FAMILY BUSINESS: C.H.I. Manufacturing offers spiral pipe and fittings, rectangular ductwork and fittings, custom-made and stock fittings, custom components, and more. (Staff photo)
In the early 1980s, the United States experienced the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The effect of that recession lasted for years after it ended, leaving millions of people unemployed. Galvanized Steel L Bracket
Phil Scharrel was one of those people, but that didn’t stop him from striving for success. With just $500 in his pocket, Phil, who started out as a mechanical contractor in 1985, founded C.H.I. Manufacturing in 1997.
Today, the Englewood, Colorado-based commercial and residential HVAC manufacturer/supplier operates out of a 54,200-square-foot facility, and the shop’s high quality of work has resulted in them landing jobs as far away as Antarctica and Alaska. The manufacturer, which is also a distributor for brands ranging from Duro Dyne, Malco, Air Technologies, Hart & Cooley, Diversitech, Gripple, JP Lamborn, proudly offers American-made products.
“We’re not the biggest. I don’t want to be the biggest,” Phil said. “But we use quality materials. We don’t use junk. We don’t under-gauge like a lot of people do. We do everything the way it’s supposed to be per SMACNA.”
C.H.I. Manufacturing is a family affair. In fact, Phil’s wife of 43 years, Joyce, along with their grown children, Ryan and Jaime, work together. Joyce used to work for an educator’s warehouse and is skilled in inventorying product, helping the business grow.
“There’s not many of us around. A lot of your family-owned businesses are caving in,” Joyce said.
While mom-and-pop shops are few and far between, this one-stop-shop — which offers spiral pipe and fittings, rectangular ductwork and fittings, custom-made and stock fittings, custom components, and more — is determined to keep going strong.
Standing out from the rest
Building relationships is a big part of the company’s success, both Phil and son Ryan, director of sales and operations at C.H.I., agree.
“We try to build relationships with every single one of our customers,” Ryan said. “All my customers — I know their wives’ names, their kids’ names, what they like to do, if something’s going on with their life.”
With no outside salesperson, the company relies on word of mouth for business, so fabricating and selling quality products is essential, Phil and Ryan note.
“A lot of the competitors will instead of doing, let’s say, 24 gauge, they’ll do 26 or 30 gauge to cut down on costs, cut down on everything. It’s a little easier to work with thinner metal and stuff like that,” Ryan said.
Cutting costs cuts down on quality, and that’s a non-starter at C.H.I. Everything used here is premium steel, and with the exception of screws, every item is American-made.
“I have all the paperwork to prove it. I have all the specs all where our metal comes from out of the ground, what time, what year, what type of material came out, was included into it. Everything,” Ryan said. “American everything. It should be that way.”
Being a small business isn’t easy, though, Ryan said. The company can get overlooked, but, “I will try harder than anybody to sell the product,” Ryan said.
While Ryan and his sister, Jamie, are heavily involved in C.H.I, Phil and Joyce still work 10-12 hours per day — and Phil says, they have no plans to retire. After all, the company is Phil’s baby.
Keeping family, quality and strong values at the forefront, it’s easy to see why C.H.I. continues to be one of the most trusted sheet metal manufactures in the region.
Stacey Winconek is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in Metro Parent, Chicago Parent and Oakland University Magazine. She writes engaging and informative pieces and she has a passion for exploring new topics. Motherhood is her favorite gig. When she’s not writing, she’s chasing around her preschooler.
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