When my great-grandfather, John A. Kinkaid Sr., was 22 years old he was approached by an oil company to bury oil tanks for them. He already owned a landscaping business but still took the offer to expand into another field. Later, he started fabricating oil tanks and fire escapes in his Philadelphia shop. It was only a matter of time until he began installing oil and gas heating equipment, and converting coal-burning systems to oil systems in the residential and commercial buildings of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.
Upon his death, my grandfather John A. Kinkaid Jr. inherited the residential heating and air conditioning company. He witnessed and experienced major changes in the industry; from the evolution of wood to coal, coal to oil, oil to natural gas, and finally the introduction of central air conditioning.
In 1987 my mother, Barbara Kinkaid Long, took over ownership of the business and became a certified women’s business owner with the WBE (Women’s Business Enterprise). She grew up in the business, beginning as a little girl and going on calls with her father to clean oil burners and install heaters. She has truly made it a family-friendly business, and considers everyone who works with her to be part of her family. In fact, some of the technicians we have working with us I have known most of my life. She made great strides and sacrificed a lot to make this company what it is today and made it possible for us to do both commercial and residential heating and air conditioning once again.
This year will be my first as owner of the family business. I used to go on service calls with my dad to do cleanings and installations, just like my mom used to do with my grandfather. Even though I am now the business owner, we will still be WBE-certified. and I hope to continue growing the business even more. I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce Chris Boukamp who will be joining me as co-owner. He has been part of the team for over a decade and has been a crucial part of this company. We are excited to see what the future holds.