Why This $14M HVAC Company Is Still Independent After 73 Years | Bobby Ring
Episode 338 · 55 min · September 1, 2026

Why This $14M HVAC Company Is Still Independent After 73 Years | Bobby Ring

Bobby Ring shares how a 73-year-old family HVAC company stays independent, builds leadership across generations, and defends its pricing in a competitive market.

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About this episode

Bobby Ring, president and CEO of Meyer and DePue, a 73-year-old HVAC company based in central and northern New Jersey, walked through the full ownership history of the business, from its founding by two Army veterans in 1953 through two generational transitions to his current leadership. The company runs roughly 50 employees, targets around 14 million dollars in revenue, and remains independently owned. Bobby described buying his father out over many years, the role his son Tom now plays as service manager, and how his wife contributes on the finance side.

A recurring theme was how Bobby shifted his leadership approach over time. He moved away from managing day-to-day details and toward setting clear expectations, letting his leadership team own the process, and asking questions rather than dictating steps. He credited advice from industry peer Ray Isaac for helping him understand that a company owner’s highest-value interactions with staff are brief, human check-ins rather than operational corrections. He also described the tension of having family in the business and the importance of giving the next generation hands-on field experience before moving them into management.

Bobby pointed to joining a structured sales and training program about a year before this recording as one of the biggest recent impacts on the business. He used the program’s one-truck exercise, which walks employees through the full cost of running a service truck, to help technicians understand and defend pricing to customers. He argued that the trades industry as a whole has undervalued itself by failing to educate the market on what it actually costs to deliver professional service, and that contractors who come from the field without business training frequently underprice their work without realizing it.

On the question of staying independent, Bobby outlined two paths: passing the business to his son the way his father passed it to him, or selling to outside buyers while conditions are favorable. He referenced economic forecasting suggesting a significant downturn around 2030 and said that timing affects which option makes more sense. No final decision has been made, but his strong personal preference leans toward keeping it in the family.

Key takeaways

  • Run a one-truck exercise with your team to show employees the real cost of operating a service vehicle so they can confidently explain pricing to customers.
  • Set clear outcome expectations for your leadership team and let them choose the process, rather than dictating every step yourself.
  • As a company owner, limit your direct interactions with frontline staff to brief, human check-ins and leave operational corrections to supervisors.
  • Make sure family members entering the business start in the field before moving into office or management roles.
  • Monitor community-based social media pages in your market and respond personally when customers recommend your company to build organic referral business.
  • Before adding a new trade, identify the sales and operational gaps in your current trade and close those first so the core business is running well.

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