Corken Steel Products Company: At Your Service

A few of the Corken Steel staff who provides "Corken Good Service."

There are more than 26 delivery vehicles at Corken Steel Products Company, and every day you'll see them on the road departing from any of nine locations in Kentucky, western Ohio and eastern Indiana and delivering to their customers. No matter the time of day or the part required, Corken Steel will be there for its customers. "At Corken Steel, the answer is yes. Now what's the question," says Jeff Corken, the president of Corken Steel and the son of one of the founders.

Delivering for customers — in every sense of the word — is what defines Corken Steel. Whether it's getting the parts to the job site quickly, having skilled employees who can answer technical questions or providing them with innovative products that can lead to more sales, Corken Steel has become a crucial link for its customers in the HVACR distribution supply chain.

This is a philosophy that the family-owned and operated business has lived by since four Corken brothers, a cousin and a friend opened Corken Steel in Covington, KY, in 1955. Beginning as a supplier of sheet metal products for the roofing industry, the founders realized that many of their roofing customers were able mechanics and needed something to do in the winter; so they started stocking furnace fittings, got an equipment line and entered the HVACR market. With the addition of a key employee, Dick Bucher, that part of the business began to grow.

Today, Corken Steel focuses primarily on the residential replacement market, although it continues to expand in the construction market. The company has nine locations — including its Florence, KY, headquarters — in southwestern Ohio and northern and central Kentucky. It maintains its roots in the roofing business — part of its loyalty to customers who depend upon Corken Steel for this part of their business. Corken Steel also has expanded into sheet metal fabrication, which is a significant part of the business today. "It helps with the one-stop shop concept," says Don Corken Jr., director of roofing. "The fabrication shops offer both standard stock materials as well as custom made-to-order items they can quickly turn around for customers."

Corken Steel's willingness to expand its product line led management to carry products for the geothermal market. Jay Kaiser, director of Sales and Marketing, says geothermal has become the "hottest" product line, driven by the desire of consumers to embrace more environmentally friendly ways of heating and cooling their homes as well as the tax credits available for these products. Geothermal product sales now account for 20 percent of Corken Steel's equipment sales. "We sell everything for the entire system including loops grout, tools and solutions," he says, "everything you would need to do a complete geothermal project."

When Corken Steel began to sell geothermal about six years ago, the company spent time educating customers about the products — taking some of the mystery out of what it involved. Today, geothermal is a more widely known concept, and contractors and dealers come to them. "People are aware of geothermal, and they're asking their contractors about it," he says.

Because Corken Steel has a reputation in the region for its work as a geothermal distributor, many consider the business a trusted source for knowledge and technical advice. In fact, Corken Steel holds regular classroom training at its headquarters. Several Corken Steel employees are considered to be geothermal experts, and they work closely with customers — one-on-one and through classroom training — on installing and maintaining geothermal systems. Kaiser points out that tax credits make geothermal installation very attractive — with a 30 percent tax credit available on an installed system with no maximum limit, which is in effect until 2016.