Canco ClimateCare owner Nancy McKeraghan said she and her husband, Bob, did not totally know what they were getting into starting an HVAC business 40 years ago.
Rather than return to her job teaching, McKeraghan said her husband suggested they start their own business. Bob McKeraghan figured they would be able to make their own hours and have their own holidays — which ended up being a lie, she said.
But, despite the demands of it, the business is still standing 40 years later.
“We’ve had a lot of fun,” she said. “We have a really great team and it’s those memories that you have … the friendships that we’ve made and the things that we’ve learned, I think, stand out more than anything else.”
The heating and cooling business celebrated its 40th anniversary with an open house Oct. 9. Municipal officials and Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy visited to congratulate the business on four decades in the community servicing Newmarket and the surrounding area.
McKeraghan said they have their customers to thank for ongoing loyalty over the years.
“I’m very proud that we’ve been able to be part of this wonderful community,” she said.
Frank Hagleitner is a longtime friend of the McKeraghans, also owning a heating and cooling business. He said it is no surprise that the pair were able to keep the business going this long.
“Bob and Nancy are just amazing, amazing people, amazing business people, and he’s probably one of the smartest guys in our industry,” he said.
McKeraghan credited their ongoing success to training and staying part of several industry organizations to stay on top of trends.
“We’re developing them as professionals,” McKeraghan said of their technician training.
Barb Bartlett has used Canco Climate Care for decades. She said the company has kept pace with changes.
“Forty years — they’ve moved with the times and that’s important in today’s environment,” she said.
Plenty of people came through the doors to wish the McKeraghans well with cards and messages.
McKeraghan reflected on how the business has lived to see plenty of change in Newmarket, starting up when they lived across the road from a farm.
She said it has been wonderful to hear from the customers they have served for decades.
“We’ve worked hard to serve the community as well, but also our customers, because without our customers, we wouldn’t be in business,” she said.
She also credited the staff they have had over the years.
“(They) delivered the service in the manner that we want our customers to experience and I’m very grateful for them.”
