Quietside Makes Minisplits into Big Business

When Samsung Electronics was looking to establish its minisplit air conditioning line in North America, the South Korean manufacturer knew it would have to rely on the expertise of those who knew the market and the products. Samsung got both with Quietside Corp., a company formed in 1998 by Sang Woo Lee, who was then the owner of a Johnstone Supply store in Los Angeles, and Jack Ernest, who had extensive experience in HVACR distribution and minisplit systems.

Quietside became the exclusive importer and distributor of Samsung minisplit systems. In that role, Quietside provides the sales, marketing, distribution and product support for this line. Although it is a separate corporation, Quietside looks, acts and performs like the manufacturer, providing the level of support and confidence that distributors expect in the North American market.

Eleven years later, Quietside markets the fully featured, fully-benefited Samsung line of minisplit systems as well as a standard, competitively priced line with the Quietside brand. Ernest calls this “the best of both.” Quietside also has a line of wall-hung, on-demand tankless condensing water heaters under the Quietside brand name.

All of this is done through a national network of independent manufacturer sales representatives who work with distributors around the country, a technical support staff to provide services and answer questions, and two warehouses on each side of the country — with a third in Texas on the way — to quickly get the products in the hands of distributors and to their customers.

Ernest recalls his first meeting with Lee, who had just acquired the rights to the Samsung line. He was looking for the right person to put together a national program to promote and sell the line. At the time, Ernest was with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and was preparing to launch that company's minisplit line in North America. He was meeting with Lee as a competitor — preparing to learn more about what Samsung wanted to achieve.

John Miles, vice president, Sales and Engineering (left); Jack Ernest, senior vice president and general manager.

He didn't come seeking an opportunity, but Lee presented him with one. Ernest says Mitsubishi was preparing to back away from the minisplit line in North America, so the timing for him was perfect. He and Lee talked about what a national distribution and marketing program for Samsung would look like. When they met again, each had developed outlines of a business plan that were remarkably similar, he recalls. From that, Quietside was born.

Starting a new line of products still not totally accepted in the North American market would be a challenge for Quietside, but Ernest had faith in the abilities of Lee and himself. He also relied on a quote from Proverbs 3:16: “Roll your works upon the Lord, commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and so shall your plans be established and succeed.” That, he says, is a foundational truth that he has counted on throughout his life.

Even after 30 years of growth in the North American market, minisplits remain a niche market in the world of HVACR. Ducted systems remain the norm, and the cost factor of minisplits often puts the systems off the radar screens of contractors and distributors. As a result, the end-users have had little knowledge of the convenience and reliability of minisplits.

Ernest calls his time with Goodman Manufacturing invaluable. “When I first started there, the rest of the industry was saying, ‘They'll never make it, there's no room for another manufacturer.’ Yet today, Goodman Manufacturing is an industry leader, and they've probably put air conditioning in more homes because they made it more affordable for people,” Ernest says. “We owe a lot to Harold Goodman for that.”