Detmer and Sons, Inc.

Detmer and Sons, Inc.

History

The two pillars of success for the Dayton based, HVAC company, Detmer and Sons, have always been planning and treating everyone like family. Those pillars have never been more important than during the COVID-19 crisis.

“We believe in planning. We always have. But once COVID-19 hit, it was hard to plan for next year, let alone next month, next week, or even tomorrow.”, says Eric Detmer, President of Detmer & Sons.

Jeff Woeste, FHF Partner working with Detmer shares, “Eric is always anticipating out a month, a year or even 5 years from now. When we had the shut-down, he was thinking about how to take care of everyone and keep everyone together for the long term.”

Detmer shares, “I believe one of my jobs as a leader is to align our organization with the best advisors out there. There was an almost overwhelming amount of information coming at us. FHF helped us to understand what was being proposed by the government, and what was actually being written into law. They helped us understand the differences in the programs and then gather the information into a mechanism that would satisfy the banks and the government. I couldn’t imagine navigating this on our own.”

Woeste adds, “As companies learned about all the guidelines from the federal government, everyone was anxious and wanted answers. We advised them (Detmer and Sons) on the different scenarios and what they needed to think about. We talked through things they heard in the news, but that were not factually accurate.”

Woeste continues, “For more complex organizations, thinking about all of the allowable costs that could be included versus just sprinting to get an application submitted ends up being a benefit. I know companies who did this on their own and submitted just payroll costs. They did not include health insurance costs, benefit plan costs, retirement plan costs or other applicable costs – so they really missed an opportunity. With Detmer and Sons we worked side by side and did everything expeditiously, but with all the facts.”

How We Entered the Picture

Founded in 1978 in the back part of Frank Detmer, Sr.’s house, Detmer and Sons has been providing commercial and residential HVAC services to the Dayton area for over 40 years. FHF has worked with Detmer and Sons on everything from planning for generational transfer of ownership, to acquisitions, to tax planning, and more recently on COVID-19 planning.

The Importance of Planning During COVID-19

From their humble beginnings in 1978, in the back of Frank Detmer Sr.’s house, Detmer and Sons has grown to over 70 employees. For over 40 years they have been treating their customers across the Dayton area like family. As Detmer looks forward, he is still focused on planning and on keeping that family feeling. He shares, “There is still uncertainty. We know our people are still under stress – both in the workplace and at home. We work hard to communicate with everyone where the company stands and what our plans are.”

Woeste closes by sharing, “We have worked with Detmer and Sons on everything from planning for generational transfer of ownership, to acquisitions, to tax planning, and more recently on COVID-19 planning. Eric and I think a lot alike. We both know you can’t control the uncertainty, but we also know that if you plan well, then everything else is easier.”

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