MARCRAFT : Yesterday and Today

MarCraft's roots date back to 1927 when the company was formed as the Marlo Coil Company.  In 1976, Marlo was broken into two parts, one of which was a cataloged or non-custom coils, military and related equipment.  The other part was the custom HVAC equipment and non-military coils.  The very first project which MARCRAFT® manufactured consisted of ten (10), nominal eight (8) ton custom rooftops for a medical facility in Central Illinois.

In 1981, Brasch Manufacturing Company, a St. Louis based company specializing in electric heating products, purchased MarCraft.  During the years of Brasch ownership, MarCraft became the custom HVAC product sold by Trane offices around the country.  In fact, many of the MarCraft projects sold from the mid 1980's to the early 1990's are sometimes recognized as “Trane Custom Units” when in fact they are MarCraft Custom Units sold by Trane.  In 1984, MarCraft moved to its plant in Maryland Heights, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.  This move increased the manufacturing space allowing MarCraft to compete for larger and more complex projects.

In 1995, MarCraft was purchased by Johnson Heater Corporation, a part of the Arizon Companies.  Johnson Heater Corporation was formed in 1921 in Boston, Massachusetts as a mechanical contracting company that developed and patented the well-known Johnson Air Rotation® System.  Johnson Heater Corporation relocated its Johnson Air Rotation operations and workforce from Massachusetts in 1998 to the MarCraft facility in St. Louis, forming a marriage between the Johnson Air Rotation System and the MarCraft Custom HVAC Systems.  This marriage worked well for both parties allowing technology and resource sharing to further improve the quality and product offering of both products.

The Arizon Companies consist of four divisions:  Johnson Air Rotation Systems, MarCraft Custom HVAC Systems, Arizon Structures and an After-Market Sales and Service Group.  MarCraft today designs, engineers and manufactures TRUCustom™ HVAC Systems from unique air handling solutions to packaged penthouse and mechanical equipment room solutions.