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Pre-Balancing
Era of
Milestones
Expanding
New Milestones
A Decade of
Celebrating
Founder
1968-1974
1974-1976
1965 – AABC is officially launched by founding members, establishing the organization’s mission and foundation.
1966 – AABC holds its first Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, NV. Bylaws are adopted, dues are set, and the first Board of Directors is elected.
1967 – AABC publishes the first edition of the AABC National Standards for Total System Balance, a major milestone in industry standardization.
1968 – A new industry fund is created to support organizational growth and development.
1969 – The first official TAB course is presented, marking the beginning of AABC’s educational programs.
1970 – The Test & Balance Engineer (TBE) certification is launched.
1971 – AABC votes to create an official training program and established the Canadian chapter, the CAABC.
1972 – AABC publishes the second edition of the National Standards.
1973 – Regional director roles are created and 47 agencies are represented at the Annual Meeting in Acapulco, Mexico.
1974 – AABC continues growing its national presence with the Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL.
1976-1979
1979-1982
1982-1985
1975 – AABC holds its Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, CA, continuing to expand its national presence.
1976 – AABC retains the services of an association management firm, AMI, and Chuck Perry is named Executive Director.
1977 – AABC introduces zones and elects zone directors; discussions begin on the National Performance Guaranty Program.
1978 – Annual Meeting is hosted in Atlanta, GA, fostering further member collaboration.
1979 – AABC publishes the third edition of its National Standards for Total System Balance.
1980 – AABC holds its first seminar-style meeting at the Chicago Airport Hilton and begins exhibiting at ASHRAE to promote the association.
1981 – A major update of the National Standards is underway, led by a strong technical team.
1982 – The fourth edition of the National Standards is published and a new TBE exam is prepared.
1983 – AABC formalizes new branch policies to support consistent organizational standards.
1984 – A new member agreement and probationary period policy are developed to uphold membership quality. Management of AABC shifted to Sufka & Associates, with Ken Sufka continuing in the Executive Director role he first assumed in 1977.
1985-1987
1987-1988
1988-1989
1989-1990
1990-1992
1992-1994
1985 – AABC holds its Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico, expanding member engagement through its first international gathering.
1986 – A committee is appointed to redevelop the TBE exam, including the first discussions about computer-based testing.
1987 – The Annual Meeting at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas sees the highest attendance to date.
1988 – Technician Certification Program development begins, with efforts led by Walt Green and Chuck Fant.
1989 – AABC publishes the 5th edition of the National Standards, launches the Apprenticeship Training Manual, and debuts a redesigned Balance Report newsletter.
1990 – Membership requirements are updated to include submission of a recent TAB report; industry magazine and CSI collaboration efforts begin.
1991 – AABC publishes the first issue of the TAB Journal and helps establish the National Coalition for Indoor Air Quality (NCIAQ).
1992 – AABC hosts its first National Conference on Indoor Air Quality and launches educational IAQ workshops for facility owners and managers.
1993 – The association continues to focus on publishing and awards as the Annual Meeting is held in Palm Desert, CA.
1994 – AABC adopts a new Quality Assurance Program and holds its 30th Annual Meeting in Bermuda.
1994-96
1996-98
1998-2000
2000-02
2002-04
2004-06
1995 – AABC’s SpecWriter launches, promising a “new, easy-to-use software that will revolutionize the way you write TAB Specifications!”
1996 – AABC launches its first website, opening up a new avenue for marketing and connecting members with the latest updates in testing, adjusting, and balancing.
1997 – AABC establishes the requirement that each branch office must have a TBE or certified technician.
1998 – The updated AABC Test & Balance Procedures are published and distributed to members.
1999 – Work begins on the 6th Edition of the National Standards, and the first of two strategic planning sessions is held. These will result in new marketing and quality assurance programs.
2000 – AABC produces a series of training videos for technicians, as well as an informational brochure describing the role of testing engineers in HVAC commissioning.
2001 – Work is completed on the 6th Edition of the AABC National Standards, which will be published early in 2002.
