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| OK Moore |
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Born in 1902, a hardworking Illinois farm boy named O.K. Moore moved from farming into teaching, and eventually into business. In 1933, he had been working a year and a half for Timken Silent Automatic Oil Burning Company, with the Chicago factory branch, when the establishment decided to close its operations because of its enormous losses. |
Determined to start his own business, Mr. Moore talked them into letting him set up his own Timken distributorship. He had $6,000 capital, saved dollar by dollar, and he was stepping into the shoes of an organization that, with all the backing and experience of a big corporation, had been losing $60,000 a year!
He took over in April 1934, during the very depths of the Great Depression, rolled up his sleeves & worked day and night! By the end of 1935 he had practically no money left and owed more than his original capital, even though his customers were completely satisfied with his service. He then borrowed another $6,000 and realized his trouble was that, always undercapitalized, had been trying to do nearly everything himself. With the added capital, he hired help and gained more freedom to supervise the business as a whole. It has gained steadily in prosperity ever since. It was another typical American story of one man’s determination to work hard and to succeed, regardless of the economic odds. |
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From 1940 until 1962, O.K. Moore operated two separate companies, one a heating contractor and the other a distributor of heating products. As they grew, however, and with the meaningful advent of air conditioning, the contracting business was spun off and Moore became a full service HVAC wholesaler. It changed names from Automatic Oil Heating Company to Silent Automatic Heating & Cooling Company, and eventually to Moore Supply Company as it is still today.
Today, O.K.’s son, Richard "Dick" Moore, serves as President of Moore Supply Company, and his grandson, Robert S. Moore, serves as Vice President. Moore Supply continues to be a major supplier to the HVAC industry and has grown to the point that they have 5 convenient Chicagoland locations, with over 150,000 SF of warehouse inventory and a fully trained, knowledgeable staff eager to serve. O.K. Moore would be proud to see that the business he started is still thriving today after such modest beginnings. |
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| Moore Supply Central Headquarters |
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