Rick Haller, CEO of Lititz, Pennsylvania-based Haller Enterprises Inc., jokes that he got his start in the HVAC industry at the ripe age of 16 because the labor laws were different than they are nowadays. In 1981, at age 23, he had left that company and started his own business, operating out of his garage.
“I worked alone until I hired my first employee in my second year,” he said. “By the end of the third year, I had several employees. I was an electrician by trade, so I got started really doing electrical work. My second year in business, my first employee was a licensed plumber. I jumped right into doing plumbing and electrical work. During my fourth year, I started doing HVAC work as well. We grew all three departments from an early point in the company.”