Louis (Lou) J. Laroche, a 35-year veteran of the HVAC industry, retired as HVACR product manufacturer of RectorSeal® Corp. in Houston. He served the 77-year-old company as national accounts and regional sales manager. Dave Isenbarger is assuming Laroche's national accounts and regional sales manager position.

According to the company, Laroche was influential in advertising, marketing, and sales as either a national sales manager or vice president of sales/marketing for more than six HVAC industry-related companies throughout his career.

"Lou has been a phenomenal and talented asset to RectorSeal as he has literally done it all in the HVAC industry," said Sean Holloway, RectorSeal’s national sales manager for HVACR. "Lou's tact for business relationships is what we should all strive toward in our careers." 

Before entering the HVAC industry in the 1980's, Laroche had already developed product management and promotional strategies as a national advertising manager for consumer power equipment companies such as Black & Decker Inc., the Wheel Horse-subsidiary of American Motors, and prior work in finance and hard goods marketing. He was renowned in 1970's consumer advertising industry circles for making Black & Decker's popular WorkMate portable workbench device a household name by developing and spearheading print and electronic media campaigns.

Laroche brought his state-of-the art marketing strategies to HVAC trade industry in the 1980's and beyond for companies such as Hart & Cooley Inc., Rachels Industries, General Filters, the APi Group's Anco Products, and Airtec Products; the latter which was acquired by RectorSeal in 2011.

"Lou brought with him an unparalleled level of sales, marketing know-how, and methodology together with easy access to the HVAC industry's movers and shakers, and within a few weeks of joining us, he became my strong right hand," said Gerry Spanger, RectorSeal's director of sales for engineered products, who hired Laroche in 2007 to promote his EZ Trap and SlimDuct product lines that later merged into Airtec Products before the RectorSeal acquisition.

"From that time on we enjoyed a steady growth in both sales and visibility culminating in our acquisition by RectorSeal," he said.

Laroche was also an Air-Conditioning Heating & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) member and a chairman in both the trade association's humidification and filtration sections.

Laroche's retirement will include travel with his wife Denise, while reading and performing some part-time consulting services from his home in Granger, IN.

Isenbarger, Laroche's replacement, has more than 30 years of experience in the HVACR distribution industry. Most recently he was the regional manager with Williams Furnace Co., in Colton, CA. Isanbarger worked with DiversiTech as the national sales manager for the Western Division, was the former director of sales and marketing for the Manitowoc Foodservice Division, and the HVAC market manager at the A.O. Smith Electric Products Division.

Isenbarger will be managing RectorSeal's national accounts as well as working with the manufacturer's rep network in the Mid-America region. This region includes the states in the Southeast and Midwest encompassing Florida to North Dakota and east to Ohio.