History of Meier Supply Company Article from "HVAC/R Distribution Today" A Family Business Setting "Customer First" The receptionist at Meier Supply Company in New York has one the toughest jobs around.  When people call and ask for Frank Meier, she says, "Frank, Sr., or Frank, Jr.?"  The fun really begins, however, when anyone simply asks for "Mr. Meier."  She says, "Frank Sr., Frank Jr., Michael, or Mark?"  Then, of course, some people call for Mr. Norton.  "Would you like to speak to John Norton or Dale Norton," she asks. Meier Supply is a family owned and operated business that not only has plenty of Meiers and Nortons, it has three other names: Central Service Supply, Nohle Refrigeration and West Side Refrigeration.  "It all started back in 1957," said Frank A. Meier, Jr., the company's president and CEO, in recent telephone interview.  "My grandfather, Frank M. Meier and my dad, Frank A. Meier, Sr., started the company on Court Street in downtown Binghamton, New York."  It's become a real family business as the years progressed and the family grew but Frank Meier Sr. still keeps an eye on the business in he semi-retirement.  He is fondly referred to as the company's "Corporate Advisor." "We bought our first branch in 1971.  It had an established reputation as Central Service Supply, so we have continued to use that name.   Later, when we purchased two other branches, they also became known as Central Service Supply," said Frank, Jr.  These five branches are located in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre Williamsport and East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and in Middletown, New York.  We expanded in the Rochester area with Nohle Refrigeration, and in the Utica area with West Side Refrigeration," he continued.  "We now have eight branches and 49 full-time employees. Meier Supply is the very picture of a family run business, with several generations of Meiers involved in the day to day operation of the firm.  They include: Frank A. Meier, Jr. – President & CEO Frank A. Meier, Sr. – Secretary Treasurer John P. Norton – Vice-President Michael Meier – Sales Manager Robert Carroll &ndash Warehouse Manager Kim Meier-Carroll – Office Manager Mark Meier, Sr. – Inside & Outside Sales Dale Norton – Inside & Outside Sales.  That's a few more Meiers and yes, those two Nortons are related.  Dale in the son of John, who is Frank Sr.'s brother-in-law.  Kim Carroll is Frank Jr. and Mike and Mark's sister and is married to Robert Carroll.  There are also four more family groupings at Meier Supply – one husband and wife, two sets of brothers, and one father and his two sons. It may seem confusing, but it all adds up to a company that has a lot of fun, and is extremely successful in retaining its employees, and if it wanted to, could hold company meetings around the dinner table.  "We may have a lot of family members in the business," said Frank Jr., "but we treat all our employees like family."  Team members who are treated like family include Bruce Johns, Purchasing Manager, John Killiany, District Sales Manager for Central Service Supply, and Dennis Noyes our Credit Manager.  Our employees are by far our most valuable resource," he asserted.  This sentiment is evident in the company's commitment to employee training and its participation in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) since 1992.   "The ESOP has helped us share our success with our employees because they are part owners in this company," explained Frank Jr.  Employee training is also a big part of what makes up Meier Supply.  "The cost of training is secondary to us.  We have to invest in our employees.   It's one of the most important things we do," he explained.  For example, when the company started to explore computerizing their receivables and later their inventory, computer training for employees was essential.  "Because we had alwasy done things manually, we were all a bit afraid of the computer," said Frank Jr.  "We started slowly and gradually expanded.   That's pretty much been our philosophy on all parts of this business.  We never was to expand so quickly that we lose our focus.  Our customer will always be first," he said.  To that end, the company put its philosophy down on paper in a mission statement developed in 1990 and included it in its product catalog. Meier Supply has been an active member of ARW since 1960.  They enthusiastically participate in the association's Heads Up program and participate in the annual Wholesaler Profit Survey.  Frank Meier, Jr. also serves as Chairman of the ARW Statistics Committee.   "We participate in the PROFIT survery and Heads-Up program because they are both invaluable business tools," said Franks.  "Unless you can see what your peers are doing, you have no way of knowing if your current performance is due to economic or weather conditions of if you are just losing market share," he said.   "The Heads-Up Report helps me measure our company's performance against the industry as a whole and versus a regional monthly average.  "We also always participate in the Wholesaler Profit Survery.   We'd be foolish not to.  It would cost me thousands of dollars to get such an individual profile and independent analysis of my financials.  ARW offers this free to survey participants and it's completely confidential.  How can you pass that up?" he asked.  "You have to pay attention today to what's happening in the industry – and ARW helps my company do that." The future for Meier Supply means paying attention to industry trends without losing site of customer needs.  "We're always looking at new ideas for growth and better ways to serve our customers," explained Frank Jr.  Will there be any more family joining the business?   "Well, my dad does have a few grandchildren," offered Frank Jr.  "In fact my teenage sons Tony and Frank worked in our warehouse last summer," he said.  "We'll see what the future holds." Published: January 1998