Price Industries’ legacy of innovation and community impact from Winnipeg to the world.
Gerry Price could have moved his company pretty much anywhere in the world, but he has never wavered from his Winnipeg home base.
And it’s not like the CEO and chairman hasn’t had the opportunity over the years.
But since Price Industries was founded in Winnipeg in 1949—selling heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) products—the company has proudly maintained its headquarters—plus a significant part of its growing operations—in East Kildonan.
Today, the Price Industries campus includes multiple manufacturing facilities and a laboratory dedicated to product development, innovation and testing. More than 1,500 Manitobans call the campus their home away from home.
Since being appointed president in 1986, Price has orchestrated a growth strategy that has seen the company rise to the No. 1 manufacturer of HVAC products in North America, surpass $1 billion in annual sales and establish a global presence across five continents. It employs more than 4,500 people around the world.
While most of its revenue comes from HVAC, Price has evolved into a decentralized organization that produces a wide range of products, including roof top air handlers to ventilation systems for operating rooms.
The company wouldn’t have attained such lofty heights if it weren’t for the Price Way, a set of 13 tenets developed by Price himself that guide everything from how it does business, how it interacts with its communities, how it progresses as an organization as well as how it approaches product innovation and entering new markets.
The tenets include principles central to Price Industries’ culture, including “service,” “growth” and “foundation and legacy.” But perhaps none represent the company better than “team, humility and no-ego culture.”
Many team members, in fact, consider the Price Way so fundamental to the company’s success that they recently collaborated with author Rob Wozny on a book geared towards the next generation entitled, I’m Just Gerry—Like an Ant on a Blueberry Pie.
Price will be feted by the province’s business community when he receives the 2024 International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award (IDEA) from The Associates at the University of Manitoba at the end of May.
“We’ve had tremendous success outside of Canada but there’s something about Price Industries that feels distinctly Manitoban,” says Greg Loeppky, vice-president of marketing at Price Industries. “We’re a tight-knit group. All of our wins are team wins. We celebrate new ideas and successes wherever they come from—from the plant floor or from our C-suite executives. We always remember our roots as a small company and that stays with us wherever we go.
