01.05.2004: Chicago-based Kroeschell Celebrates 125th Anniversary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chicago, IL -- Over the last 125 years, many Chicago-based heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration firms have gone out of business, moved on to other expanding areas of the country, or were bought up by outside firms. However, there remains one privately held firm still located in Chicago that bears the name of its founder, has a long and storied history of serving its customers since 1879, and can claim to be the original designer/installer of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration in many of the city’s most exciting historical buildings.

Kroeschell is one of those classic all-American success stories. In 1879 four sons of German immigrant, Herman Kroeschell, started the Kroeschell Brothers Company, boiler manufacturers and piping contractors, in Chicago on what was then known as Michigan Street (now Hubbard) near Wells. Keep in mind that this was only eight years after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that transformed the city from a rough and tumble town into a vibrant, civilized community offering comfort, convenience and the latest technological advances. As a result, Chicago in the 1880s was a “boom town” and Kroeschell was in the right place at the right time, manufacturing boilers, tanks, stacks, and steam separators, designing systems and installing them.

In 1896, the brothers purchased the Julius Sedlacek Austrian patents for special stuffing boxes required for high pressure CO2 (roughly 1200 psig) equipment. A project that piqued the brothers’ interest and precipitated the formation of a new company was the installation of refrigerated coils on the wall of the chocolate dipping room in the Joseph B. Funke Company candy factory in LaCrosse, Wisconsin that same year.

A complete machine shop was installed for the newly organized company, the Kroeschell Brothers Ice Machine Company. They were now pioneers in the business of designing, manufacturing and installing a full line of refrigeration compressors, using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant. Kroeschell became the first company in America to design, manufacture and install CO2 refrigeration equipment in sizes from 1 to 250 tons capacity, including both horizontal and vertical compressors, together with condensers, chillers and CO2 collecting plants, etc.

The Kroeschell Brothers Ice Machine Company moved into high gear the first decade of the new century. In 1906, they contracted with the Congress Hotel in Chicago to design, build and install an air-cooling system that was the first recognized air conditioning system in America. The 150-ton refrigerating unit was in operation continually until 1941. At the same time, the company became leaders in gas collections and liquefaction, chlorine liquefaction and general low temperature work.

In 1922, the two Kroeschell Companies merged with the Brunswick Refrigerating Company, and formed the Brunswick-Kroeschell Company, with factories in Chicago and New Brunswick, New Jersey, manufacturing carbon dioxide and ammonia equipment for both land bases and marine applications.
Then in 1930, Brunswick-Kroeschell Company, Carrier Engineering Company and the York Heating and Ventilating Company of Philadelphia merged to form the Carrier Corporation. Two years later, four executives, including Robert and Paul Kroeschell, resigned from Carrier and organized what is presently known as Kroeschell Engineering Company. The new venture was dedicated to the design, manufacture, installation, service and maintenance of commercial and industrial air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration and related piping systems.

The first major job awarded to the newly formed company was the air conditioning of the Tribune Tower in Chicago. The 32-story Tower office building was cooled with a 600 ton, steam jet refrigeration system, supplying chilled water to 387 space air conditioners furnished by Westinghouse. In a sales telegram to its dealers dated January 4, 1934, Westinghouse claimed this to be “one of the largest unit air conditioning installations in the world.”

Kroeschell added many familiar names to its list of original clients, which included: Balaban & Katz Theaters, the Wrigley Building, Jewel Tea Company, the Morton Building, the old Chicago Daily News Building, the Federal Reserve Bank Building, Curtis Candy Company, Portland Cement Association, Mandel Brothers Department Store, Leon Mandel's yacht, ‘Buccaneer’, and Colonel Robert R. McCormick’s residence, ‘Cantigny’ in Winfield, Illinois.

In addition to commercial and industrial buildings, Kroeschell has been involved in the installation of refrigeration systems in some of the largest ships in the world (at the time they were built). These included the battleships U.S.S. Ohio (1906) and U.S.S. Arizona, and aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington, as well as the passenger liner S.S. California.

In 1959, Kroeschell ventured into the HVAC service business and has built one of the largest service companies in the area, if not the country. Since that time, Kroeschell Engineering Service, Inc. has developed a customer list that includes major companies throughout the Chicagoland area.
Kroeschell Engineering embarked upon the ‘building operations business’ in 1968, and Kroeschell Operations, Inc. serviced a sizable number of Chicago’s largest office buildings, manufacturers, universities and hospitals as clients. A computerized Preventive Maintenance Program was developed in 1979 to handle the immense amount of information and record keeping required to efficiently care for the needs of sophisticated buildings and facilities.

Kroeschell’s approach to the concept of ‘One Responsibility’ for total system services was furthered by the purchase of O’Callaghan Brothers, Inc., a plumbing contracting and servicing firm, in 1982. O’Callaghan was a natural complement to its other lines of business and enabled Kroeschell to design, install and service plumbing systems of any type and complexity.

To capitalize on the growing market for the design and installation of power distribution and control systems, Kroeschell formed an Electrical Power and Controls Department in 1985. Since that time is has developed a large clientele and is part of Kroeschell Engineering Company.

In 1992, Kroeschell expanded its base again to Waukegan, Illinois, opening Kroeschell Engineering North, Inc., providing the same HVAC services for the Lake County area.

Since its founding 125 years ago, Kroeschell has been primarily a Midwest company focusing on customers within a 250-mile radius of Chicago. Within the past couple of years, it has taken its expertise from the local to the national level and now services clients with contracts in 19 different states including Alaska.

Today, Kroeschell, Inc. and its four subsidiaries—Kroeschell Engineering Co., Kroeschell Engineering North, Inc., Kroeschell Engineering Service, Inc., and Kroeschell Operations, Inc.—employ approximately 350 people, are currently a member of 16 business and industry associations, and have an affiliation with 16 collective bargaining units. Kroeschell has maintained its leadership position in the industry by assembling one of the finest engineering departments in the country, and providing the additional services required for excellent performance in all phases of its work. According to Edward A. Swietek, president & CEO of Kroeschell, “The pioneering spirit and professional expertise successfully practiced for more than 125 years continues to be the cornerstone of Kroeschell’s present day business philosophy. As the future unfolds, we will continue to pioneer new solutions that meet the needs of a constantly changing marketplace.”

Kroeschell, Inc. is headquartered at 215 W. Ontario Street in Chicago and occupies the entire 6-story building.

Media Contact
Contact: Edward A. Swietek, President
Phone: (312) 649-7999