P&N Distribution and Rheem Create a Mid-Atlantic Force

Corporate offices.

Over the past 25 years, New Jersey-based P&N Distribution and Rheem have grown together in the mid-Atlantic region: a distributor that began as the idea of four industry veterans and a well-respected equipment manufacturer that had little presence in the area. With the commitment to customer service and technical know-how of P&N Distribution and quality products from Rheem, both distributor and manufacturer have become a force in the area for dealers and their customers.

P&N Distribution was the idea of four veterans from different segments of the HVACR industry who wanted to have a distribution business, says Lloyd Larkin, Jr., P&N Distribution's president and one of the four founders. Larkin's father, Lloyd Larkin Sr., and Hagop Kouyoumdjian had already established a successful export business with Rheem air conditioning, while Fred Hagee came from the engineering side, and Larkin Jr. worked for Honeywell. The quartet founded P&N in 1984, pooling their expertise to form a wholesale distribution business in a very competitive market area. Hagee passed away in 1997, while Larkin Sr. and Kouyoumdjian are still active on P&N Distribution's board of directors.

Knowing that Rheem was a well-respected brand in HVACR, the partners became the Rheem distributor for the region and built it up from there. There are now four P&N Distribution locations, and its market area covers southern New Jersey, northern Delaware and eastern Pennsylvania. P&N Distribution has a staff of 38.

“Rheem is a first-class line of equipment that is well-respected and offers high-quality products,” says Larkin of Rheem and why they chose to distribute its products. Because Rheem continues to innovate and bring new products to market, Philip Debes, P&N Distribution's vice president of sales, says they've put total focus on one equipment line. “We're not big believers in trying to promote two equipment lines,” he says. “We focus on one line, and our goal is to switch existing accounts to the Rheem brand.”

Seated: Lloyd Larkin Sr.; standing, left to right: Steve Fraser, vice president, operations; Lloyd Larkin Jr., president; and Phil Debes, vice president, sales.

The mid-Atlantic region where P&N Distribution operates is a crowded and competitive market. As Larkin puts it, “Everybody's here, and they're close.” So how does a distributor build a name for itself? Steve Fraser, vice president of operations, has a simple explanation: “Going from zero to what we have today was built on good, old-fashioned service for the customer,” he says. “That's gotten lost over the years, but we've always put an emphasis on this — making sure that whatever the customer needs, we'll be there for them.”

What the customer needs is the philosophy that P&N Distribution follows in how they do business. For example, when it puts together its training schedules, it asks customers what they're looking for. What are the issues that they're currently facing, and how can P&N Distribution help them? “We'll do training on Rheem products as well as other products, and we're a NATE testing facility,” Debes says. When it comes to deliveries, P&N Distribution makes sure that it gets product to customers when they need it — even, if possible, if it's for that same day. “And it's not beyond our salesman to drop a coil or part in his car and deliver it to the customer,” he adds.

Because they are so responsive to the needs of dealers, P&N Distribution offers free next-day delivery, and it has distinguished itself from its competition. There are four fully stocked warehouses that allow the business to get its products in the hands of dealers quickly and on time.

When setting up the business, the partners decided to locate in New Jersey, in contrast to many of its competitors who are across the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Fraser says. “They started with the headquarters in New Jersey, and I think that really had something to do with the growth in the beginning,” Fraser says. With two branch locations in Pennsylvania, it allows P&N Distribution to cover eastern Pennsylvania well, “but in the beginning it was a good move to set up in New Jersey,” he adds.