12 hours ago
Business owner Jim Folcarelli is pictured with framed newspaper clippings in his Altoona home. Folcarelli plans to retire after 65 years working in the family business, Folcarelli Sheet Metal Fabrication Inc.
Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
James D. “Jim” Folcarelli, 84, a longtime Altoona businessman, is preparing to retire near the beginning of April following the sale of Folcarelli Sheet Metal Fabrication Inc.
The family business was founded in 1951 by his parents, Jim and Bess Folcarelli, in the basement of their Altoona home. Jim Folcarelli has worked full time in the business since 1962.
Folcarelli graduated from Altoona High School in 1959. After graduation, he attended a trade school in Pittsburgh, studying heating, refrigeration, and air conditioning. Upon returning to Altoona, he worked as a design trainee for Coleman and Rodland Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration. He also took night business classes at Penn State Altoona.
As the business expanded, the family purchased a building at 96 Logan Blvd., followed by the current location at 4141 Sixth Ave., now owned by APR Supply.
Initially, the business focused on contracting, replacing coal furnaces with gas furnaces, and installing roofing and spouting. However, as the economy shifted, Folcarelli transitioned from contracting to retail sales. In 1982, he closed the contracting side and opened a retail hardware store in part of the 4141 Sixth Ave. building.
Folcarelli then aimed to move from retail sales to wholesale distribution of heating, air conditioning equipment, and related products. This shift was intended to assure HVAC and plumbing contractors that he would no longer compete with them.
He secured a distributorship for a leading heating and air conditioning product line sold exclusively to wholesale distributors. Following this, other manufacturers that sold only to wholesalers approached him, prompting a name change to Folcarelli Supply Company.
Branch locations were soon established in Johnstown, State College, and Williamsport.
In 1997, responding to increased home building, operations manager Ralph Wallace and Folcarelli’s son Michael added high-end bath and shower products to their contractor base and customers. Two showrooms were opened, one in Altoona and another in State College, marketed under the name Il Bel Gabinetto — The Beautiful Bath Room.
Folcarelli credits his business success to family members and the many employees over the years.
He is also highly respected by peers in the industry. Larry McAleer, recently retired from McAleer’s Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, has known Folcarelli for over 50 years. “Jim is a very loyal friend. He would do anything to help his friends and customers. Jim was a great wholesaler in plumbing and heating. Many homes and businesses in different communities have equipment supplied by Jim,” McAleer said. “Jim has been a great mentor to me and a lifelong friend.”
Bob Kelly of the Schultz Company, who has known Folcarelli for 40 years, said, “I started my HVAC career directly out of high school with Folcarelli Supply. Although I moved on and am now one of the owners of Schultz Company, I have completed numerous projects over the years with Jim. Jim has always been a trusted businessman and one of the most knowledgeable in the HVAC industry.”
Folcarelli also played a key role in Randy Beers’ entry into the HVAC industry. “I have been working with Jim Folcarelli since 2020 when I decided to get into this HVAC industry. Mr. Folcarelli was very instrumental in helping me understand how to design HVAC systems. Jim and I always had a special bond. We have always had a great working relationship and friendship,” said Beers, who recently purchased McAleer’s business.
Beers consulted Folcarelli before making the purchase and said he learned a lot from both Folcarelli and McAleer. “The one thing I took from meeting with them was that when you’re in business, you do the best possible job and treat people as you want to be treated. He cared about his customers, employees, and most of all, his family,” Beers said. “When you build a successful business, I believe it does not happen by chance, it happens by choice through hard work, determination, and long days. That just shows the commitment that Jim had.”
Folcarelli Supply was sold to APR Supply of Lebanon in 2012. “The offer was good, it just came up. I was 72, it was time to go out. I stayed with the sheet metal and fabrication business. We provided sheet metal fabrication to their customers,” said Folcarelli, who was longtime company president.
Folcarelli Sheet Metal Fabrication Inc. is currently in the process of being sold. “I will help the new owners as much as I possibly can. I have no specific plans for retirement; my wife Linda and I just want to take care of our health and live as long as we can. It was not a difficult decision, it was time,” Folcarelli said.
He takes pride in how the company grew over the years, from four employees at its start to about 50 when he sold the business. “The biggest change,” Folcarelli said, “was going from a simple business in the basement of our home to a wholesale distributor of major HVAC and plumbing products in central Pennsylvania.”
Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank can be reached at 814-946-7467.
The Folcarelli File
Name: James D. “Jim” Folcarelli
Age: 84
Position: Retiring from Folcarelli Sheet Metal Fabrication Inc.
Education: 1959 graduate of Altoona High School; associate’s degree in business from Penn State Altoona in 1964; studied heating and air conditioning at Gateway Tech in Pittsburgh
Family: Wife, Linda
Quote: “We grew from a small family operation to how we ended up, it was night and day. I remember we were installing coal furnaces when I started.”
