Jones-McLeod, Inc. was founded in 1949 in Birmingham, Alabama, by my grandparents George ‘Tom’ McLeod Sr., his wife Marie, and Redmond Jones, who was a co-worker of Tom’s at Alabama Power Company. They carved out their niche by repairing small appliances for customers who were mostly, at that time, residential. As the industry changed, the company began to change and shift its focus towards commercial end-users. Currently, as a third-generation family-owned business we continue to evolve and change with the times.
Tom and Marie had three children, all of whom worked in the business. Under the leadership of the youngest of their three children, George ‘Tom’ McLeod Jr. (my father), the company grew to what it is today: from the early days of having only a few inside repairmen to a full-on parts and service operation capable of covering the entire state of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. During his time at the helm the company added two more brick-and-mortar locations in the cities of Mobile and Montgomery which are headed up by Doug Thompson and Pat Barranco respectively.
In 2006 after working in the field of civil engineering and land development, I decided to make a complete career shift and join the team at Jones-McLeod. Since coming aboard, I have come to realize this industry is full of outstanding, hardworking, high-quality individuals many of whom I’ve had the pleasure to meet. We’re no exception here at Jones-McLeod; we are blessed to have some of the hardest working, dedicated, and knowledgeable team members one could hope for. Without them our company would not be what it is today.
In 2009 after 60 years of operating in downtown Birmingham, we relocated our home office to its current location on the outskirts of town. With more than double the size of our previous facility, it allowed us to expand all areas of our business and ultimately better serve our customers. Speaking of customers, we have some of the best in the business! We’re so thankful for the opportunity they provide us to do what we love day in and day out.
To get our customers up and running as quickly as possible and be a top-notch service provider, we feel CFESA must play a major role in your business. Jones-McLeod has been involved with CFESA for many years and during this time we have enjoyed the numerous benefits of being a CFESA member. The information gained, relationships established, and the training available to the association is second to none, and we are very grateful for that. It’s a mutual partnership we would like to see continue for many more years to come.
This article originally appeared in the July/Aug 2017 edition of CFESA magazine (Vol 33|Issue 04).