It’s rare that a business lasts over 100 years. 

It’s even more rare when that same business is family owned and ran. 

We are proud to be one of those businesses. We’re also grateful for the chance to have lived and worked in the Twin Cities for over a century. That’s four whole generations (and counting!). For a familiar point of reference, that means Welter Heating began serving Twin Cities residents 44 years before Byerlys first bagged groceries and 80 years before Caribou Coffee served its first cup of coffee.

People always ask us what the secret to our success is. And our answer might surprise you. Many see family as a business complication. We see it as our core value. Family to us isn’t just relatives. It’s our employees, our customers, our community. Family is our secret to success.

Our Secrets to Over 100 Years in Business

Treat Customers as Family

100 years is a long time. 100 years in business means that we’ve been able to install new furnaces in the same house four different times. Our customers keep coming back, generation after generation, because we stay connected with them. 

Parents tell their kids about the work we do and those kids call us back to service their homes. Over time, these connections begin to run deep. We check in with our customers, keep up with their needs, and offer help to their family members and friends just like we do with our own family.

Put Family First

The average tenure at Welter Heating is over 21 years. We believe part of that is due to the fact we always put family first and encourage our employees to do the same. 

We understand the complexities of life and offer as much compassion and care for our employees as we do our customers. That devotion carries over into the work we do and the way we complete that work: thoroughly, as if we were doing the service for someone we care about. Because we do.

Empower Others

It’s tempting when working with family to put them in leadership positions. But in our experience, the secret to success is in empowering our employees to lead and keep things running smoothly. 

We respect our employees, no matter what walk of life they come from, and empower them to grow our business as well as themselves. The family we believe in and support is a family that is made by each and every employee, each and every individual. Each voice is heard and respected, so that together we can continue to give the best, most forward-thinking services available.

Give Family a Choice

Most people would tell you not to do business with friends and family. Our best practice has been to work with the family and friends that want to work. Not everyone’s dream is going to be working for the family business. And that’s okay! When you create an inviting environment that rewards hard work, though, you find that more often than not people want to stick around. And that’s okay too.

100+ Years and Counting

We’ve been around over one hundred years, nearing 120. We’re proud of what we’ve been able to create as a family-owned and -run business and we’re even more proud of the ability to thrive in such a welcoming community. 

Our success is because of you, and we’ll never be able to say thank you enough. What we can do, however, is continue to give you the best heating and cooling services the Twin Cities metro has to offer. 

If you’d like to read more of our story, we’ve created a detailed account of our 100-year history. Give it a look!