Roland Black Heating & Cooling Celebrates 60 Years of Griffin Brothers Companies

Roland Black Heating and Cooling is proud to be one of the Griffin Brothers Companies’, ZoomUp Partners, and is celebrating the 60th anniversary of Griffin Brothers Companies by telling their story. 

In 2016, Mike Griffin founded ZoomUp Investments to fund and grow businesses in the dirty-jobs scene and to mentor young professionals with an entrepreneurial drive. 

For over 45 years, Roland Black Heating and Cooling had been providing a range of HVAC services to customers in Gastonia, Gaston County, and the Charlotte/Mecklenburg area, but the owner was seeking a well-deserved retirement and did not have an exit strategy in place. 

“So many blue-collar businesses are owned by baby boomers, 10,000 of whom turn 65 every day, and many of these businesses close upon their retirement or death. We’re in danger of losing those businesses if they don’t find the next generation of leaders,”  Mike Griffin, owner of Griffin Brothers Companies said. 

After months of market research, due diligence and setting up a game plan, GBC stepped in and backed Jerome Trehy to acquire Roland Black Heating and Cooling. With Roland Black’s well-known name in the area, steady financial performance and customer-service focus, this seemed like a natural fit for the ZoomUp mission. 

Jerome Trehy, a 33-year-old MBA graduate with extensive experience in technical craftsmanship and small business growth was placed at the helm of the company and began to learn the business from the inside out. Trehy cultivated a close-knit team and was actively involved in daily operations, installs, service calls and the back-end business development. 

In a few short years, revenue has nearly doubled, and the continued reinvestment into training, technology, and great team members is paying off. Roland Black Heating and Cooling has stayed true to their commitment of providing the highest customer service and highest quality products. As a Trane Comfort Specialist, the team at Roland Black has solidified their reputation as a dependable HVAC contractor that consistently delivers high-quality work.

Through the backing and mentorship of Mike Griffin and GBC, paired with the leadership and execution of Jerome Trehy, Roland Black Heating and Cooling is reinventing dirty jobs and training the next generation of tradesmen, the right way.