With experience that dates back to when the cold was literally delivered to homes, Koch feels confident now as the new president and owner of Turnbull Heating and Air Conditioning in Batavia.
“I’ve been in the industry ever since I was a kid. I'm the fifth generation in my family to be involved in the industry. My great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather ran an ice delivery business; they were salesmen. My dad and my uncle ran a refrigeration company and my family has been involved in it for a while,” Koch said during an interview Friday. “So we purchased the company and the building, and the goal is to keep everything the same and grow it.”
Koch, a resident of Hilton, has owned Triton Mechanical in Monroe County with his father Jeff and friend Kevin O’Connell for more than six years. The company originated organically, he said, and the team — which also includes mom Wendy — has worked to make it a successful heating, ventilation and air conditioning operation, he said.
“I wouldn't change a thing. Everybody said that you shouldn't go into business with family or friends. And we we've made it work, and it's fantastic,” he said. “We have great conversations and mom and dad are great. And Kevin is fantastic. Kevin is really, he's a strong leader, and I don't know, it's just perfect.”
He met former Turnbull owner Bill Hayes a couple of years ago, and was introduced to the company at 50 Franklin St., Batavia, more thoroughly after Hayes decided to put it up for sale. One selling point was that Koch wanted to become as fully involved with the community as Hayes has been, the new owner said.
“And when we met Bill, we looked at the company and the team and reputation and just decided (they wanted to purchase it), and he decided also, because he was looking at other folks to buy the company,” Koch said. “And we both agreed that this would be the right move to allow him to stay on and continue the vision of the company.
“We’ve been given a chance to grow a company on a very strong foundation and partner with someone who cares … someone like Bill who cares a lot about the community and family and team the way that we do,” Koch said. “We have similar visions as business owners and similar values as family.”
With its founding in 1966, Turnbull already has a solid track record, and Koch and his leadership team have no plans to change what’s working. The staff of 31 and current services will remain, and the only shift may be additional growth of the residential and commercial offerings, he said.
Triton will retain its name, but the company has been merged with Turnbull, as evident on the new website. Hayes will remain as project manager/designer and consultant for at least a year, per the contract, he said.
He can’t help but see how fate played a role in this new professional relationship, as Hayes bought Turnbull Heating from Roy Turnbull after a chance meeting at Grand Cayman Island, and now Koch and his team have purchased it from Hayes. In each scenario, the owner was eyeing retirement with a goal to find the right people to take over.
For Hayes, it was a former employee — Pat Roberts, a student who worked for three summers while attending college — who helped to broker the deal via an introduction of Hayes and Koch.
“I am truly blessed to find these guys and the guy that brought us together,” Hayes said. “This guy was a mentor between two companies; he was watching out for my welfare and for Triton’s welfare.”
What inspired Hayes to seek retirement now? It’s quite simple, he says: seven grandsons, all under the age of 10. While Hayes can remember chats he had with his own grandfather, he wants to be that older and wiser mentor for his two daughters’ children. He also feels that he found the right professional team to take over.
“They come with a strong service background. And the fact that they had the same mission as I do, which is taking care of the customer at all costs. If there's any concerns, they can lean on me, and the customers can still call me,” Hayes said. “The bonus is the fact that they'll listen to what I have to say, because a lot of times, that usually doesn't happen, but we really have come together now. It’s working like a dream.”
The deal was signed June 1, and as for business, it has been “phenomenal,” Hayes said, surpassing anything in his 30 years of owning the company. Ringing phones has meant hiring two additional staff members to answer calls and set up appointments, he said.
He attributes it at least in part to the merger and reputations and territories of each. Turnbull reaches beyond Genesee County, into Orleans and Wyoming, and expanding into Erie and Niagara counties, while Triton is in Ontario, Monroe and Oneida counties.
“You have two powerful service companies come together, and on the other end of two counties … it’s just going to take off,” he said. “I wanted the right person or persons to take over, I wanted the same mindset.”
Koch added that Hayes will remain part of the business “to get us used to running the company.”
“He knows everybody around here in Batavia and Genesee County, he's very well connected, and he's gonna continue selling and designing HVAC systems and business as usual,” Koch said. “I love running the service business. I like helping other people. And I love being involved in the community. We've done that with our company from day one. And we're going to do that with Turnbull.
“Now that that's our company too, we’d like to support the community and give back to small businesses," Koch said. "It's not easy, a lot of folks have helped us along the way. And we want to give that back.”
Top Photo of Jake Koch; Jeff Koch, Bill Hayes, Kevin O'Connell and Jake Koch at the newly merged business site in Batavia. Not pictured is former Turnbull Vice President JoAnn Hayes, who has been "my rock" for husband Bill, he says. Photos courtesy of Jake Koch.
