ST. MARYS, Ohio (WLIO) - Kogge Plumbing & Heating has been serving the St. Marys area since 1952.
Started by Paul Kogge, the business has changed hands over the years but continues to grow in St. Marys and Coldwater, offering both plumbing and HVAC services.
"There are a lot of challenges to being a small business, competing with some of the bigger corporations in the area, but it's really nice when you see generations after generations of families still reach out to the same company over and over again to keep using them for service, starting from their first home all the way up to when they start having kids and houses of their own," said Chelsie Moeller, co-owner of Kogge Plumbing & Heating.
For them, much of that business comes down to the relationships they've built over time. And when it comes to their values, they say it's simple:
"Do the job right the first time and stand behind our work," said Brian Hennon, co-owner of Kogge Plumbing & Heating. "That's the biggest thing we can stress."
That reliability also extends beyond normal business hours - when something goes wrong, they say they're often just a phone call away.
"We do offer after hours service for all of our people, and a lot of us take calls after hours and just try to get there as soon as we can to make people comfortable and ease their nerves when things go wrong," said Moeller.
They have been called into action, including during a recent wind storm in Wapakoneta, when crews were needed to help restore cooling for a local business after equipment was damaged.
"The air conditioning units were dangling off the roof; within an hour or two, we had portable AC units and seven of our employees to volunteer to work Saturday, and we got them up and running and got air conditioning back on," said Hennon.
Beyond helping out in times of need, the company says giving back through schools, youth programs, and local events is a big part of being a small business.
"They're our neighbors, they're the people that are supporting us, and we want to see the community do well and grow, and we're a part of it," Hennon said.
