Jim Brown, Sr.

The Jim Brown Company of Mountain Home, AR, is a three-generation-old company that opened for business in 1964. His son, James D. Brown, joined the company and eventually bought the business in 1967. He always believed in building a solid HVAC contracting business through sound and conservative financial management.

From pushing the learning curve on capitalizing service agreements to making and saving cash by selling value, he not only taught his son, Jim N. Brown, but over the decades, he shared his knowledge with contractors nationwide through his writing, speaking engagements, and participation in industry events.

Regarding the high-performance approach to contracting, Jim will admit that in the early days, his company struggled to embrace it. So, in 1993, Jim traveled to California, met with Rob Falke for personalized air balancing training, and questioned Rob for hours. In Jim’s words, he was testing Rob’s commitment to system performance measurement. After that, he invested in performance.

Opportunities and Changes

Their efforts led to the company being named a National Comfort Institute Contractor of the Year in 2010.

Due to the company’s venture into Commercial Design/Build work, residential performance contracting took a back seat until 2012, when Jim’s son, Jim N. Brown, “rediscovered it” and began pursuing it with vigor. According to JN in an article NCI published in 2011, the performance approach aligned with his technical passion and selling style.

“We used to make money off of the 40-foot lift we own on our commercial jobs,” JN Brown said in that article. “Now we make more from a pair of knee pads doing a residential duct renovation.”

Externally, Jim Brown, Sr. wanted to continue sharing and teaching financial skills to contractors. This pursuit led to his involvement with the Arkansas Heat Pump Association where he eventually became president and was instrumental in helping to pass HVAC licensing legislation in that state.

Jim also served two terms as a member of the Arkansas State HVAC licensing board, with one term as chairman.

Writing and Servant Leadership

He continued writing for a national HVAC publication. He was also a speaker and leader at many national conferences over the years, including Lennox’s Focus on the Future program, Contracting Business magazine’s HVAC Comfortech event, as well as with National Comfort Institute.

Servant leadership also means giving back to your local community, and Jim Brown, senior, served one term as a councilman for the city of Mountain Home and 15 years on the Mountain Home Planning Commission. Today he is the chairman of that commission.

From a consumer educational standpoint, Jim is a board member of the Arkansas State University Mountain Home Foundation. Furthermore, he is a past foundation board member of the Arkansas State University Jonesboro Campus.

It is no stretch to say that Jim Brown Senior is committed as a leader of his company, his community, and the HVAC Industry. “We’ve spent generations learning, serving, and growing, and plan to continue by providing the highest quality care,” he says.

Welcome to the 2023 Class of HVAC Industry Influencers, Jim.

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