What Is The Moncrief Way?
The Moncrief Way stands for trust, quality work, integrity, loyalty, and indoor comfort for everyone.
We could not have survived this long without those aspects, and we’re proud to say that we’ve survived every major economic downturn that’s hit the US since 1898. Trust, quality work, integrity, loyalty, and of course indoor comfort are lasting principles that have kept us as a dominating HVAC company in Roswell.
The Origins Of The Moncrief Way
We first opened our doors in 1898, and things were much different then. Many people had homes heated by wood-powered stoves: the same ones they used to cook their food and boil their water. The Civil War was still in living memory. Southern reconstruction was in full swing as the South started their slow shift away from an agrarian economy to an industrial one like the rest of the United States.
Our story starts with Stephen Moncrief, a pioneer in home comfort. His idea was simple: make furnaces that the common people of Atlanta could use in their homes. This idea was a great success and Mr. Moncrief dedicated his life to making sure that the company could continue to provide furnaces to as many Atlanta homes as possible. Thanks to Mr. Moncrief and his ingenuity, Atlanta home comfort started to take a more modern form.
When the Great Depression hit, the South’s economy took a major hit. Mr. Moncrief’s health was beginning to fail and upon his death. Lawrence Kent Sr. and Water Hutchens took control of the company. They continued to manufacture and sell furnaces. During Kent Sr.’s tenure, Moncrief started selling forced air furnaces in a display of innovation and ingenuity. This move made Moncrief the single most dominant home comfort company in Atlanta.
After Kent Sr.’s death in 1950, his son, Lawrence Kent Jr., took over the company. He later sold the company in 1959 to a company based in Indianapolis. Despite the sale, the employees carried on the Moncrief spirit.
In 1972, Moncrief Heating & Air Conditioning was bought by Thomas R. Mutz I, the founder of Unique Indoor Comfort in Chicago. Unique Indoor Comfort would become one of the most successful HVAC franchises in the US, operating in Chicago, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Boston. Thomas’s son, Frank Mutz II, would take over the company as the CEO in 1973 and today still sits as the de facto head of the company. Frank Mutz exemplifies what it means to follow the Moncrief Way and has built his entire career on those principles.
We opened our doors in Roswell in the 1980s, and since then we’ve been proud to be able to bring the Moncrief way to Roswell residents in need of HVAC services.