Whalen buys Jacksonville HVAC company, Leach stays on to train him

Richie Whalen has taken over a longtime Jacksonville heating and cooling business, but the sale of Leach • Remmers Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. is being framed as continuity rather than upheaval. The deal closed April 1, and Jeff Leach is staying with the company for now to help train Whalen on the technical side of the trade as the business enters its next chapter.

Leach and Gary Remmers started the company nearly three decades ago, and the business has served the Jacksonville area for 27 years. Remmers retired several years ago, while Leach kept running the operation and carried the company through the years that followed. The handoff now puts ownership in the hands of Whalen, who said he did not see a reason not to buy the HVAC company and wanted people to understand both who he is and why the move made sense.

Whalen already has a leadership role in another family business. He serves as president of Whalen Trucking, Inc., where he manages day-to-day operations, and he graduated from Illinois State University in 2008. His background in small business administration and entrepreneurship helped shape the decision, along with what he described as respect for service and trade work.

The new owner plans to stay active in the company rather than remain behind the scenes. Whalen intends to bid jobs and work on HVAC installations in homes and businesses alongside the current crew, a sign that the company’s customer-facing identity is expected to stay local and hands-on. For households and businesses that rely on fast service when air conditioners fail or furnaces act up, that kind of continuity matters as Morgan County moves through its hottest and coldest stretches of the year.

Leach’s role in the transition appears to be as important as the purchase itself. Because Whalen is new to heating and air conditioning, Leach is remaining on temporarily to train him and ease the shift in ownership. The arrangement leaves the company’s daily work in the hands of the same crew while adding a new owner who says he wants to learn the trade, grow into it and keep the business rooted in the community.

Whalen also credited his wife, Emily, for encouraging him to keep pushing himself. For Jacksonville, the sale signals a small-business succession built on local relationships, not a break from the past.