• Newsletter Subscriptions
  • Magazine Subscription

    • Recent

    Twin City Fan
    EPFN Plenum Fans
    hilmor
    HVACR Starter Kit
    FieldPulse
    FieldPulse Job Management
    SpeedClean
    CoilJet CJ-200E HVAC Coil Cleaner System
    Allied Air Enterprises
    LYNX 18 Inverter Heat Pump
    AprilAire
    Model 1830 Dehumidifier
    Las Vegas Visitors & Conventions Bureau
    Strip B86ddbea 3add 4995 B449 Ac85d700b027
    ASHRAE
    F Ki Hc Bm Xea Iy2 Qy
    Liberty Pumps
    Mini-Split Condensate Pump
    1. Galleries

    The Fabulous Fifties of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

    June 24, 2014
    To help recognize the 70th Anniversary of what is today ContractingBusiness.com, we're giving you a look at ads and information from the 1950s, as seen in this magazine's predecessors.

    The hit songs of the 1950s were tunes such as "Glow Worm," "Here in My Heart," and the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do is Dream."

    • Hit products were everywhere in commercial refrigeration, heating, and air conditioning industry, too, as shown by this gallery of notable advertising from this magazine's predecessor, Commercial Refrigeration and Air Conditioning magazine.

    ContractingBusiness.com turns 70 this year, and we're showing off our pages from the past as a way to show what came before and to help us appreciate the advancements that have been made in refrigeration, air conditioning and heating technology. See our initial salute to old advertising here: bit.ly/oldCBads

    Contractingbusiness Com Sites Contractingbusiness com Files Uploads 2014 06 Phone Cover 0 0 0

    The cover shown at the left is from July 1958. The cover story: "Is Your Telephone Driving Customers Away?"It's so true that though products change from year to year, the basics of running a successful business have remained constant. In this case, the importance of making it easy for customers to talk to you. Here are some excerpts from the article: "Customers and prospects won't get the busy signal when you have a key set in your office. You can handle several calls at one time with this type of equipment." (AKA a multiple line phone.) "You're always in, even when you're out, if you have an automatic answering service to take your calls and tell your customers that you will call them back." (AKA voice mail.) "Prompt and courteous service is given to all callers if your

    Contractingbusiness Com Sites Contractingbusiness com Files Uploads 2014 06 Scan 11 0 0
    business uses a switchboard. There's no better way to make sure your calls are properly handled." (Today, we call that a dispatcher!)

    So enjoy this blast from our fifties past, and stay tuned for images from other decades as we celebrate our 70th anniversary.

    CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST!
    The CB reader who sends us a photo of the oldest copy of Contracting Business in any of its prior names — Refrigeration Industry; Commercial Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Business; Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Business; or Contracting Business — wins a prize! Email the photo to [email protected] by August 31.