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ACE Services started in a modest Jacksonville shop with two brothers, a set of hand tools, and a rule that still holds: never walk away from a customer in need. Five decades later, three generations of our family have kept that promise
3 Generations of Compressor Expertise
Family-Built, Family-Run
Over 50 years of continuous operation, ACE started in 1972 and now provides all of Northern FL and GA with exceptional industrial compressor services.
From an Aircraft Carrier to a Jacksonville Shop
In 1972, Larry and his brother Donnie opened a shop in downtown Jacksonville with more mechanical instinct than startup capital. Larry’s training didn’t come from a classroom. It came from steel decks, diesel engines, and blistering engine rooms aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. He watched an 8,000 PSI compressor explode. He rebuilt ship systems under live pressure. He repacked main propeller shaft seals in flooding compartments. By the time he stepped off that carrier, he wasn’t just trained. He was forged.
Donnie brought something different. Army ground equipment gave him technical credibility, but he was a natural salesman who operated through back doors and garages, finding opportunities on the ground with the engineers and technicians who needed reliable solutions. The partnership was simple: Donnie sold it, Larry fixed it.
In those early years, ACE said yes to everything. Painting equipment, pressure washers, vacuum systems, tire machines, automotive lifts. If a shop or dealership had a need, ACE answered the call. They crawled through cow lanes at dairies, waded into mold-covered compressor rooms, and once rescued a Cadillac stuck on a broken lift using custom additives and reclaimed oil. They earned their customers the hard way, and those customers stayed for decades.
Company Timeline
Larry’s expertise didn’t come from textbooks it came from steel decks, diesel engines, and blistering engine rooms aboard an aircraft carrier, the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the Navy, Larry learned air systems the hard way witnessing the aftermath of an 8,000 PSI compressor explosion, rebuilding ship systems under live pressure, and repacking main propeller shaft seals underwater in flooding compartments. By the time he stepped off the ship, he was more than trained he was forged. That mechanical instinct and courage would become the cornerstone of ACE’s mechanical DNA.
Larry and Donnie open ACE in downtown Jacksonville, FL. Two brothers, a set of hand tools, and a willingness to say yes to any job.
ACE establishes itself across North Florida serving auto dealerships, dairies, and light industrial shops. Reputation grows through word of mouth.
Compressed air becomes the primary focus. ACE begins servicing large industrial accounts including railroad companies and food processing facilities. Systems grow to 600+ HP with complex air treatment.
Carl, Larry's son, begins working alongside the team. Second generation enters the business. ACE expands service coverage into Southeast Georgia.
ACE becomes an authorized dealer for Hertz Kompressoren, Sauer Compressors, Saylor-Beall, and Mattei. Product sales join the service offering.
Carl takes over day-to-day leadership. The team Larry built remains intact. Rental fleet grows. Coverage expands to 15+ cities across North FL and SE GA.
ACE passes the 50-year mark. Third generation carries the legacy forward. Same values, same work ethic, same commitment to showing up when the air goes down.
This isn’t a company that started with a business plan. It started with a wrench, a Navy-trained mechanic, and a willingness to solve any problem put in front of him. That mechanical DNA runs through every technician on our team today.
Compressor down and you need air today? We’ll dispatch a tech and a rental at the same time. Need a rebuild that takes a week? We bridge the gap. The problem isn’t solved until your production is back online.
Our technicians aren’t cycling through on two-year contracts. Many of them were hired by Larry personally, trained in-house, and have been with the company for a decade or more. When you call ACE, you’re getting people who know your equipment because they’ve been working on it for years.
How compressors took center stage
As ACE grew, one pattern repeated itself across every industry they served: the air compressor was the piece of equipment that everything else depended on. The welders, the spray booths, the conveyor systems, the CNC machines, the packaging lines. When the compressor went down, the whole operation followed.
That focus sharpened over time. While other shops specialized in a single brand, ACE learned everything. Curtis, Quincy, Ingersoll Rand, and dozens more. By the time ACE was maintaining 600+ horsepower systems with desiccant dryers and complex fluid handling lines for railroad companies and food processors, the breadth of knowledge had become a genuine competitive advantage.
Larry’s understanding wasn’t just broad. It was deep. He knew how machines worked, but more importantly, he knew how people depended on them. That understanding shaped everything about how ACE operates: fast response, honest assessments, and the kind of hands-on problem solving that only comes from decades on the floor.
Larry Built Machines. He Also Built People.
From the beginning, Larry hired for character and mechanical instinct, not resumes. Some came from rival companies, drawn by his reputation. Some were hired through relationships, brought in because Larry saw something in them that others missed. The shop became a training ground where every mechanic went through what the team still calls compressor school: learning one job at a time, hands in the machine, standing next to someone who had already done it a thousand times.
Then there was Carl. Larry’s son grew up walking the warehouse floors, surrounded by the sounds, smells, and rhythms of the trade. He didn’t inherit the business on paper. He earned it by absorbing everything his father knew and developing the leadership instincts to guide the team Larry had assembled. Today, Carl runs ACE with the same blend of technical depth and personal accountability that Larry modeled for decades.
The technicians on the team today aren’t just employees. Many were handpicked by Larry himself. They carry his approach to the work: get your hands dirty, solve the problem, and never walk away from a customer in need. That’s not a slogan. It’s how this company operates every single day.
Air Compressor Repair
Air Compressor Rentals and Backup Air Systems
24/7 Emergency Response
Serving FL Since 1972
Still Curious. Still Capable. Still Showing Up.
ACE operates today with the same hands-on mentality that Larry brought from the Navy. We’ve grown from a two-man shop to a full-service compressed air company, but the way we work hasn’t changed. Every system is installed with precision. Every repair is done right. And every customer gets treated like they matter, because they do.