A Family Tradition Since 1928
Over 90 years ago, in a building on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, Eddie Palone founded a small refrigeration business that has become a true family enterprise. What began as Eddie’s Refrigeration in 1928 was renamed Palone Brothers Air Conditioning Corp in the 1950s by Eddie’s sons John and Vincent Palone and now encompasses locations in Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, and Brooklyn.
Today, Palone Brothers is owned and operated by the third generation of Palones, John Jr., Michael and Edward who split responsibility for the design and installation in brownstones townhouses, commercial properties, and other high-end residential projects in the four boroughs. The Palone brothers all grew up in the business and learned from the ground up working with installation teams as service technicians, and then as managers under their parents. Combined, John, Michael and Edward have over 100 years of HVAC experience between the three of them!
An Evolution in Customer Service
“We have evolved dramatically over the years in how we approach customer service and how we treat our employees,” reports Steven Palone, Operations Manager for the Manhattan Division. “For a long time, the bulk of our employees were family members who worked every day of the year, all hours, including holidays. Today, we pride ourselves in treating our employees with great respect, while also fostering a learning environment. We consider each and every one of our employees to be part of the family.”
Palone Brothers participates in the charity drives and fundraisers of their employees’ children. The company offers regular training, meetings, and company outings to facilitate team building and family bonding.
“Our customer commitment is unlike any other company,” emphasizes Steven. “We place the highest value in doing the right thing for our customers We get a lot of business by providing second opinion at a much lower cost. Additionally, as the Palones are very intertwined with the specifics of each job, we can effectively and quickly get anything done.”
“MACC provides us with essential insight into the policies and laws that directly affect our industry” …
“The MACC organization shows us how some other companies might do things differently,” says Steven. “It is very encouraging to hear that other companies deal with similar issues to ours; and sometimes we even get key insight into how these companies approach the same problems. At the end of the day, MACC is a great resource that enables us to talk to so many other professionals in our industry.”
Palone Brothers Stands Tall in the Face of the Covid-19 Pandemic
Palone Brothers was closed for an extensive period of time when construction shut down. The Brooklyn division opened in mid-May, and the other divisions began work in the beginning of June. Since then business has been mainly emergencies, fixes and leaks.
“We didn’t cut any of our employees for the 10 weeks we were closed,” states Steven. “Fortunately, we were approved for the Payment Protection Plan loan (PPP) and we were able to start up again and bring back everybody. Last year we were doing 3 to 4 times the amount of business we are doing now, but I am confident that towards the end of July, when it gets really hot, we will begin to see a real change!”
Article Featured in MACC News Summer 2020, Volume 1