About Enerquip

In the early 70s, a couple of former employees from the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company came to Medford with a military contract to provide heat boilers skids for 90 naval destroyers. This was the beginning of Conseco (later Enerquip). 

Conseco built boilers and industrial heat exchangers for government contracts and dabbled in nuclear projects. These contracts included the heating and cooling equipment on the Spruance Kidd-class guided missile destroyers. The boilers had many applications, including producing domestic hot water for the ship, lubricating the main engine, and cooling wastewater from gas turbines.

During the decade that followed, orders from the Navy were sporadic. While Conseco attempted to diversify and expand into the private sector, Conseco’s business was on shaky ground by the early 1980s.

In 1985, a team of Medford, WI, business leaders purchased Conseco out of bankruptcy. These men included Pep Simek, owner of Tombstone Pizza, Ron Simek, Duey Seebold, and Tom LaBarge. Conseco then changed its name to Enerquip.  

In the early years, Enerquip continued providing heat recovery equipment to the military and private sectors.

One of its many product offerings was building actuator bases. A spotlight project was the Three Gorges Dam in China. After a large customer in this space went out of business, Enerquip left the actuator base business behind. Enerquip also saw the turbulence from government contracts, so they decided to pave a new path forward.

Though they were moving through new and uncharted waters, Enerquip chose to put all its efforts into heat exchangers. It was the right path that led to steady growth.

Changing Ownership & Management (Late 1980s)

By the late ’80s, Ron Simek, Duey Seebold, and Tom LaBarge sold their shares of Enerquip. Pep Simek continued as an investor, while new partner John Holroyd took over management of the daily operation. John had a background in purchasing sanitary equipment and various ground-breaking engineering advancements in the pharmaceutical and medical industries.

In the early 1990s, Holroyd led the company into the stainless steel heat exchanger market. 

A couple of Enerquip’s first key partnerships were with Ecolab and Sani-Matic. Enerquip updated Sani-Matic’s shell and tube heat exchanger design from a straight tube to U-tube. The efficiency and quality of the units moved Enerquip onto its preferred supplier list.

Around the same time, Enerquip was able to help a dairy in the Midwest save dozens of milk tanks that were about to go to waste. With some quick design and fabrication work, Enerquip was able to get a replacement unit to them on the same day. This act gave Enerquip a name in the dairy industry.

Today, if you look across Wisconsin, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a dairy without an Enerquip product providing the valuable heat exchange.

In the mid-90s, the 3-A Sanitary Standards were established and played a significant role in the transition to stainless process equipment. 

As time went on, Enerquip expanded its market share into food, beverage, and pharmaceuticals.

Enerquip Launches Representative Network

With Enerquip gaining market share in the sanitary markets, it grabbed the attention of different distributors. Reid Kapton was the first. This partnership set the stage for all future successful representative and distributor partnerships.

Efficiency & Quality Take Center Stage

In 1995, current President & CEO Jeannie Deml joined the team as Administrative Assistant to Holroyd and the sales team. A considerable portion of her role was understanding customers’ needs, developing streamlined processes, and creating efficiencies. This early work set the framework for her future advancement. 

Enerquip knew growth was essential. One way to do this was to reduce the time it took to build a heat exchanger. In just a few short years, Enerquip cut its production time in half, leading to decreased customer lead times. In addition, the team wanted the Enerquip name to stand for quality, durability, and longevity. Every piece of equipment leaving the shop was a badge of honor for the team. Since that point, Enerquip has become known for its quality equipment.

Over the next several years, Enerquip focused on building efficiencies, inter-department communication, and teamwork. As a result, Enerquip began building stock units for immediate shipment. This now offered better internal efficiency and shorter lead times for customers. It was a win-win.

Technological growth was seen around the world in the 90s, and Enerquip was no different. The decade brought the following advancements to Enerquip: 

• Thermal calculations were now being computed with B-JAC software, including TEMA stress testing.
• Enerquip began roller expanding its heat exchanger tubes to the tube sheet using 1500 PSI. 
• By 1996, Enerquip added 6”, 8”, and 10” stock units in lengths of 48” and 84”. These additions offered fast shipments that now fit most water-to-steam applications for the dairy industry.
• In the fall of 1996, Enerquip’s personal computers moved to Windows networked workstations. 
• Enerquip created Excel and Visual Basic Application (VBA) software to size heat exchangers in-house. 
• Enerquip designed its first industrial strength heat exchanger to produce artificial snow for a Colorado ski resort.
• In 1997, Enerquip exhibited at its first tradeshow, InterBev. This was the first of many. 
• In 1998, Enerquip sent its first email. As with most technology, that changed the face of the business forever. 

