2/28/2004
Evansville company started in trunk has customers by the thousands
(Published Monday, February 23, 2004 10:15:23 AM CST)
By Danielle Letenyei/Gazette Staff
EVANSVILLE-Ron and Connie Arndt are workaholics and proud of it.
"We are definitely work junkies," Connie Arndt said.
Their hard work and dedication has helped their company, R.A. Heating & Air Conditioning, grow to what it is today-a distinguished contractor and dealer of Carrier products.
In 2000, the Evansville-based company was recognized as a Carrier Distinguished Dealer. Since the couple took over the business in 1980, it has grown from about 50 to several thousand customers and has about 40 employees.
Not too bad for a business the couple literally started out of the trunk of their car.
At that time, the Arndt's were living in Stoughton. Ron, a trained sheet metal apprentice who had worked for several heating companies, was involved in a partnership that wasn't working out. The couple went to Evansville to purchase some equipment from a man who ran his own plumbing and heating company. They ended up buying the company.
For the first couple years, the Arndt's ran the business themselves. Ron was the technician and installer. Connie answered the phones, paid the bills and handled other administrative tasks. Sometimes, she would also assist Ron in the field repairing or installing furnace systems. It helped her learn more about the business, she said.
As the company grew, it needed more space. In June 1996, the business headquarters moved from its location in downtown Evansville to a new 23,000-square-foot facility on the city's east-side. The building holds office and training area, service department, sheet metal fabricating shop, warehouse and receiving area with indoor vehicle loading and parking.
The facility was built with the capability for expansion when needed. The couple expects that expansion to happen sometime this summer.
The company serves customers within a 30-mile radius of Evansville. But, as it has grown, it has attracted customers outside of that area. Its customer base now reaches out to Portage, Jefferson and Prairie due Chine, Ron said.
Last July, the company opened a 3,000-square-foot showroom in Madison that lets customers see how its products work.
"I wanted a place where they could play with everything," Connie said.
"It's the only showroom of its kind in Wisconsin," Ron said.
Although the company predominantly sells Carrier products, it services most brands of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment. About 77 percent of the company's business is residential, while the remainder is commercial.
Connie keeps records on every furnace the company installs, from the day it's installed to the day it dies. If the homeowner moves, she contacts the new homeowner. She also notifies customers when their furnace needs to be serviced or replaced.
Each system is customized to fit the customer's needs and lifestyle, Ron said.
"We don't sell people something they don't want," he said.
The Arndt's don't believe in paying sales personnel on a commission basis. Commission sales often encourage salespeople to sell anything whether or not it fits what the customer needs, Connie said.
Unlike its competitors, R.A. makes all its own ductwork using a heavier gauge steel that prevents pinging and banging noises that occur in other duct work, Connie said.
The company also offers churches a furnace or air conditioning system at cost. The church pays the normal amount for a system. The company then issues a check in the amount of profit the company would have made on the job back to the church as a donation.
Surprisingly, some churches have turned down the offer. They want to know what the catch is, the couple said.
But there is no catch.
"We make no profit on any church," Connie said.
The Arndt's admit they live and breathe the business. They have raised their family in it.
The couple's first child, Ryan, remembers sleeping under his mother's desk when he was a toddler. Today, Ryan, 25, works for the company, operating one of the mobile shops.
"He kind of started in the trenches like his dad did," Ron said.
The Arndt's second child, Renae, spent the first six months of her life sleeping in a Snuggli on Connie's chest while she worked.
Renae, now 13, helps out with faxing and filing when she isn't doing her homework. The bus drops her off at the office every day after school.
On those limited occasions when Ron or Connie is not at work, they are active giving back to their community. Connie is a leader for the Fulton Church youth group, raises cockatiels and parrots and reviews books for Christian publishers. She also spends a lot of time driving Renae around to numerous activities.
Ron is on the Porter Town Board, the Evansville Community Fire District Board and the Earth Day Planning Committee. When he's at home, he rarely answers the phone.
Ron spends a lot of time in the woods with his dog and his chainsaw. He is providing the saw logs to rebuild the stockade in Aztalan State Park from the 200 acres of forest that surrounds his home.
"My chainsaw is my therapist," Ron said.
What does the couple think about eventually retiring?
"Why would we want to do that?" Connie said.
"They'll take me out in a box first," Ron said.
