In 1936, Russell and his wife Mildred sold their interest in the company to his brother to concentrate on wholesale refrigeration parts distribution. The new business, Duncan Supply Company, was relocated to 937 N. Illinois Street in 1940 and was incorporated 7 years later. Russell K. Duncan was named President, Haslitt Lucas, Vice-President and Mildred M. Duncan, Corporate Secretary & Treasurer. Edwin E. Hunter was hired in 1937 to do the accounting and paperwork for the small but growing company. It was Ed who helped the company survive through Russell’s health issues, two heart attacks within a five-month period. Edwin retired as Duncan Supply’s Executive Vice President in 1986.Kenneth Roberson Duncan, Russell and Mildred’s only son, literally grew up with the company. After his service in the Navy as a refrigeration technician, he joined Duncan Supply as a full time purchasing agent. Charles “Robbie” Roberson, Russell’s brother-in-law, joined the Duncan workforce in 1947. He was extremely valuable to the company as the residential refrigeration engineer and later Vice-President at his retirement in 1992. Timothy L. Hunter, Ed Hunter’s son, also joined Duncan Supply in 1967. Tim worked his way up to Vice-President and retired from Duncan Supply in 2010. As the business grew, we relocated again to a larger facility and CEO, Russell remained Chairman of the Board until his death in 1983. The business continued to grow with the addition of branches in Champaign, Illinois, and throughout the state of Indiana.
In 1999 Ken Duncan entered retirement and the reins were taken by Richard L. Fine, M.B.A. Rick started with Duncan in 1974, even before he had finished college or received his MBA. He worked in every department, from accounting to the sales counter, refrigeration engineering to purchasing, learning the industry and the company inside and out. He was the obvious choice to lead us into the future after Ken’s retirement. Under Rick the company saw exponential growth, including branch additions in Elkhart, Lafayette, and our Plainfield branch and distribution center, which opened in 2011.
