Twinco Takes Control

When you're an HVACR wholesale distributor with a branch in midtown Manhattan, you have a whole host of challenges that most other distributors don't have to contend with: the traffic (crowded), the parking (scarce), branch size (small) and the rent (don't even ask). But, as Frank Sinatra famously sang in New York, New York, “If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere.”

Twinco Supply Corp. has made it in New York City — and on Long Island and Queens, too — designing and supplying temperature control systems for HVACR mechanical contractors as well as serving as a distributor for HVACR equipment and parts. Its extensive product offering on both the controls and the HVACR equipment and parts sides, as well as its technical expertise, have separated Twinco from competitors in the New York City and Long Island markets: There's Twinco and then there is everybody else. Hal and Steve Bergman, twin brothers, founded Twinco Supply in 1991 after they left their family's air-conditioning and refrigeration wholesale business to start their own operation. Hal Bergman passed away in 1994 from heart complications.

The Bergmans have had a long history in the HVACR business — Steve Bergman, president of Twinco, notes that their family business dates back to 1929, and he and his brother were the third generation in the industry. Their strong ties to the industry and close relationships with their customers served them well. Starting a business presents some pretty stiff challenges, particularly in the midst of a recession, but Bergman says they quickly established their niche. “We were fortunate that our old customers followed us to our new company,” Bergman says. “We were lucky that Honeywell, Johnson and Westinghouse solicited us right away. Because of our good relations with other vendors, we were able to overcome the obstacles of obtaining distributorships.”

Because the brothers had designed temperature control systems early in their careers and had limited resources, they decided that Twinco would be in the temperature controls business and forgo equipment and accessories. “The major markets that we always serviced were mechanical contractors and service companies, so that's who we concentrated on when we started Twinco,” Bergman says. The Bergmans, along with one employee, Ken Freilich, started in a friend's small space in Farmingdale on Long Island. Three years later, they moved to a 10,000-square-foot facility in Huntington Station, expanding its panel fabrication shop and adding staff, including another control specialist salesperson and expanding into DDC controls.

Twinco's customer base, which was primarily mechanical contractors, was in New York City. While that was only about 30 miles from its Huntington headquarters, the traffic woes made it difficult to service customers in a timely way. If a customer called in an order after 9 a.m., Twinco wouldn't be able to deliver it until the following day, and customers didn't want to waste a day to leave the city and travel to Long Island. By 1997, Bergman realized that he had to expand Twinco to Manhattan, opening a branch operation and counter in Midtown, the heart of the city.