Mussun Sales celebrates
56 years of success
This supplier of HVAC equipment did it by adapting to customer needs
Mussun Sales Inc. is a manufacturers' representative and distributor
for the premier heating, air conditioning and ventilation products in the
HVAC industry. It was founded by William G. Mussun Jr. in 1951 as a sales
office for about a half dozen lines in the Hanna Building in downtown Cleveland.
In the 1960s, the company was on the grow in a major way. In 1962 it moved
to a larger facility on E. 18th St. with a warehouse that allowed it to
begin inventorying products, and that same decade saw new offices opening
in Akron and Columbus. In 1964, Mussun hired University of Toledo grad Jeff
Andres as a salesman, and within 12 years he had worked his way to the top
as president. Mussun has expanded due to its knowledge of HVAC products,
in which Andres specialized.
The year 1990 saw the Columbus office move to a larger facility and add
a warehouse to ease service to central Ohio with shorter ship times and
counter space. In 1993, the corporate home office moved again, using 44
tractor-trailer loads, this time to a 58,000-sf building at 3419 Carnegie
Avenue in the Midtown Corridor, accessible to all major interstates. The
larger warehouse allowed the firm to take on more lines and increase its
inventory. The lower level was converted into a Learning Center, with seminars
held on a regular basis for engineers, architects and contractors.
In 2001, Mussun Sales celebrated its 50th anniversary. It now has close
to 50 employees, half of them in the sales department. The firm plans to
carry on in its tradition of representing premier products, running a profitable
operation and perpetuating the company name and its mission of quality and
service. It seeks work in other areas and new lines that fit well and augments
its current product offerings. It also sees the importance of adopting new,
state-of-the-art technology. Andres quickly saw the importance of computers
and networks to tie the operation together as the company grew, and today
the firm is updating its website "into the 21st Century," says
Andres, allowing customers to order online and supporting manufacturers
with electronic pricing. BXM
The Three Ps
Mussun Sales concentrates on products,
people and perpetual growth
Mussun Sales Inc. believes in being the premier manufacturer's rep in
the region, being profitable and perpetuating Mussun Sales as an entity
forever
Geoffrey Andres says the firm is the premier rep in the area and represents
the industry's leading products, "the Cadillacs," as opposed to
just another car. "Some 90% of the time on private projects,"
he says, "the specs say Mussun Sales products." But in addition
to quality, the firm also offers a large quantity of products, becoming
a one-stop shopping experience and offering a sales floor with attractive
displays of the company's entire offering right at hand. It allows those
picking up product to get a few of those last-minute tool and widget items
as well, what Andres calls the "gum and candy aisle."
Another P is profitability, and that depends on people. Andres says that
Mussun's are top notch, the "most important asset." All of the
salespeople are college grads, he says, so they are educated-and service-minded.
Mussun Sales is very active in ASHRAE, and several of its employees have
served as chapter presidents. They are also experienced, with several having
been on the job for over two decades, so they have demonstrated know-how
about both product lines and how they can best meet customer needs.
"We don't sell on price, we sell on quality and service," says
Andres. "Commodity is for Wal-Mart. We like to be easy to do business
with. We make customers' lives easier for them." This can involve something
as simple as a cold drink and TV to watch while waiting at the counter to
no-hassle returns.
Adds Terry O'Brien, Cleveland branch manager, "We take care of people.
We focus on what we can do for them, and not what we can't."
As far as perpetuating itself for the ages, Mussun does that by looking
at the long-term, marketing to owners, specifiers, mechanical engineers
and contractors alike, and using its Learning Center as a way of keeping
all of its constituencies, including architects and building inspectors,
educated--not only about new technologies and products but about changes
in building codes and other issues.
"It is all part of our continued growth," says O'Brien. "In
fact, we like to think, in spite of the fact we are 56 years old, that we
are just getting started." BXM
Mussun projects range the gamut
The firm has done complex projects including major sports venues, schools
and health care facilities
Sports facilities
- Gund Arena (Quicken Loans Arena)
- Jacobs Field
- Cleveland Browns Stadium
- Nationwide Arena
- The Ohio State University Horseshoe
- Schottenstein Center
Offices and industrial
- Key Tower
- The FBI Building
- WKYC Channel 3
- Louis Stokes Federal Courthouse
- Parker Hannifin
- Bank One Building
Health care, civic and education
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
- Louis Stokes Wing of Cleveland Public Library
- The Cleveland Clinic
- University Hospitals
- Cleveland Museum of Art expansion
Product lines
- Acutherm
- Aerofin
- Atco
- Cook
- FanAm
- Grease Master
- INDEECO
- Metalbestos
- Miro
- Modine
- Nederman
- Pate
- Precision Air
- Purolator
- Qmark
- Ruskin
- Sieho
- Semco
- Spunstrand
- Titus
- Vent Axia
- Vibro-Acoustics
- Waddell
- Young Regulator
