Cascade Heating Provides More than 50 Years of Local Excellence
Cascade Heating & Specialties is a local business that was founded in the 1970 by the former owner Al Damon, a graduate of Bend Senior High School and University of Oregon. Since the 70s, Cascade Heating and Cooling has been a locally run mainstay in the heating and cooling industry, providing top of the line service to customers across Central Oregon, going as far as John Day.
In 2020, Trevor Wigle took over as the company’s president. An engineer by Trade, Wigle adds a level of expertise that is sought after among his customers. Mike Wiant is the company’s controller, putting him in charge of the company’s accounting and finances. Wiant was looking to move back to his hometown of Bend after living in Portland for years, when the opportunity to work with Wigle presented itself.
In terms of operations, Cascade Heating prioritizes in five main categories: commercial, residential, retail, design and service. “We’re more diversified than other HVAC providers, and that is intentional,” Wiant said. “Construction is an industry that will fluctuate up and down, and being a well-rounded provider means we can diversify our streams of revenue and weather and crashes in the market.”
Cascade Heating stands apart from other HVAC providers because they have the level of expertise and sophistication required to successfully fulfill commercial jobs for big clients, as well as design custom systems for local architects and builders. For residential jobs, they have a workshop where they can tailor products to a specific customer’s needs. “We have three in-house engineers who do our designing on custom jobs,” Wiant said. “Architects will reach out to us, asking for custom designs on heating and cooling systems for custom homes.”
Aside from diversifying the business’s revenue, being this well-rounded allows Cascade Heating to provide unmatched service to the community. For all HVAC related needs, Cascade Heating has made themselves a one-stop-shop where customers and clients of all kinds can find the expertise and services they need.
Another priority of the company lies with the employees. Cascade Heating is dedicated to creating a healthy work environment where employees feel right at home. Aside from a comfortable workspace, Cascade Heating strives to create a healthy work-life balance for all of their employees. “Our goal is to provide for our employees in more ways than one,” Wiant said. “Everyone on the management team has kids and we prioritize a healthy family life, because that’s what’s really important.”
Giving back to the employees is really part of Cascade Heating’s mission to give back to the community. Both Wigle and Wiant have kids who attend Bend’s public schools, and both are committed to giving back. As a result, Cascade Heating sponsors multiple local sports programs, as well as 4H, to promote healthy activities for Bend’s kids.
The company also offers apprenticeship programs in their workshop where students can learn the skills of the trade. “We’re all about building community, keeping employees happy and expanding the trade,” Wiant said. “Some people tend to overlook certain jobs because they are not seen as glamorous, but these are positions that offer great pay, and you’d be providing a service that is essential to our community.”
In the future, Wiant says that Cascade Heating wants to prioritize growing their service sector, which would allow more comprehensive services to be provided to customers in Central Oregon and beyond, “this means faster house calls, no more delaying jobs because we’re lown on staff, and all around being there for the customer in any situation where they might need us,” Wiant said.
Aside from service, Cascade Heating plans on staying on the cutting edge of industry advancements so that they are able to provide a high level of expertise and sophistication to commercial and custom designs. With plans to add new machines to their workshop, Cascade Heating has plans to grow in many ways, staying true to their commitment of being a well-rounded business. Wiant says that, “We really just want to remain a mainstay in Bend and Central Oregon, so we can continue to provide our services, keep our customers happy and give back to the community we love so much.”
