Company Legacy
From a single refrigeration shop on Chicago's south side to a 100% employee-owned, full-service MEP+™ contractor. Six decades of deliberate growth, one discipline at a time.
Our History
Every group, office, and facility on this timeline was added because a customer needed it, not because a market looked attractive. That is how a refrigeration company became a complete MEP+™ contractor without ever outgrowing the standards it started with.
John F. Berzanskis Sr.
Founder · Vision Come to Fruition
Founded AMS in 1963 under the name Antarctic Refrigeration, Inc. — a sole proprietor working out of a former gas station in Chicago, building the company on hard work and honest, reliable service.
John F. Berzanskis Jr.
Director · Erasing Parameters
Took the reins in 1982 as president and owner, advancing AMS Mechanical Systems through plan/spec and design/build construction and a pivotal 1985 partnership with Dennis J. Kiley that grew field operations and commercial HVAC leadership.
Benjamin J. Campbell
CEO · Forging the Future
Appointed president in 2017 as AMS transitioned to 100% employee ownership, now leading more than 500 employee-owners while protecting the AMS brand and building a stronger company for future generations.
1960s
1963
Antarctic Refrigeration, Inc. founded by John F. Berzanskis Sr.
1980s
1982
Company purchased by John F. Berzanskis Jr.
1985
Renamed AMS Mechanical Systems, Inc. Expands into the Commercial Marketplace.
1990s
1990
AMS expands into the Industrial Market.
1996
Acquires Press Mechanical Inc.; renamed PMT Nuclear, entering the Nuclear Engineering & Manufacturing Marketplace.
1997
Opens its Indiana office to serve the Indiana Heavy Industrial Market.
2000s
2008
Adds a Fabrication Facility to serve Heavy Industrial clientele.
2010
Receives the largest contract in company history — the BP contract, building GOHT/OSBL, Coker, and fabrication for SB-12 PS.
2010s
2012
Systems Integration Group formed.
2013
Plumbing Group formed.
2016
Expands into Mission Critical & Environmental Services markets.
2017
Becomes an Employee Owned Company; moves into a new 145,000 sq ft HQ & Fabrication Facility.
2020s
2020
Fire Protection Group formed.
2021
Fire Alarm & Security Groups formed.
2022
Renamed AMS Industries, Inc., offering our full MEP+™ suite of services.
2026
Installs the world's second-largest CUP (129,000 tons) and leads the single largest IST turnover in the world. Expands beyond its Woodridge HQ with a nearby Bolingbrook construction facility and a 100,000 sq ft Nashville prefab and office location.
One refrigeration shop. Ten-plus disciplines. Every group on this timeline added because a customer needed it.
Quality · Integrity · Reliability — since 1963
