The Wentzel Family Has Been Sarasota's AC Company Since 1959. Here's the Story.
Ted Wentzel came to Sarasota in 1959 and started doing what he knew: fixing air conditioning in the Florida heat. His son grew up in that work, learned the trade at his father's side, and eventually built something of his own. Today the third generation is running the business, with a fourth already coming up behind them. More than six decades, four generations, one address, one phone number, and the same promise that has held since the beginning: when your AC quits, a real person answers and a real crew shows up.
How a Sarasota AC Company Keeps Going for More Than Six Decades
1959: Ted Wentzel Sr. Started the Family in Air Conditioning
In 1959 the Wentzel family came to Sarasota, and Ted Wentzel Sr. founded Ted's Heating & Air. In a Florida summer, that was never going to be optional work. His company was where the Wentzel name first got tied to honest air conditioning in this area, and Ted Sr. is still part of the business today. Wentzel's Heating and Air Conditioning as it stands now grew out of that start. The trade, the reputation, and the family's name in Sarasota AC all trace back to what he built.
Ted Wentzel Jr. Builds Wentzel's Heating and Air Conditioning
Ted Wentzel Jr. grew up in the trade. He started apprenticing with his father at fifteen, and for the next ten years he learned the heating and air conditioning business from the inside out, the way you only can when you learn it from someone who has already done it for a living. He took that foundation and built Wentzel's Heating and Air Conditioning into the company it is today, and he still leads it as president and CEO.
The company grew through the kind of work that either earns a reputation or ruins one. It was incorporated in 2001, recognized as one of the fastest-growing HVAC companies of its kind in Sarasota County in 2012, and moved a couple of times as it outgrew each home, from Clark Road to Swift Road to its current facility at 51 Alafia Drive, where the warehouse, the shop, and the service operation all run out of one building near Fruitville and I-75. The address has changed over the years. The name on the door has not.
The Third Generation Is Already in the Business
Shane Wentzel is Ted Jr.'s son and the third generation of the family in the company. He serves as treasurer and oversees the day-to-day operations, having grown up around the trucks, the warehouse, and the work. What Wentzel's does has not changed with him: straight talk, fast response, in-stock equipment, and a crew that treats people's homes with respect. Shane's own son is the fourth generation, already coming up behind him, and that kind of succession is about as good a plan as a family business can have.
Why This Company Still Gets Called After More Than Six Decades
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A Crew of About Fifty People Who Have Been at This a While
The Technicians, the Office Team, and the In-House Shop
About fifty people run the Wentzel's operation, from the technicians who do the field work to the office staff who schedule and coordinate to the in-house shop that keeps the fleet running without waiting on outside vendors. The company owns its equipment, maintains its own vehicles, and does its own on-site fueling, so the operation is genuinely self-sufficient in a way that shows up in how fast things move. That kind of self-sufficiency does not happen by accident; it is the result of a family that decided decades ago that depending on outside vendors was a slower and more expensive way to take care of customers.
The Wentzel Family of Companies
As the company grew, so did its commitment to complete home comfort. That growth led to the expansion of the Wentzel family of companies, including Wentzel's Insulation, Inc. and Wentzel's Electrical Services, Inc., all operating from 51 Alafia Drive. Together, these companies give customers trusted expertise in heating and cooling, insulation, and electrical services.
Four generations. One family. Proudly serving Sarasota and Manatee Counties since 1959.
Ready to Schedule? The Number Is (941) 925-2430.
The Same Phone Number, Answered the Same Way, Since Before Most Competitors Existed.
Whether you need a repair call today, a tune-up visit this week, or an honest assessment of a system that has been giving trouble, call (941) 925-2430 and someone will pick up. That has been true since 1959, and there is no reason to expect it to change.