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Geisel History Their names
were Claude Geisel and Floyd Schlitt and they called their company Geisel Manufacturing. They first worked out of Claude
Geisel's basement at 449 9th Street, Elyria, Ohio. They sold and
installed a gas conversion burners which they had designed and patented. It
was called the Glo-Cone Gas
Conversion Burner. Around 1944 business demanded they upgrade their operations to full time. They rented two side-by-side stores on the corner of Broad St. and West Ave. in Elyria. One store was used for the manufacturing facility, the other for the office. After the war business was booming with two salesmen working full time. One was named Bill Engelland. The cost to install a new
Geisel Glo-Cone gas conversion burner was $165.00 complete. Out of that
the salesman received $20.00. The installer received $17.50 ($22.50 if out
of Lorain County) The Glo-Cone conversion burners were very popular because
they continued to heat even if the power to the home went out, which at that
time happened often. In the 1950's Geisel Manufacturing started installing forced air furnaces. The first brand sold was Luxaire, which were made in Elyria, Ohio. They also installed the Herbster combination furnace and clothes dryer. When Claude Geisel retired in 1953, (He died in 1959) Floyd Schlitt took over the business. In 1954, Geisel
Manufacturing installed 800 conversion burners. They also had another dealer in
Denver, Colorado. In the late 1950's Geisel
Manufacturing moved to their present location, 633 W. Broad St. Elyria so they
could have their offices and manufacturing facilities in one building. The
building had formerly housed a dry cleaner and was used as a furniture
warehouse. The second floor used to have a nightclub in it. The building
was rented from Milt Ardman who owned Elyria Furniture on Broad St. In 1960 Floyd Schlitt
retired. (He died in Nobember 1963) Bill Engelland and Porter Messinger bought the
business from Schlitt plus the lot to the west of their current location after a
house was removed. In the mid 1960's the
company started to install central air conditioning systems. This was
great because it gave the business year around sales. They also expanded
their product line to include American Standard, FloCo Company and Bryant
furnaces. At this time the company was installing approximately 200
furnaces per year. With the advent of forced air heating systems the
demand for the conversion burners dropped off and Geisel quit manufacturing the
Geisel Glo-Cone Conversion Burners. Over the life of the business, Geisel
installed approximately 10,000 conversion burners in Lorain County. When Porter Messinger died
in 1974, Bill Engelland sold the business to Chuck Culberson who took over
operations January 1st, 1975. Culberson had worked with the Carrier
distributor in Cleveland prior to buying Geisel and he began selling the Carrier
brand of heating and air conditioning products. His background was in the
commercial engineering area and he expanded Geisel's business into the
commercial and industrial markets. In 1983 Andrew Culberson
began working full time at Geisel after receiving a masters degree from Baldwin
Wallace College. During the following years Geisel placed a heavy emphasis
on offering innovative products. In 1994 Geisel added a full service
plumbing division. Chuck Culberson retired in 1995 and Andrew Culberson
became President of the company. As the new president
Culberson understood that, in the end, it's the people who make the difference.
By insisting on consistent professionalism, customer-focused attitudes and
empowering all Associates to do what's right, both the customers and Geisel's
Associates have a higher level of satisfaction in a job well done. The result is
customers who come back, refer Geisel to friends and family and Associates who
stay with the company longer than any other company in the area. In 1996
Geisel won the prestigious Carrier Distinguished Dealer Award. Only 10 among the
8,000
dealers in North America were named as a Carrier Distinguished Dealer this year.
Geisel Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing was proud to be one of them. It meant that Geisel has demonstrated superior quality and professionalism in: customer service,
Associate development, business planning and customer satisfaction Geisel will be celebrating their 72th
anniversary in 2007. Interested in a Career at Geisel? Learn More
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