History of Midwest Supply

Our History

Since our inception in 1945, we have been working alongside our contractor family to source the best HVAC, refrigeration, and hydronic supplies. We are a 4th-generation family-owned business, now in our 75th year. From the early days and to this day, Midwest has always provided the best selection of the highest-quality products, with exceptional customer service to back it up. Scroll down below for a brief timeline of Midwest Supply.

  • 1945

    FOUNDING OF THE COMPANY

    COMPANY FOUNDING

    Yup, we’re still cool…even after 75 years! In 1945, our founder, great-grandpa Edward, had a vision that wholesale refrigeration would benefit society and create jobs for our WWII veterans. Midwest Refrigeration Supply was launched in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

  • 1965

    GRANDPA JIM TAKES OVER

    CONTINUED GROWTH

    By the 1960s, Edward's son, James ('Grandpa'), had taken the helm and began to expand Midwest Supply's footprint. Eventually, Grandpa had a desire to move the business to beautiful Northern Michigan to pursue his passion for fishing and hunting.

  • 1972

    NEW BUILDING

    TRAVERSE CITY EXPANSION

    In those Northern Michigan olden days, you had to travel uphill in the snow both ways of course and we were doing just that by exclusively selling refrigeration. In 1972, Grandpa Jim celebrated the opening of a brand new building, where Midwest Supply still operates our Traverse City location.

  • 1990

    LEADER IN HVAC/R

    CONTINUED HIGH-QUALITY SERVICE

    Since card playing during the winter was getting old, John Edward “Dad” decided to shake things up. In 1990, he began establishing vendor relationships in the HVAC trade. This decision was visionary and is the main reason we are still one of the longest family-run HVAC/R wholesalers in Michigan.

  • 2000

    MORE TERRITORY

    SAY 'YA' TO DA UP, EH!

    Towards the end of the 1990s, Midwest expanded our territory once again, adding branches in St. Ignace and Escanaba, Michigan.

  • Now

    TODAY AND TOMORROW

    JOHN JR. TAKES OVER

    I am John Charles, Midwest’s 4th generation owner. During my tenure I have prepared Midwest for the 21st century by matching my passion for technology and our generations of expertise. I invite you to share a hunting or fishing story with us and see why our contractors still love to buy from us after 4 generations. Come see what makes us cool after all these years. - John Semeyn, Jr