ACR Supply celebrates 30 years of HVAC/R distribution
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| L.C. Meachum in his new office after 30 years |
Throughout the 30 years that ACR Supply Company Inc. has been distributing HVACR replacement parts, controls and supplies in central North Carolina, founder L.C. Meachum has consistently attributed his company’s success to one factor -- people. “Lots of folks -- customers, employees, family, good friends -- have had a hand in our success,” he said.
L.C. started his career in the HVACR industry in 1956, working for Hasco Inc. Twenty-one years later he was branch manager of their Durham store. In 1976, Meachum met Lee Blakely, who was working in outside sales for Southernair, another HVACR wholesaler. Lee had spent the previous seven years in counter sales and in getting extensive training in inventory management. The “connect” was immediate and L.C. hired Lee for outside sales at Hasco.
Things started to change in October 1976 after L.C. attended a Hasco management meeting in Greensboro. “The owner had recently died and, let’s just say, things weren’t looking too good,” he said. “I left that meeting quite upset. When I got home I immediately told my wife Faye that I wanted to find a new job. When she asked me if I knew what I wanted to do, I replied that I wanted to start my own business. ‘Do it!’ was her response.”
Soon after, L.C. revealed to Lee that he wanted to start his own company and, within 24 hours, Lee indicated he was ready to go. They have been together ever since. While continuing to perform their respective jobs, the two began to make plans.
On March 18, 1977, L.C. received a phone call from Hasco terminating his employment, effective immediately -- someone had caught wind of his plans.
Starting with nothing
“Ours was a less than very humble beginning,” L.C. recalled.
On April 5, 1977, ACR Supply Company wrote their first invoice to their first customer, Duke University. Many contractors with whom L.C. and Lee had worked over the years brought their business over immediately, including Comfort Engineers, Lee Air Conditioners and Carolina Air Conditioning. All are customers today.
“We had developed good relationships in the trade, so many suppliers were willing to set us up and give us a credit line,” Lee said. “All product shipments had to be off-loaded manually since we didn’t have a loading dock, much less a fork lift.”
Those first three months were brimming with additional challenges. “We had no heating or air conditioning to speak of,” L.C. noted. “Luckily, one of our customers had an old gas-pack air conditioning unit; another customer let us make our own ductwork in his shop so we could install our heat. It got so cold in the warehouse that ink would freeze.”
And then there was the Friday afternoon that L.C. was helping to unload a 20-foot steam coil at the Duke University loading dock. He was pushing on the coil from inside the truck to the waiting forklift and he slipped, falling out of the truck, breaking both elbows. They had been in business about two months.
Still, they never missed a day. “When I started ACR Supply Company, my vision was to pay off the $45K bank loan,” L.C. said. “And I wanted the business to grow and become substantial. I also needed to make sure Lee had a paycheck. When you start with nothing, anything you get is a plus.”
Lee added, “My vision was to keep a paycheck coming in. When we first started, we really had no time to plan since we were both busy running the counter those first couple years. We did not necessarily know where we were going, much less have a direction. But we knew we had the talent to do our jobs and that we were in an area of the country with a good economy. We felt safe with our bet. We figured that since a large percentage of our sales went to after-market repair parts that even in a recession we would be protected to a great extent.”
Stepping up
The business grew, sales increased and people were hired. L.C.’s son Troy joined ACR Supply in 1980. Four years later, they opened their first branch location in Chapel Hill, with Troy running the store.
“It was ‘sink-or-swim-for-Troy’ time,” said Troy. “I didn’t want to be a failure so I began to change my attitude and take ownership. Dad built four walls and a roof and left. Lee worked with me on the inventory side and left. It was a very hard experience and so very valuable in countless ways.”
The company automated in the early 1990s and within a few years, Troy was back managing the Durham store. More store locations were opened, including Burlington, Greensboro, Raleigh and Winston-Salem.
Meanwhile, Lee got more involved in the planning operations of Controls Group North America (CGNA), a marketing and buying group for the HVACR controls industry the company had joined in 1991. “I was part of a core group in 1997 working to determine the direction of CGNA, and a major piece was learning all about strategic planning,” he said.
This turned out to be a pivotal moment for ACR Supply. L.C., Lee and Troy basically locked themselves in a room for a day and developed the first vision, mission and strategic plan for the business. Troy emerged with a whole new perspective about himself and the business: “It made me take a hard look at myself and why I do what I do; it made me think about things other than myself. My goal became to make a difference in people’s lives.”
Over the next 10 years, ACR Supply continued to prosper. Sales revenues grew substantially, as did the number of employees. The strategic planning process also grew more robust, its depth and scope expanding.
“We brought all of our store managers into the process four or five years ago,” said Lee. “Now, all of our employees are involved in some way, shape or form.”
They also recalibrate the company vision every two to three years. “Once we’ve obtained the goal we’ve envisioned, we move ahead by determining what we want to achieve next,” explained Troy.
To be the leading HVACR wholesaler in North Carolina by 2008 is the company’s current vision. How ACR Supply will achieve this goal is evidenced in their mission statement: “To distribute products and services to the HVACR trade while providing our employees a healthy work environment and a secure future for them and their families.”
Making a difference
ACR Supply currently supports 52 families through its six-branch operation, and it’s a “huge, big deal for us” according to general manager -- and self-designated chief cheerleader -- Troy. “I just want to make a difference!”
L.C.’s personal vision for the company is: “I want the company to be solid financially, solid enough for these 52 families to be assured of a job and a future. We are dedicated to our customers and to our employees!”
Today, L.C. is primarily responsible for accounts receivable, approving new accounts and any major decisions. He also spearheads the Wall of Fame, a very special wall in the administrative offices that features 8x10 photos of all the children and grandchildren of employees.
As vice president, Lee is directly responsible for purchasing and inventory management. He also weighs in on major decisions. “Lee and I haven’t always agreed, which is a good thing, since we don’t want to be redundant,” said L.C.
In addition to his other duties, Troy is responsible for the powerful Vendor of Choice program, a proactive, constructive and systematic approach to vendor/customer partnerships.
Looking forward
No one would argue that the HVACR industry that existed when L.C. and Lee started ACR Supply is decidedly different today. Or is it?
“We had a much smaller group of customers with fewer competitors,” described Lee. “North Carolina continues to experience tremendous growth, which has had an impact on the numbers of contractors today. Contractors with 40 trucks were unheard of a few years ago. I’m not sure what to expect of the future but I know that there will always be a role for distributors. The function of distribution needs to be performed in some form; someone needs to service those processes.”
Having spent his entire 51-year career in the industry, L.C. observed that “things have changed completely in some respects -- technology for instance -- yet things haven’t really changed at all, especially when it comes to taking care of customers. It’s still a people business and people buy from people they like.”
L.C. has no plans for retiring: “I’m still having fun. When you create something like this, you want to be a part of it for as long as you can. I want to sign Troy’s paycheck when I’m 90!” (He’s got 18 years to go!)
Troy is destined to pick up where L.C. and Lee left off. “I have the greatest job in the world. I get to work with great people every day,” he said.
Thirty years later, L.C.’s decision to start ACR Supply was indeed the right one. “There were many steps along the way to building ACR Supply into what it is today. But we wouldn’t be where we are if we didn’t have people who believed in us and stood behind us.”