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Celebrating his 50th year in the HVAC industry in 2013, Butch Welsch, owner of Welsch Heating & Cooling, St. Louis, is showing no signs of slowing down.
Welsch Heating & Cooling has been in business since 1895, with Butch being the third Welsch in charge, following his grandfather and father. Under his guidance the company adopted service and replacement work, shifting from mostly new construction jobs.
"I think our willingness to change has helped us to be able to stay successful," said the 71-year-old industry veteran. "We've stayed on top of the times and tried to change at a proper rate as things were changing.
"When I started in the 1960s, we were essentially a new construction contractor doing add-on air conditioning jobs. We've got a pretty good heritage here that I want to protect, so I don't want to be so aggressive that I potentially kill the goose. We want to keep the goose laying the eggs, and we want to make sure the eggs are the kind that people are looking for today."
Heavy Involvement
Welsch is well-known in the St. Louis area for his involvement in many different organizations and associations. He's involved with the St. Louis chapter of the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association (SMACNA), many labor unions, the Mechanical License Board for St. Louis County, and serves on boards with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
"These organizations have kept me abreast of the industry, and close to the company and its operations, but they've also diversified my thinking somewhat," Welsch said. "I think all those things have made my career here diversified enough that every day is a new challenge; a new opportunity.
Welsch attributes much of his success to his company's ability to roll with the changes.
"Either you move ahead or you move backward. You don't stay the same. We've made a number of changes through the years. When I look back and consider where we were and what we've become, that's helped keep it interesting. You have to stay on top of your game when you're doing that. You just can't sit back and let the world go by. You've got to attack it."
One of Welsch's crowning achievements came in...