HVAC AND MORE FAMILY BUSINESS

By Pam Windsor

Lee Company opened its doors in 1944, and eight decades later, it serves as a shining example of a great American success story. 

Founded by Leon Lee and still family-owned today, it started off as a small operation that from the beginning – set a high bar in terms of taking care of its employees and serving its customers. The company has grown exponentially over the years and now operates in five states, but has never wavered from the original guiding principles of putting people first.

“When I landed at Lee Company twenty-nine years ago, I had already worked at six other mechanical contractors and I noticed immediately this had a totally different feel,” recalls Dan Kalman, Executive Vice President of Service. “The Lee family is a very special family, and their goal of creating a place where people can thrive is not just something we say, put on a plaque, and hang at the door. It is a true desire to see how many people’s lives it can impact for the good.”

That extends to not only the company’s work family, but its customers and those who live in the communities it serves. When Kalman first started as a heating, air conditioning, and ventilation technician (like many on the leadership team, he worked his way up through the ranks), Lee Company had just over 100 employees. Three decades later, its closer to 1700 people who serve customers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. 

“It really takes a whole group of like-minded employees who have a strong desire to take care of people,” Kalman says. 

Lee Company is a mechanical contract company that offers a wide range of services and expertise on multiple levels. Kalman oversees the collection of groups that deal with both residential and commercial services. Each is extremely specialized.

One, for example, involves the company’s large construction group that has worked on some well-known buildings in Nashville, from Belmont University to 5th & Broad, to some of the newer bars and restaurants. 

“Our large construction group has about 75 percent of its resources right now working in about a two-mile square radius in downtown Nashville,” Kalman says. “It’s a booming market.”

Lee Company designed and built the mechanicals for the iconic Schermerhorn Symphony Center, which, as Kalman points out, posed quite a challenge. 

“The building has incredible acoustics, so to provide a solution for air conditioning and general conditioning of that facility, and maintain that, was no easy task.” 

Other groups include a special projects team that manages smaller-style commercial work and renovations, a home service group with some 700 technicians taking care of customers across the Southeast, and a commercial service entity that provides repair and maintenance to thousands of facilities. 

Lee Company also has an all-inclusive facilities maintenance program that can provide a business with everything from heating and air support to handling janitorial services and the lawn to even keeping the roof maintained.

Its dedication to taking care of employees and customers also extends to the community and giving back. Under its Lee Company Cares program, it supports local schools, food banks and food drives, “second chance” programs, Habitat for Humanity, and more. 

“Giving back is one of the founding staples Leon Lee instilled in his children, and they’ve passed it on to their children,” Kalman explains. “All of this is by the grace of God, and God calls on us to give back. So, we consider it a privilege to serve the communities we serve and have an entire team of people whose primary focus is to find the places where the greatest impact can be made.”

There’s something very meaningful about working for a place where making a difference matters - on every level.

“Every day, I’m grateful to say I’m part of this company,” Kalman says.