Customer support high priority.

• Author: Leduc, Gilles

Firm specializes in distribution of boilers, pumps, fire pumps and heat-exchange systems

In 1956, Colin Kimble (Bud) Howard created CK Howard Sales Agency, a distributor of boilers, pumps, fire pumps and heat-exchange systems, as a small business operating from his home. Howard represented a small group of steam-product manufacturers - steam products being the predominant heating and power system for buildings at the time. He built his, business on a very personal level, developing close relationships with his clients. Business transactions in the 1950s essentially began with a face-to-face sales call and were finalized by a handshake across the dinner table. Howard himself excelled at this business approach.

By 1991, the year that CK Howard Sales Agency was purchased by the current owner, Gilles Leduc, some aspects of the business had changed drastically, while others remained the same.

Technology has changed the face, and pace, of business. The introduction of fax machines, e-mail and information technology and overnight couriers resulted in greater convenience and a faster pace for business transactions to be carried out.

Yet through the years and technological advancements, the concept of what makes a business successful remained intact, explains Leduc.

"It all comes back to service," says Leduc. "Service is the reason that we are successful. CK Howard is about always having personal service, no voice mail or automated attendants."

Leduc, along with his staff, works every day to continue the sense of old-fashioned, personal service that Bud Howard, now 82, established 45 years ago.

Today, CK Howard Sales Agency has five employees and operates as a manufacturer's representative for a large range of commercial and industrial boiler, pump and heat exchange companies. As a member of the Sudbury Construction Association, its technical sales representatives are always informed of the developments and construction projects underway and the product lines being implemented. In order to meet the constantly changing demands of the construction industry, they...