The 1980s

In 1981, Broan Mfg. Co., Inc. was acquired by Nortek, Inc., a Providence, R.I. conglomerate and became the lead company of Nortek’s Residential Building Products Group. According to President Jack Broan, “After 49 years, the Broan family retired from the business. We went from selling 12 heaters in 1932, to $1 million in sales in 1956 when we moved to Hartford, to over $50 million in sales and over 500 employees in 1981. It was a great ride and a lot of fun.” Years later, the Nortek Chairman reflected that Broan was Nortek’s best acquisition.

In the 1980s, Broan expanded its product line to include medicine cabinets and intercoms through the purchase of several other U.S. companies – Monarch, M&S, Jensen Industries, Inc. and Aubrey Manufacturing, Inc.

President Ronald Reagan visited the Broan headquarters in 1987 to view its facility and visit with employees. President Reagan said, “One of my greatest satisfactions as President is the opportunity to witness firsthand such outstanding examples of American industry as Broan. Your company exemplifies America’s economic miracle and confirms my faith that our nation’s best days are yet to come.”

Broan introduced its improved air filtration systems, called MicroTek, in the 1980s following some five years of engineering and development work to improve ductless range hood technology. In 1984, Sears adopted the MicroTek technology and branded it the “Clean-Cooking Range Hood System.” The launch was so successful that Sears awarded Broan its Partners in Progress Award and its Source Innovation Award.