Pennsylvania is a state rich in history. It was one of the original 13 colonies and is the home of the famous Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the 103-year-old HVAC contracting company, HB McClure. Founded in Harrisburg in 1914 and incorporated in 1931, the company has grown gradually over the years, transitioning from a privately-owned business into an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in 2010. In less than seven years, HB McClure has acquired 13 companies and grown from 202 employees to 541.
“When I got here in 2008, we were a 94-year-old company that was in its third generation of family ownership, and Bob McClure — the third generation owner — along with his board of directors, was looking for a succession plan, and I happened to be the lucky winner,” said Bob Whalen, president and CEO, HB McClure. “I had an agreement to buy 100 percent of the company, coming in as a minority owner to start. The important thing about that time is we were in a recession and didn’t know it. The business was going quite well when I came in and continued to do so for the next year, then it really started to feel the effects of the economic slowdown. It was at that point we started exploring alternatives to make the transition from Bob McClure to the new team more cost effective.”