MB Heating & Cooling, 1555 W. Jefferson, has been serving the Springfield area for more than 30 years. John and Erin Wyss purchased the company in 2012. The client-focused HVAC and plumbing company has earned its clients’ trust in heating and cooling service, installation and maintenance due to the exceptional services provided.
Being named one of the Best Places to Work in Springfield has everything to do with the guarantee that the company gives its employees.
“We have a strong commitment to employee development,” said general manager Doug Gholson. “We concentrate on training and commit to helping our employees professionally and personally,” Gholson noted the company has focused on developing an attractive benefits package for its employees, including adding an additional week of vacation, health insurance, paid dental and vision insurance and a company- matched IRA plan.
Gholson said, “MB Heating & Cooling is a clear example of growing a small family business in the community.” The business started with just two people and has now grown to over 35 employees. The company encourages personal growth and budgets more than $80,000 a year for training.
“Our commitment to training is a testament to our desire to have the best, most knowledgeable employees,” said Gholson. He also noted the team environment at the company. “Co-workers often trade times to work in order to help with family events, and in times of need, MB has stepped up to pay employees that were unable to work during illness.” For Gholson, the best part of working for MB Heating & Cooling is solving the problems of its customers, as every day is different. He also enjoys getting to know everyone’s families.
MB Heating & Cooling has been busy outside the office as well. For the past two years, the company has hosted Camp Out for Homeless Veterans to raise money for Fifth Street Renaissance. Other charities that MB Heating & Cooling supports include Sparc and the Market on the Hill project in Mt. Pulaski. Altogether, MB Heating & Cooling supports dozens of organizations every year through volunteerism, monetary donations and in-kind gifts. There is a high level of employee participation, which shows that charitable commitment plays a fundamental role in the company’s values.
“MB is a great place to work and will continue to grow as it is committed to serving the people in the community,” said Gholson.
Despite a pandemic that hurt businesses all over the world, MB Heating & Cooling still achieved several major accomplishments in 2020.
“We were able to not only maintain our staffing levels during the pandemic but were also able to add staff members in the service department and electrical department,” said Gholson. “Our solar department recently installed one of the largest solar arrays in Springfield.”
In addition, when employees began to have scheduling conflicts last spring due to schools switching to remote learning, the company hired a tutor to work with the children of employees and converted space in the building into a tutoring center.
Looking toward the future, MB Heating & Cooling hopes to increase education on indoor air quality to show people the benefits of clean air.
“We want to expand our plumbing, electrical and solar departments while increasing our role in community involvement,” said Gholson. “Finally, we want to make MB the employer of choice in central Illinois.”
