When Troy and Kathleen Lanz decided to go out on a limb and begin their own business, Lanz Heating and Cooling, in 2002, they were just looking for an opportunity to do what they love and provide a potential business opportunity for their three sons when they became adults. Now, 15 years later, the Lanz family has turned their heating and cooling business into a family atmosphere for their employees and customers.
“We always wanted to have a family atmosphere and draw people that want that same kind of experience,” Troy said.
With 75 employees, Lanz Heating and Cooling has expanded to service not only heating and air conditioning units, but to also service plumbing, sewer, drainage and water lines along with mechanical needs for new construction or remodels. Services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“The homeowner is never happy when they have to call us,” Troy said. “Taking them from frustration to happy is what makes this worthwhile. Sometimes you get into a situation where you are helping an elderly person or someone with a newborn child; it’s devastating to them that their heating and cooling aren’t working, and to make that happen for them is very rewarding.”
Operations Manager Eric Jordan, who joined the Lanz team 9 years ago, said, “Troy said he wants to be known as a man of faith who takes care of other people.”
Troy and Kathleen will leave for Magdalena, Mexico Friday to volunteer their time to an orphanage they have helped since 2009. The couple donates heating and air conditioning units for the children and staff, but also helps out with any other service projects the campus needs while they are there.
Lanz Heating and Cooling also helps out at home, though, by donating to school organizations, athletic clubs, the Honor Guard, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Mills Breast Cancer Institute and St. Jude Hospital.
The Lanz team was able to tour St. Jude Hospital when they made a donation on behalf of an employee’s daughter who was fighting leukemia two years ago. Jordan said the staff received a phone call on a Friday that his daughter needed to go to the emergency room. Two hours later, the young girl was being taken to Peoria because she had been diagnosed with leukemia. The next day, she made a 7-hour ambulance trip to St. Jude for treatment.
Jordan said by Monday and Tuesday, Lanz employees came to him to offer up their vacation days so that the father could be with his daughter.
“He missed 8-weeks of work, but did not miss one day of pay because everyone pitched in,” he said. Employees also shaved their heads when the girl lost her hair.
Coming from a company of about 700 people where he felt like a number, Jordan said the Lanz environment is special.
“It’s really something when you care about what people are doing every day,” he said. “That comes from the ownership. They really care a lot about the people who work here.”
