Family Oriented Business Does Well In Thunder Bay
by Scott A. Sumner
Thunder Bay Business
Carl Muller is the Owner Operator of Prestige Home Comfort located on Tungsten Street in Thunder Bay. The company specializes in heating, air conditioning, fireplaces both wood and gas, central vacs, barbeques and some flooring including carpeting and tiling.
“ We started the business in 1994 in our home and then began building our current location in 1996. At that time I had a partner but have been sole proprietor since 2004. Our building is 3000 square feet on Tungsten which includes a showroom and work area,” said Carl Muller. “
We have a staff working in the heating and air conditioning area and sub contract our flooring install. We do mantels on the fireplaces or tiling and will do the complete job start to finish.We also have a cabinet guy. Our company can do brand new homes and existing replacements.”
Muller started his career working for a heating and air conditioning company and then did some fireplaces. “ One gentleman asked me to do a few fireplaces with him and it just took off from there. Today we have 5 staff. It has gone pretty good as we are steady and always have some work to do,” noted Muller. “ The economy is little bit slow but people still need heat. They want to save money so government funding will help them save. Cooling is a luxury. Our Carrier heating lines are 96.6 % efficient. The government will do an energy audit and you
can get up to mid to a high efficient furnace.They will give you $1590 back just for the furnace. The furnace can range from $3500 to $6000. On the heating cost the client will save about 40% by going to a high efficiency furnace. The government will also help with insulation
projects and anything to do with energy savings. We also sell and install on demand water heater systems which result in 40% in savings as well.”
Another excellent product offered by Prestige Home Comfort is the high end Napoleon Barbeque line. They are all stainless steel and hold the heat well. “ It is a barbeque that will last you a minimum of 10 years on your deck. It is easy to clean and made in Barrie, Ontario as the leader in the industry. I have had my barbeque on my deck for 15 years and it is still going strong.” smiled Carl Muller.
Chrissy Klaas is the store manager of Prestige Home Comfort and works there with her mom, Diane Ewacha. Chrissy is also known in Thunder Bay as she has been singing professionally for 23 years in the area. “ I like working here at Prestige as it is like a family atmosphere. Everybody works together. We all help each other and get the job done.
The customer is Number 1 and that is our top priority. We usually succeed in meeting the needs of the customer,” smiles Chrissy Klaas who has been with the firm for 8 years. “ We have generational customers that have been with Carl for 20 years. Their kids are buying
homes now and automatically come to us for their furnaces, fireplaces or whatever they need.”
“ Things are going very well for us which could be surprising considering the economy. We have people still doing renovation and upgrading their homes. I think people are doing that instead of going to a bigger house. They are making it a more comfortable place to
be.” said Klaas.