In 1999, Holroyd purchased a small electropolish business to bring more production in-house. Electropolishing is a process of removing a layer of metal to reduce surface roughness. It’s often required in pharmaceutical and other sanitary applications. 

When Holroyd moved to southern Wisconsin to focus his attention on this new venture, Deml became General Manager of Enerquip. 

In the early 2000s, Enerquip Electropolish developed a process to recycle its acid solutions to create a more sustainable business process. To help expand its product offering, Enerquip Electropolish moved into a larger building where it could take on more significant parts and larger quantities. 

In 2005, a small portion of the electropolishing process came in-house at Enerquip Heat Exchangers. For the first time, Enerquip in Medford, WI, could electropolish its own product, saving valuable time and resources.

With electropolishing now in-house, Enerquip Electropolish was sold in 2006.

“We owe a lot to John and Pep; they persevered all those years. I think many people would have given up, but they didn’t,” says Deml when talking about how grateful Enerquip is to Simek and Holroyd and their significant role in leading Enerquip down the path to success.

In 2007, Enerquip built a heat exchanger for the ice arena in Cody, WY. Local businessman and engineer Tom Fitzsimmons noticed the high-quality equipment and hardworking culture of Enerquip. When he learned owners Simek and Holroyd were ready to sell, Fitzsimmons decided to speak with a local colleague and private investor about purchasing the small business. The colleague was James Nielson.

In August of 2008, Nielson purchased Enerquip. He then added Jay Nielson, Tom Fitzsimmons, and Bill War to Enerquip’s board of directors. Kirk Novak was named President & CEO of Enerquip.

While Enerquip’s core business remained the same, it began a more intense pursuit into the pharmaceutical market. 

In 2011, long-time employee and General Manager Jeannie Deml was named President & CEO of Enerquip.

Emergence Into New Markets

By 2012, Enerquip expanded its product offering into the chemical, commercial, refining, biofuels, and personal care markets.

Then in 2015, began building sanitary equipment for the brewing industry, followed by cannabis, aerospace, and pet care.

With the facility in much-needed repair, in August of 2014, a remodeling and expansion project began.

The renovation goal was to enhance the work environment in the offices and manufacturing plant while setting the company on a path to future growth. The renovation included:

• 37 upgraded office spaces
• Windows that provide natural light
• Two storage towers that allowed Enerquip to save much-needed manufacturing space. One tower is 22 feet tall, and the other is 56 feet tall with a storage capacity that can hold 200 tons of material.

In January 2015, the team moved into its newly expanded office and shop space.

Thinking to the future, in 2018, Enerquip purchased the lot just north of the plant, along with a home on the northwest corner of Allman Ave and 2nd Street.

Enerquip’s growth continued in the spring of 2021 when it purchased American Heating Company (AHC).  

American Heating Company manufactured its products out of Beggs, OK, by a small but dedicated team. Its main products were industrial heaters, economizers, steam generators, and tank heating solutions. A leader in the industrial heating space, you could find American Heating Company industrial heaters in large and small tank terminals and asphalt processes across the country. The acquisition was a match made in heaven with its strong product line and wonderful, hardworking staff.

In the summer of 2022, Enerquip and American Heating Company moved forward together as Enerquip Thermal Solutions. At that time, Enerquip launched a new joint website.

• Through its corporate giving and employee match program, Enerquip provided funding to various local and national non-profits.
• Lisa Holm was promoted to Enerquip Sales Engineer.
• Enerquip installed a state-of-the-art turning center.
• Cameron Diedrich was promoted to Design Engineering Manager.
• After the purchase of American Heating Company, Enerquip rebranded with a new Logo and expanded its product line.
• Ryan Perrin joined Enerquip as a Design Engineer.
• Brady Loertscher joined Enerquip’s sales team.

