1991 - Present:   Riesen Plumbing & Heating, Inc.               President: Craig Riesen Incorporated: 1984 in Ohio 1942 - 1960:   Fast Plumbing & Heating Founders: Earl and Elma Fast 1960 - 1978:   Riesen Plumbing & Heating  Second generation:  Forrest "Sam" Riesen 1978 - 1991:   Riesen Bros. Plumbing, Heating & Cooling   Third generation: Craig and Lee Riesen(Lee left the company in 1991)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Our Office and Shop at 2015 SR 703 East, 9-29-2008 In 1942, as World War II was raging, Earl Fast, my father's uncle,  was a pipefitter at Goodyear and Fridgidaire, installing boilers and industrial work.  He found that Celina was in need of experienced boiler and piping services, so he started Fast Plumbing & Heating out of his garage.  After the war, my father, Sam Riesen, joined him and they added plumbing work to the business.  My father told me of driving their Model A car over a pile of pipe and then lifting and tying it on the bumpers for hauling to a local jobsite.  Their shop moved to 121 W. Logan St. in the old hotel building, with a barn in the back that was once a horse stable.  They were known around town as “ The Boiler Experts”, and maintained the heating systems in most downtown Celina buildings and many churches.  As these buildings still used coal for heat, they spent many nights hand feeding these boilers when the automatic stokers would break down and parts weren’t available locally.  Earl’s wife, Elma, was in charge of bookkeeping, parts, and sales.  Note: Aunt Elma, with jet black hair and rosy cheeks, was a gentle lady except when it came to the plumbing shop where she knew as much or more than most men, and was the only woman I’ve ever seen cut and thread pipe on a power machine as well as any man.  Earl had one of the first backhoes in Celina, an old Ford Jubilee, which dug a lot of  water repairsfor the City of Celina.  As this machine was very lightweight in comparison to today’s machines, the men used to drive tent stakes through the rear stabilizers into the ground or street to hold it in place.  As heating systems went more to forced air in the 50’s, Fast stuck with boiler work and began doing new plumbing for many local general contractors.  Along with employees Al Schultz, Carl Heckler, Cy Mangen, and Ed Sealschott,  they plumbed almost everything from Main to Meadowview north of Wayne St.  Throw in Grand Ave., Echo, Elm, Sunset Drive, The Daily Standard,  Plaza Shopping Center, Celina Motel, etc., these guys were fine plumbers. This was the time of cast iron pipes, poured lead joints, galvanized threaded vents, galvanized water lines, tile sewers, it took years to master this trade.  After Earl Fast passed away, my father, Sam Riesen,  continued the proud tradition and re-named the company Riesen Plumbing and Heating.  He was a working owner offering service work and plumbing and heating for many businesses and custom homes in Celina.  Around 1969 he moved the shop to our present location on North Vine St., as he owned a laundromat next door, where Subway is now.  After vacationing for many years up north, he was bitten by the travelling bug and purchased a fishing camp in Northern Minnesota (1978).  He lived there until his passing in December of 1991. In 1978, my brother, Lee, and I purchased the shop and named it Riesen Bros.  After lots of research and proposals from other manufacturers, we added the Carrier furnace and air conditioner line and our heating-cooling side really took off. Some summer days we would install two add-on air conditioning systems in the same day.  We still relied on Al Schultz for our plumbing service until the early 80s.  He worked for our family for over 40 years and taught a lot of young guys the good old way of the plumbing trade.   When I was learning, Al would not let me solder water lines, so when he went to lunch I would fire up his torch and try my hand at it.  He had this old homemade wooden tool box he carried full of his hand tools and it always  amazed me as to all of the many jobs and repairs he could make with just those few tools.  Al never swore, but when he would get going or skin a knuckle he would let loose with some of the most unbelievable sayings, my favorite being “You lousy livered rascal”, and also “You varmint, devil, dadgum devil, you dirty thing you, and gol dernit". I really enjoyed commercial/industrial work so I sold out to Lee in 1985 and pursued other interests with a commercial plumbing/mechanical contractor. In 1991, I bought Lee out and the company flew under the Riesen Plumbing & Heating banner once again.   We still concentrate on plumbing and heating work with some of our customers being third generation also.  Our experience and resources allow us to do custom new homes, remodeling projects, and every type of service call. On the commercial/industrial side, see page six for a partial listing of completed contracts.  We are the area's most experienced furnace and air conditioning contractor, receiving a Bronze Sales Award from Carrier Corp. in 2006.  With many types of furnaces in stock, we can offer same day sales and installation for most homes. We service all makes of equipment and have a large inventory of repair parts.  After the Recovery Act Stimulus Bill of 2009 included Tax Credits for HVAC equipment, we saw a need in the area for a new line of Furnaces and Air Conditioners.  After serious consideration, Riesen PHI was proud to select Tempstar to add to our family of products that we represent.  Tempstar furnaces are made by ICP Corporation in Indianapolis in the same plant where Carrier furnaces are built.  Their product offering is very complete going from apartment/rental type equipment all the way to the high-tech T9MVX, variable speed, two-stage furnaces.  This new venture took off like wildfire and greatly contributed to a very successful 2009 and a huge 2010.  Our customers are appreciative of the good value and quiet operation of the Tempstar equipment. We now have my wife Pam and Cathy Frazier managing the office, along with my son Ben Riesen, Gregg Muhlenkamp, Andy Weisman, and Jonah Jones in the field. November 16, 2011 Ben Riesen has obtained his State of Ohio Plumbing License.  We are very proud of this achievement as Ben is the fourth generation of our family to hold this distinction.  In order to be licensed, the State Board verifys that you have completed 5 years of full-time employment in the trade, go through a background check and then pass the plumbing and business tests.  He is also licensed as a State Certified Backflow Tester. ~ One of the keys to our family business success has been a strong community involvement in local charities, and causes, concerning our area youth and the underpriveleged. As always, since 1942, people find out that if you call 586-2639, you get friendly help, from experts, for a fair price. Continuing the tradition, Craig Riesen   Thanks to our valued customers of over 65 years, in 2007, we purchased a new building as we had outgrown the old Vine St. Location. For over 13 months, Ben, Pam and I worked on remodeling/restoring the former Riley family dairy farm, round-roofed barn, east of Celina on SR 703.  It will give us some much needed space and ground to keep growing.  We moved in on September 15, 2008.  The barn has over 8000 sq. feet of space on 2 floors and a cavernous haymow stretching 125 feet long with a 26 foot roof peak.  Pam says that it looks like Noah's Ark upside down.  Stop in and see us at this historic landmark.   PS. Business has never been better or more fun.  The new furnaces/hvac equipment and tankless water heaters are so fantastic.  It is a great feeling to be installing professional products that will satisfy people so much that you will write a letter to tell me how much you enjoy the systems and the positive effects on your home life.  When expectations are met and exceeded, we all win.  CR