Who We Are |
Carlander Corporation d/b/a/ Thompson Sales, Inc., is a small independent "buy-sell" manufacturers' representative marketing primarily residential HVAC products in the PNW and Alaska. We do also sell to those in Nevada, California, Idaho and Montana. After more than 30 years, we got around and word about us got around. We love our customers!
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Our History |
THE BEGINNING.
The original Thompson Sales, Inc. was founded by Bill Thompson. Mr. Thompson acted as a manufacturers' representative. His primary product line was a company in Portland, OR named Wesco. Wesco made electric furnaces in the 1970's. Bill had been in the HVAC industry for many years and was wanting to retire and sell his business. Larry Carlander and Bill Thompson shared the same accountant. Larry was looking for a second career after having spent more than thirty years within the transportation industry. Carlander had always been intrigued by mechanical machines and thought the HVAC field would be a nice change of pace from the transportation industry. Sales and selling was something Larry liked doing. Bill and Larry were introduced and the Carlander Corporation was formed to purchase the assets of Thompson Sales, Inc. in December 1982. Soon thereafter, the primary source of revenue, Wesco, faltered and teetered on bankruptcy. They later attempted to reorganize and develop a gas furnace product but it did not really get off the ground. OIL HEAT Larry Carlander found himself owning a business that just lost its largest customer. Bill Thompson, who was supposed to work alongside Larry for a year, decided to take the money and run to Hawaii. Now Carlander owned a business he knew little about. Carlander enrolled in night classes to learn the mechanics of HVAC and also read all he could find on the industry. He discovered there was still a viable oil heat industry within Washington, Oregon and Alaska. He saw a manufacturer advertising in an oil heat trade publication that was not being sold in his area. He contacted the Thermo Products company and the president paid him a visit. Larry Carlander and Jack Cunningham shook hands and decided to give it a try. Thermo Pride, the brand name, was being sold direct to the installing dealer. So Larry began to make sales calls and phone calls to contractors all over several states in the PNW/AK by doing Yellow Page research at the local library. He worked alone the next seven years developing Thermo Pride into the preferred brand by the oil heat dealer. EXPANSION AND SOME BAD NEWS In 1991, his son Spark joined him in the business. That allowed for more personal sales calls deeper into the large territory Larry had been marketing by phone and mail. Sales were building and the business began to flourish. Unfortunately, after two years, Larry greeted Spark when he returned from a trip to Oregon, that he had cancer. After surgery, multiple radiation and chemotherapy protocols, the cancer could not be stopped. About twenty months after he had given this news to Spark and the family, he passed away. Larry worked right up until the last week of his life and most customers and others did not know how ill he was. Spark knew he would need help to keep the growth and momentum growing so he quickly interviewed and hired an assistant. Polly's first day was spent handling phone calls as Spark attended a memorial service for his father. That year business continued to grow and Thompson Sales had doubled its Thermo Pride sales in the four years Spark had been on board. Spark and Polly were Thompson Sales together for the next fifteen years. Thermo Pride continued to become the market leader by far in the PNW/AK. Customers ranged from the Arctic Circle to Southern California and as far East as Montana and as far West as Hawaii. Yes, there were Thermo Pride furnaces sold and installed on the island of Maui. OIL HEAT VILLIFIED AS PRICES CLIMB The new millennium arrived, the Dot Com bubble burst, price of oil began its climb, 9/11 happened and after a short economic recovery, the real estate bubble burst. The price of fuel oil continued to climb and the PNW oil heat market anchored by Seattle and Portland, saw its customers running for the exits. Oil was being blamed for everything from acne to global warming. Replacement oil furnace sales began a rapid downward spiral. The major gas utilities wanted those oil heat customers and came up with special promotions and rebates to bring them over. With heating oil now over $4 per gallon delivered, the seduction was easy. Thompson Sales had developed a small niche of oil fueled products that had made them very successful. Many of its customers regarded us as the "go to" guys for oil fired appliances. Eventually there was not enough volume for its manufacturers to continue to make the products that Thompson Sales had sold for decades. The Aero/Bradford hot water heater, the Ultimate Boiler, Monitor heater, Napoleon/Franco Belge oil stoves; all discontinued to make or import the appliance. It came down to Thermo Pride as the lone oil fired brand that Thompson Sales promoted and sales were dropping like a rock. Spark quit taking a salary in order to keep Polly. Polly was reduced to half time and after a year found a full time job. Spark needed to further reduce expenses and closed its Bellevue office and moved to Anacortes. Now, cut to the bone, Spark began to reinvent Thompson Sales with Thermo Pride still at its core. Then, you guessed it, Thermo Products decided, after 32 years, to "try something different". TODAY Thompson Sales Inc. continues to have some roots in the waning oil heat industry. Natural gas and heat pumps can't do it all, everywhere. Thompson Sales continues to seek innovative products to market to area dealers. With customers that have been with us for decades, it is a natural progression to develop sales with eventual distribution through area wholesalers. Thank you for reading the condensed version of our history. I left out the real juicy stuff. Please check out our products and check back to see what has changed. Chances are you would have already heard if I am doing my job! Written by, Spark Carlander, President May 3, 2016 |