Leading the Pack in Commercial Refrigeration

It snowed the day I visited SCR, St. Cloud, MN — in mid-April. No worries, though, because at SCR, working with colder temperatures is a favorite activity.

SCR, a dynamic, 54-year-old company of 140 employees, is a leading provider of refrigeration service and installation in the Midwest. SCR provides mechanical, refrigeration, building controls, sales, and service for all of Minnesota, parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. Originally founded as St. Cloud Refrigeration, in 2009 it gathered all divisions and branches under the "SCR" banner, as part of a rebranding plan based on one, identifiable name.

Mike Fitch, a son of company founder Don Fitch, now leads SCR, with Pat Welty, his partner since 1985.

Don Fitch founded the company in 1957. He was 35, had returned from the service in 1946, had earned a three-year degree in refrigeration and electrical, and had five years of practical experience. He paid his dues by working on ammonia compressors for local creameries. He's one of those industry pioneers who truly have seen most of the industry's major service and installation advancements.

"I was the young kid on the block who was willing to crawl under those systems and fix the seals," he recalls. "In my years, there was competition, but we had a big demand for supermarket service. Many new things were coming on the market that needed servicing. When I started, they were still chopping ice from frozen rivers."

His wife, Delphine, managed the office and billings.

Mike Fitch has been a part of SCR from age 9, when he'd help out in whatever way he could. He earned an HVAC degree from North Dakota State School of Science, and joined the family business full time in 1974.

Pat Welty had always wanted to be part of a successful business, partly because he had worked in his parents’ resort business while growing up. He attended Moorehead Vocational School and North Dakota State University, and worked briefly for a refrigeration business in Brainerd, MN, before joining SCR in 1977, as an estimator, and the company's first salesman.

In 1980, SCR obtained dealer rights for its first refrigerated case line (Kysor/Warren), and officially entered the grocery store arena. Today, the majority of SCR's refrigeration business resides in supermarket refrigeration system service and installation. As an authorized Hill PHOENIX and Barker dealer, SCR is on the cutting-edge of innovative and energy efficient systems that customers now crave.

Partners
Fitch and Welty's styles and approaches to the business meshed well, and they agreed to purchase St. Cloud Refrigeration from Don Fitch in 1985. In some ways, it was the start of the "modern era" for the company, as the change in leadership coincided with exciting advancements in refrigeration technology.

"Everything evolves over time, and you can’t foresee the end result," Fitch says. "But Pat and I had energy and vision, and we saw the opportunities in this area. We were both aggressive, hungry, and we wanted to succeed."

They kept at it, knocking on doors and shaking hands. In a sense, Fitch says, he and Welty were the "new kids on the block," even in the minds of those who had worked with Don Fitch and company's older technicians.

"That was a hurdle, but we took on the challenge," he says.

HVAC service was added in early 80s, followed by a sheet metal shop. Everything took off from there, and as refrigeration in the region expanded, SCR expanded with it.

Fitch and Welty are the first to arrive and the last to leave. They participate in most sales calls. It could be they have a long history with an existing customer, will certainly have expertise to lend to a new project, or, they may simply wish to meet prospective new customers, and emphasize the advantages of working with SCR.

They keep their ears to the ground by participating in the supervisor call rotation team, an eight-person contingent that answers after-hours and weekend calls. Upon receiving a call, the supervisor first contacts the customer, to learn some details prior to dispatching the technician, and to determine if the call is indeed critical. They also obtain other helpful information the technician needs to know.

SCR's approximately 1,000 commercial refrigeration customers include supermarkets, cold storage facilities, beer warehouses, convenience stores, liquor stores, and food service businesses. In addition to ultra-modern refrigeration systems, the teams provide custom millwork and cabinetry, custom stainless steel, LED light retrofits, fixtures and shelving, insulated building panels, HVAC, and building automation. Annual sales are estimated at $20 million.

Diverse Talent Wins Customers
SCR's four divisions — refrigeration, service, HVAC, and building automation — are often brought together on a refrigeration project. Welty says it’s that diversity which has vaulted SCR to a position of prominence throughout the state. Division interaction is the major value differentiator between SCR and its competitors.