That’s the situation the venerable Goettl Air Conditioning and Heating found itself in a few years back after its former management left the company in sad shape. Goettl was the first company to bring modern air conditioning to Arizona in 1939.
“I was thinking back to the really dark days not so long ago when things were really grim for Goettl,” said Dan Burke, the company’s chairman. “Sales had dropped in half, losses were mounting, and the remaining Goettl employees, who had stuck it out, were wondering what would happen to them.
“One evening when it looked like the shutdown of Goettl was inevitable, I received a phone call from Ken Goodrich. He told me he wanted to save Goettl; and he would try to make a deal to buy it, if I would help him rebuild it.
“He also asked me, with all the bad publicity and challenges, would we be able to get some of the remaining employees to join us. I am gratified to tell you that 67 out of 68 of those remaining employees joined Ken and I to rebuild Goettl.”
Burke made these remarks at a recent awards luncheon hosted by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, where Goettl won the chamber’s 2016 Impact Business of the Year award in the Response to Adversity category.
NFIB/Arizona is proud to have Dan Burke on its state leadership council and applauds his firm’s rebound. “When I think of the type of people who personify the no-retreat grit that so many small-business owners have, Dan Burke comes immediately to mind,” said NFIB/Arizona State Director Farrell Quinlan. “The entire NFIB family salutes him and his firm’s team in turning Goettl around.”