2002 – The Technician Certification Exam is completed and updated to be computer generated. All eligible technicians are required to be certified by the end of 2003. The AABC Commissioning Guideline is published, and the Certified Commissioning Agent (CCA) certification is launched.
2003 – AABC reaches 150 office locations.
2004 –AABC launches a completely redesigned and upgraded website. A large beta test of the newly created Certified Commissioning Authority (CxA) exam is held at the Annual Meeting.
2004-2006
2006-2008
2008-2010
2010-2012
2012-2014
2014-2016
2005 – AABC registers trademarks for AABC, AABC National Standards, Associated Air Balance Council, TBE, Test and Balance Engineer, and TAB Journal. The AABC Commissioning Group (ACG) officially launches as a separate organization.
2006 – AABC member United Testing & Balancing develops four training DVDs, which are made available for sale through AABC. AABC is accredited as a standards developer through ANSI, allowing the organization to submit the next edition of the AABC National Standards for Total System Balance for approval as an American National Standard.
2007 – The Annual Meeting makes a memorable and highly attended return to Hawaii, and the online version of the Quality Assurance Program launches.
2008 – AABC begins requiring that all new branch offices have a resident TBE. The first dues increase in 8 years is implemented due to rising annual meeting costs, bringing dues to $550 per month.
2009/2010 – Work begins on the Energy Management Guideline, a collaborative effort between AABC and ACG.
An AABC strategic planning session leads to the formation of a variety of committees. Notable outcomes include the first AABC pocket manual of field calculations, new AABC specifications, and the launch of the AABC Lunch & Learn program.
2011 – AABC decides to invite ASHRAE presidents to AABC Annual Meetings moving forward.
2012 – AABC holds its first regional meeting, which brings together more than 80 attendees in Nashville, TN, to discuss “Optimizing HVAC System Performance.”
2013 – AABC holds a second well-attended regional meeting in Baltimore, MD. After lackluster attendance in Chicago in 2013, the Semi-Annual Meeting is discontinued.
2014 – AABC introduces Total System Balance Weekly, an electronic publication sent to members, engineers, and others throughout the industry, to further promote TAB Journal articles and AABC members. AABC zones are realigned/”rebalanced” to make more geographical sense.
2014-16
2016-18
2018-2020
2020-22
2022-24
2016 – AABC publishes the 7th edition of the National Standards for Total System Balance, the first to be an official American National Standard.
2017 – AABC publishes the revised Technician Training Manual, with new and updated content. In conjunction with CxEnergy 2017, AABC hosts the first TAB Seminar as a pre-conference educational offering.
2018 – Capital Association Management is hired as AABC’s management firm. Ray Bert becomes only the 4th Executive Director in AABC’s long history.
2019 – AABC launches a revised, computerized TBE exam that can be taken at local testing centers. A new member portal and database launches, providing easier access to membership resources such as certification information, publications, and dues payment.
2020 – Mandatory Continuing Education is introduced for all TBEs and TBTs. AABC begins offering AIA-approved continuing education credits for reading TAB Journal. The COVID-19 pandemic leads to a virtual annual meeting.
2021 – The AABC Hall of Fame is established, with George Ebert as the first modern inductee and historical inductees Arnold Pearl, Walter Lipski, and Taylor Kahoe (AABC’s three principal founders).
AABC launches the monthly TAB Talk webinar series, offering ongoing education and industry insights to members and professionals nationwide.
2022 – AABC introduces an updated technician exam, now available via testing centers. AABC develops and launches the AABC TAB Calculator App.
AABC publishes the first-ever Special TAB/Cx/Energy Double Issue of the TAB Journal, produced in collaboration with ACG and EMA members.
2023 – AABC revamps and updates the AABC Policies & Procedures and various membership forms.
2024: AABC completes an important update of the AABC Bylaws.
2025
60th Anniversary – AABC celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding in 1965!
Largest Annual Meeting – Nearly 300 participants attended, making this the largest AABC Annual Meeting in many years.