Austin’s Trusted HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical Experts for 70 Years

A Short History of Stan's

As one of Austin’s original HVAC companies, we thought you’d like to know a little bit more about our past. Stan’s has a rich history, and is one of the only companies that still remembers the days when a family rejoiced at the installation of a single window air conditioning unit. We were there at the start, and we’ve been here ever since. Stan Johnson, Sr. was born and raised in Austin, and he always had a knack for all things mechanical. He had been a partner in a filling service station on Barton Springs Road for a bit, worked as a union carpenter, and finally worked for a local AC service company, where he found his true calling. Frustrated with the company he was working for, Stan decided to strike out on his own.  In 1954, he and his wife opened their own AC Service business, built around his expertise and dedication to customer service.

In 1986, the Savings and Loan crisis caused the worst economic downturn since 1929. The future seemed bleak: all across Austin, builders and developers went bankrupt, causing most sub-contractors to close their doors as well. Seeing former business partners and competitors folding all around them, Stan’s also felt the pressure. In a few years, their revenue fell almost 90%. In 1987 Stan Jr. took over the reins and immediately set to work. To go under would mean abandoning their customers in a time of need, and that was something that Stan’s simply couldn’t do. Times were very tough, and at one point, Stan’s even looked doomed, but Stan Jr. resolved never to give up. And he didn’t. Weathering the storm, and riding the boom on the 90s, Stan’s rose to have record years in 2007/2008, and to become one of the industry’s leaders. If the story of Stan’s proves one thing, it is this: if you take care of your customers, they will take care of you.

The original office for Stan’s service and installation was located in the backyard of a house at Denson and Guadalupe. At a very early age, Stan’s son started going along on service calls for his dad’s company. Growing up in the business, Stan Jr. found himself on a service truck during his high school and college years. It wasn’t until the mid 1960s that central air conditioning became affordable to most central Texans. From the outset, Stan’s was in the forefront of installing and servicing this newly accessible technology. By the mid 1980s, Stan Sr. and Stan Jr. had achieved enormous success. Because of Stan’s dedication to provide quality service by guaranteeing all of their work, fruitful relationships were formed, and continue to this day. The family-owned Stan’s was thriving. Between 1973 and 1984, Stan’s installed more than half of all AC systems for new construction homes built in Austin.

Today, while much of our business is performed repairing or upgrading existing homes, we still work with premium home builders to provide custom solutions, and have extensive experience designing systems for custom homes, production builders, and existing property extensions. We are so happy to be a longstanding company where the emphasis is on the customer and not the corporation. At Stan's, we are a family, and our goal is to make our customers completely happy with our HVAC, energy efficient improvement, and plumbing services. We've been around for 70 years, and we hope we can continue to be your go-to heating, air, plumbing and electrical company for the next 70 years.