For 75 years, Weller’s Plumbing & Heating, Inc. has been serving the needs of commercial and industrial customers in the southern Ohio and central Ohio regions.
Charles Weller established Weller’s Plumbing & Heating in 1943 when he purchased the business and stock of the W. H. Pommert Manufacturing Company on SR 28, just east of the Jefferson Street bridge over Paint Creek in Greenfield. Weller advertised his services as “wholesale and retail heating and plumbing.”
Weller’s emphasis on reliability and quality service resulted in continued growth and he moved the business two more times as the business grew. In 1957, he purchased and remodeled the Lyric Theater building on South Washington Street (currently the Paint Creek Veterinary Clinic).
A change in the company’s ownership occurred on Jan. 1, 1979 when Charles Weller sold his business to his sons, John Weller and Steve Hunter. Hunter had graduated from the General Motors Institute with a degree in mechanical engineering and become a registered professional engineer in 1976and by 1979 had experience as an engineer at General Motors and Vulcan Cincinnati, Inc. John Weller also pursued education at the University of Cincinnati and later worked as an instructor of heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration at RETS Technical Center, and later became chief instructor of climate control at ITT Stautsenberger College in Toledo.
John Weller and Hunter incorporated Weller’s Plumbing & Heating in 1979 and envisioned a new direction for the company. While continuing the over-the-counter retail sales and local service work that had been the hallmark of the business for 36 years, the duo took aim at the mechanical contracting aspect of the business and soon became involved in some very large projects. At this time and at the start of the transition in ownership, the business staff included a total of five people.
The 1980s brought drastic changes to the business. Since 1982, Weller’s has been located at 429 S. Washington St. in Greenfield. Blair Aukeman joined the firm in the 1980s and became the second registered professional engineer on staff. By that time, Weller’s Plumbing & Heating’s focus became more toward the “design-build mechanical contracting.” From the 1980s to the 2000s, Weller’s had grown to a firm of around 27 employees and was contracting jobs upward of $1 million.
Changes to the business again occurred in 2000s, when John Weller and Steve Hunter’s sons became involved in the business. Jeff Weller and Mark Hunter are the current owners of Weller’s, along with Steve Hunter. Jeff Weller and Mark Hunter are both mechanical engineers and the business focus is constantly on growing and improving the way the business services customer’s needs.
Today, the company has around 40 employees and as the times have changed, so has the knowledge required to serve customers. Weller’s has received many recognitions over the years for outstanding workmanship at various jobsites such as schools, hospitals, factories, airports, fire and police stations, convention centers, ice skating rinks, etc. Multi-million dollar plumbing and HVAC projects have become more common place; however, the company still maintains the feel of a small business.
Jeff Weller said, “We never want to grow so much or so fast that we lose our ability to respond to our customer’s needs. We still value all of our customers, whether large or small, and want to continue in a long-term relationship with them.”
Mark Hunter agreed and said that “our dads and our grandfather set a high standard for customer service and we never want to lose sight of that personal touch. The technology will always change, but the values of running a business are the same today as they were 75 years ago.”
Weller’s Plumbing & Heating, Inc. is a state licensed plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration and hydronics mechanical contractor. Weller’s services include licensed engineering work for state approved drawings for plumbing, HVAC and mechanical systems; project management; budgeting and cost estimating; permitting; backflow prevention certifications; pipe welding certifications; welding, fusing and brazing pressure piping certifications; as well as construction, fabrication and service of plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration systems and hydronic piping systems with a wide variety of system applications.
Submitted by Bradon Elmore, Highland County Chamber of Commerce.
