Yuma's Best 2012: Polar Cooling

Polar Cooling doesn't have turnover problems, owner Andy Reeder says.

“Most of the (employees) have been here ... 17, 20 years” or more. “We have very little turnover.”

Polar Cooling also keeps its customers, he says, noting some have done business with the company for 25 years or more.

“That says we take care of them. We fix their equipment and we're reasonable on our price.”

And the name of Polar Cooling is sticking in the minds of people who vote in Yuma's Best, the Yuma Sun's annual reader poll. For at least the fourth consecutive year in 2012, they picked Reeder's company as providing the area's best heating and refrigeration service.

“We feel a lot of gratitude for the general public voting us as the best company,” said Reeder. “That really means a lot to us.”

Reeder, a resident of the Yuma area since 1960, started Polar Cooling in 1982 with his brother Russell, today the co-owner of the company, and William Boysun.

In the decades since, the company has grown to 42 employees, who are roughly divided between the functions of new installation and maintaining existing heating and cooling units. It serves customers throughout the county.

“We do installation of quality equipment and servicing, both for residential and commercial customers. We also do new construction. We touch all the needs, and that way we keep all 42 employees busy.”

As part of its service, the company recently acquired software that allows it to track the functioning of previously installed or serviced heating and cooling units to make sure they operate at the highest possible level of efficiency.

Aside from installation and servicing of heating and cooling units, Polar Cooling supplies restaurants and other businesses who need large quantities of ice, Reeder added.

When he started in heating and refrigeration businesses more than 30 years ago, he recalled, he took to heart advice he had gotten from his father, who told him that the customers he treated well the first time would remain customers in the future.

And so from the beginning, he said, the company's philosophy has been to offer customers consistently reliable products and service at the lowest overall prices.

In the minds of satisfied customers, he said, “you can do no wrong. They remember you.”

Located at 2734 E. 14th St., Polar Cooling's office hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, but it provides 24-hour emergency service.

Its phone number is 344-2632, and its website is www.polarcooling.net.