Family plays an important role in the life of Gary Schneider, co-owner of Schneider's One-Hour Heating and Air Conditioning in Butler.

Pictures of his wife, brother, father and three children cover the walls in his office at the business' headquarters on Pillow Street.

And, of course, the company started in 1952 by his father, Paul, still bears the family's surname.

“Work is kind of bred into us. When my dad started the business, he worked night and day. He did the sales and marketing and did a lot of the installations himself,” Schneider said.

Gary Schneider's brother, Mike, who is five years older, graduated from Butler High School and went to work for the family business right away.

Gary Schneider started working at the business in 10th grade through Butler High School's co-op program, a precursor to the vocational technical program, which allowed students to leave school for work after about three-fourths of the day.

“I graduated (high school) in June 1979 and my dad retired at the end of that year. My brother and I then took over the business,” Schneider said.

“It was (daunting). My brother is five years older than me and had already been in the business for five years. But we made it work.”

At that time, Schneider's employed two furnace installers and a secretary and operated out of a small shop at the corner of New Castle Street and Fourth Avenue.

“We started growing the business through Mike and I both doing sales and marketing. For the first 20 years or so, we did most of that work ourselves,” Schneider said.

The company relocated to its Pillow Street office about 18 years ago.

How does Schneider remember that time? He was installing carpet in the building when his wife called to tell him she had gone into labor with their second child, Jared.

“This used to be the old Morrison Candy Co., but they moved out of town in the 1960s,” he said.

Today, Schneider's has grown to 22 employees and serves Butler and Mercer counties and parts of Crawford County.

The biggest jolt to business came about four years ago, when Schneider's partnered with the franchise, One-Hour Heating and Air Conditioning, which has a network of about 300 service providers nationwide

“We bought into it for two reasons. One is their marketing and management skills. Two is their buying power,” Schneider said.

Buying power is key to the profit margin, as it affects “everything to do with the business, from the furnaces and air conditioners we install to the uniforms our technicians wear and the trucks we drive,” he said.

Another reason for partnering with the franchise, Schneider said, is that he and his brother, whose office is just across the hall from his, could see the “writing on the wall” with the advent of big-box retailers like Lowe's and Home Depot.

Schneider said he watched as low material costs and project help services at those companies decimated plumbing businesses in Butler.

“We really believe that is what is going to happen to heating and air conditioning at some point, too,” he said.

“You can only build a business so far without honed management skills, and that was really what was missing: management and marketing skills.”

Schneider's education focused on the trade itself, learning from his father, Paul, and brother, Mike, as well as manufacturers' schools on how to sell, service and install systems.

The other big value in franchising was the continued education opportunities, Schneider said, provided by One-Hour Heating and Air Conditioning's “Clockwork University.”

“They provide us with online continued education and, sometimes, on-site education,” Schneider said.

Technicians also are sent to the franchise's school in St. Louis for hands-on training in new technologies.

“I see a lot more energy-efficient products now than I used to,” Schneider said.

“It used to be that if a furnace was 60 percent efficient, that was acceptable. That means for every dollar you spent, 60 cents heated the house and 40 cents went out the chimney. Now, (that standard is) closer to 96 percent efficiency.”

Other technology associated with the business has changed little.

“The technology is still pretty much the same when it comes to duct work. We still have a sheet metal shop, which is pretty unique. Not too many heating and air conditioning services do that,” Schneider said.

“We also have companies we contract to do asbestos abatement. That's important, because a lot of companies don't take care of it in the right manner; They just toss it in a Dumpster.”

Partnering with One-Hour Heating and Air Conditioning also has helped Schneider's clear some space.

“We stock some inventory, but most of our stuff is provided through on-time delivery,” Schneider said.

“We used to have a lot more warehouse space. Before, we were Lennox dealers and they wanted us to buy a half truck at a time.”

Of course, a better business doesn't mean it's easier to run. Schneider said he invests between 50 and 60 hours at work each week and, even though the shop only opens its doors six days a week, technicians are on-call 24 hours a day.

When not working, Schneider said, “I like to fish. I have a pilot's license. I like to fly, though I haven't done it in a few years.”

He has a summer home in Clarion where he said he likes to take time to enjoy his family, but doesn't see himself retiring early to extend those reprieves.

“Maybe if we had been with One-Hour sooner,” he mused.

“My only regret is that I didn't find it 25 or 30 years ago.”

In high school, Schneider took machine shop, auto shop and drafting classes to excel in his career path, but, judging by their educational choices, it doesn't appear the family he treasures will follow him into the business.

His eldest son, Matthew, 20, is attending Thiel College, pursuing a degree in neurobiology, while Jared, 18, is attending Edinboro University for education.

But there could still be a chance for his daughter Kalsey, 17, to be the third generation Schneider at the helm of her family's business after she graduates from Butler High School.

<B>Age: </B>49<B>Address: </B>Meridian<B>Family: </B>Wife, Sharon, and three children, Matthew, 20, Jared, 18, and Kalsey, 17<B>Education: </B>Butler High School, graduated 1979<B>Employment: </B>Co-owner of Schneider’s One-Hour Heating and Air Conditioning<B>Interests: </B>Fishing, flying aircraft, spending time with his family<B>Quote </B>‘I graduated (high school) in June 1979 and my dad retired at the end of that year. My brother and I then took over the business, It was (daunting). My brother is five years older than me and had already been in the business for five years. But we made it work.’