• Through its corporate giving and employee match program, Enerquip provided funding to various local and national non-profits.
• Enerquip invested for the future with a machining center that features lights-out manufacturing.
• Enerquip unveiled an upgraded office facility in Beggs, OK.
• Enerquip was recognized for excellence and stewardship with Top 50 Health Plan Award.
• Shailendra Seecharan was a guest speaker at Heat Exchanger World Americas 2023.
• Ryan Perrin joined the Enerquip sales engineering team.
• Shailendra Seecharan joined the team as Division Sales Manager.

Jim was born Canada, but came to Cody, WY, at a young age when his father raised enough local money to purchase Park Refining Company, soon to become Husky Oil.

In the family tradition of hard work, Jim milked Buttermilk the cow before school and sold the Cody Enterprise newspaper about town for five cents a copy. At a young age, Jim would roam the sagebrush foothills with his first horse, Buster. With a loan from Shoshone First Bank for Buster, he soon learned about the pitfalls of interest, which helped spark his curiosity and understanding for business.

After graduating from Cody High School in 1949, Jim attended Cranbrook School for a post-graduate year and then enrolled in the University of Wyoming where he graduated from the School of Business in 1954. Jim became a commissioned officer in the supply corps of the U.S. Navy, stationed at Bremerton, Washington, traveling throughout the Pacific.

Jim was elected President and Chief Executive Officer of Husky Oil in 1973. Husky continued to grow into a major energy company. Jim was the force behind the construction of the new Husky Oil headquarters on Stampede Avenue (currently the Park County Complex). After Husky was acquired by Alberta Gas and Truckline in 1979, Jim resigned, moved to Billings, Montana, where he founded JN Oil and Gas, a privately owned oil and gas exploration and production company of which he was President and CEO.

Jim became the founder and CEO of Nielson & Associates in Cody, leaving much more time for family fishing trips to Alaska with his kids, holiday ski gatherings, and adventurous trekking and pack trips with his wife, Anne, and their dear friends.

Jim’s many accomplishments and awards are far too numerous to list. He was most proud to serve on the boards of Y-Tex Corporation, the Wyoming Natural Gas Pipeline Authority, American Petroleum Institute, Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association and The Denver Branch of the Kansas City Federal Reserve. He was also a longtime and dedicated member of the board of directors of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

His philanthropic causes were many, including special funding to purchase the Paul Dyke Collection for the Plains Indian Museum, the re-start of the Sleeping Giant Ski Area, Heart Mountain Ranch Preserve, the Cody Splash Pad and the University of Wyoming School of Energy. His commitments reflected a strong love of the Cody community and the state of Wyoming. He always wanted kids to appreciate and experience the outdoors as he had.

Jim passed away at his home on November 17, 2022, at the age of 91.

Joseph (Pep) and Frances Simek moved to Medford from Chicago in 1960. By 1962 they were running the Tombstone Tavern, located next to a cemetery, along with Pep’s brother, Ronald. The brothers came up with the pizza-making idea to bring in more money to support their families. They worked out of the bar’s 6-by-6-foot kitchen.

The pizzas were fine, but they got better after Pep broke his leg and, unable to tend bar, had time to fiddle with the recipe. He called the owner of a favorite Chicago pizza place, who told him, “the secret was in the spices.” The resulting pizzas were a hit, and within three years, Tombstone Pizza was available in the Medford area, selling 2,000 pizzas a day and known for the tagline, “What do you want on your Tombstone?”

The influence of their family remained in Medford for years.

The company was sold to Kraft in 1986 and eventually to Nestlé. Later Pep established Pep’s Pizza in Medford and had numerous other business interests, including the Embassy Suites/Regency Suites Hotel of Green Bay, Paradise Shores Hotel and Resort in Lake Holcombe, Captain Morgan’s Retreat in Belize, Enerquip Heat Exchangers, and so many others. 

With her husband’s encouragement, Frances became a significant supporter of civic projects, settling a discussion about a new library by donating $1 million to build it in 1998. One night out of the clear blue sky, she called the mayor and told him that the argument about the library was over. She was building it.

The Simeks were generous to the community in many ways, often downplaying their role.

Joseph “Pep” Simek, Sr. passed away on February 18, 2013; Frances preceded him in death on November 1, 2010. They are survived by two sons Joseph, Jr. and Richard, a daughter, Lauren, four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.