transition is expected to be frictionless. There will be no learning curve regarding TCFC’s shop floors, labor force, or supply chain dynamics. Instead, the company can immediately pivot toward aggressive operational scaling, leveraging Larson’s deep roots in lean manufacturing and precision machining.
2. Capitalizing on the Data Center Boom
One of the most critical strategic takeaways from the leadership announcement is McCann’s specific advisory focus on the data center segment leading up to February. The explosive growth of cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and enterprise server farms has created an unprecedented demand for high-efficiency cooling, ventilation, and air-movement solutions. By keeping McCann engaged in business development for this sector while empowering Larson to run day-to-day operations, TCFC is signaling that it intends to capture a dominant share of the critical infrastructure cooling market.
3. Strengthening Core Industrial Markets
Beyond data centers, TCFC’s trio of brands—Twin City Fan & Blower, Aerovent, and Clarage—remain vital suppliers to heavy industries, power generation utilities, and commercial construction. Larson’s background as president of Cass Precision Machining and COO of AmesburyTruth ensures that rigorous quality standards, supply chain resilience, and manufacturing efficiency will remain central to the company’s long-term corporate identity.
4. A Model for Effective Succession Planning
In an era where sudden executive departures can rattle investor confidence and disrupt internal morale, TCFC’s transparent, two-year succession plan serves as a textbook example of corporate governance. By carefully selecting an internal operational leader (Larson), vetting him through a rigorous COO trial period, and providing an overlap window with the outgoing executive (McCann), Twin City Fan Companies Ltd. has insulated its operations from shock and positioned itself securely for its next chapter of industrial leadership.
As September unfolds and Larson takes the wheel, the engineering, manufacturing, and client networks of Twin City Fan Companies can look forward to a period defined by stability, strategic expansion, and unyielding operational excellence.
