Father-and-son team win entrepreneur award

Princeton chamber selects Princeton Air Conditioning.

By: Gwen McNamara
   Since 1971, Princeton Air Conditioning, Inc. has been providing the greater Princeton area with heating and air conditioning service.
   And now, as founder Joe Needham is passing the business on to his son Scott, the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce has named the duo as the chamber’s Entrepreneurs of the Year.
   "The Chamber is a proud sponsor of this award," said Kristin Appelget, chamber president. "We believe it’s important to recognize business leaders in the community who are doing good things, not only in business but in all the community, and Joe and Scott are very deserving winners."
   Joe Needham, a Philadelphia native, started out in the trucking industry.
   "I was in the trucking industry for 15 years, but I wanted to get out since it was a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation," he said. "We happened to do business with Trane (a heating and air conditioning equipment company) and after talking with their sales people I learned that heating and air conditioning dealerships were available.
   "I went out to Wisconsin for 10 weeks of training," he continued. "And when I came back I set up shop here."
   Princeton Air, located on Everett Drive in West Windsor, operates from a 10,000-square-foot facility housing both warehouse and office space. The company, which provides heating and air conditioning installation and service to nearly 6,000 commercial and residential customers, employs 42 people and has about 24 vehicles.
   Scott Needham joined his father in the business in 1987 after earning a degree in architecture from Roger Williams University and working in that field in Rhode Island.
   "I wasn’t sure if that’s what I wanted to do as a career and in 1987 my dad’s business was really growing and he was looking to hire a production manager," he said. "That’s when I decided to make my career move and I’ve been in charge of sales and management ever since."
   Being able to get along has been crucial to the pair’s success.
   "I don’t think since 1987 we’ve ever had an argument," Joe Needham said. "Sure we’ve had disagreements, but we’ve always been able to resolve our issues."
   "It helps that we have defined roles," Scott added. "I’ve been in charge of the commercial side and he’s handled residential, so we each manage different aspects of the business."
   Now the company is in the process of transition, as Scott Needham has taken the role of president of the company.
   "We started about five or six years ago on an orderly transition of the business over to Scott," Mr. Needham said. "It takes planning to pass a business down. I made the decision because I know I’m not going to be around a long time and I didn’t want to pass away without a succession plan in place."
   The company stands out from competitors with its attention to employees and customer satisfaction.
   "One of the biggest issues facing the industry is a shrinking labor pool in the field of service people," Scott Needham said. "Many high school students are steered towards college instead of the trade schools and we’re losing a lot of talent to other industries."
   To combat this problem, Princeton Air has set up a proactive apprenticeship program.
   "We go out and meet with kids at the vocational schools," Scott Needham said.
   "We show them a career path through our company," said Joe Needham. "It’s all about ‘growing your own.’ It’s a big financial commitment, but it has a big payoff at the end."
   Princeton Air has its own training facility on site and is a nationally accredited training center for North American Technician Excellence and the National Center for Construction Education and Research.
   "We also hold quarterly breakfast meetings with all of our employees," Joe Needham said. "Where we lay out all our sales figures, profits or losses. The theory is if we tell people exactly what we’re making or losing, they’ll be more likely to understand what we’re trying to do."
   When it comes to customer satisfaction, Joe Needham says it’s all about paying attention to what the customer wants.
   "One of the biggest things that ticks people off is a service person not coming when they’re supposed to," he said. "Our goal is to make the customer happy. We give a three-hour window for when we’ll arrive. We can call you at work a half hour before we’ll show up so you don’t have to wait around all day. We get the job done on time and are available until 7 p.m. Plus we’re open six days a week; we’re one of the only contractors that will do business on Saturdays."
   The company also does not use an automated phone system.
   "We pride ourselves in the fact we have an actual person available to answer the phone and direct your call," Joe Needham said.
   Princeton Air also sends out a satisfaction survey to all its customers after work is complete to find out how well the job was done.
   For the future, Scott Needham says the company is looking to automate some of its services.
   "We’re evaluating systems now that would allow us to wirelessly transmit information in the field, on a service call or for sales, to the office, which will make things much faster and more organized," he said.
   And both men say they’d like to see the business continue along the family line.
   "I always remember that only about 15 percent of family businesses make it through to the second or third generation," Scott Needham said. "We’re trying to create a company that will last hundreds of years — a company that will do the good work we’re doing today and build on that."
   Scott Needham, who lives in Pennington with his wife and son, belongs to the Princeton Corridor Rotary Club, the Greater Mercer County Chamber of Commerce, Eden WERCS Business Advisory Council and helps out the local little league and boy scout troops, in addition to being a Princeton Chamber member.
   Joe Needham, who has six children all over the United States, lives with his wife in Hopewell. Don Needham, Joe’s brother, also works at the company, in charge of direct mail and advertising.
   Princeton Air will receive its award in Dec. 1 at the Princeton Chamber’s Business Leadership Awards Gala at the Tournament Players Club at Jasna Polana.