05/02/2025
Air Mechanix Acquires Rawlings Mechanical: A Full-Circle Journey Rooted in Legacy!
Please show your love for the Rawlings family today.
Many have heard the news that Air Mechanix is acquiring the assets of Rawlings Mechanical Corporation. I’m confident this transaction would have met with the approval of Buck and Irma Rawlings, who founded a small furnace installation company in their Courtland home back in 1958.
I am Tim Parrish and I was in my mid-twenties when I started working for Buck Rawlings in 1983. I had attended the College of the Albemarle’s HVAC apprenticeship program in Elizabeth City, NC, while working as ground’s manager at West Lawn Cemetery prior to moving back home. I chose the HVAC field because it took in all the building trades and I just didn’t know what I wanted to do for a living.
Six months after we were married, my wife, Mary, shared the joyful news that we were expecting our first child. Outwardly, I wore a big smile, but inside, it was full panic mode! I was feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. I was stuck in a dead-end job, and a new life would soon depend on me. Thankfully, that fear lasted only a day. Soon after, I enrolled in night school.
The program was comprehensive, running four nights a week. Beyond HVAC training, it included vocational English, Math, and Business law and accounting. That was when I felt inspired to start my own company some day.
The real learning began when I started at Rawlings and Company as it was called then. I learned invaluable lessons from Buck and Irma Rawlings—not only about business management and customer relations, but also going the extra mile to treat people fairly. I have many fond memories from those years. Buck’s remarkable patience and kindness toward salespeople, customers, and young and not so wise employees like me, left an impression on me. Those lessons were worth their weight in gold.
I may forget many things these days, but I’ll always remember the unique way Irma answered the company phone with a cheerful lilt: “Raw-lings!”
Does anyone else recall that?
In 1993, my wife, Mary, and I also founded Air Mechanix in our home, modeling our business on the same commitment to quality and attention to detail we learned from Buck and Irma.
This acquisition today feels like coming full circle, back to where we began 42 years ago.
After Irma’s passing, Glenn and Sarah Rawlings took the reins of Rawlings Mechanical, guiding the company through many technical advancements in the HVAC industry. They built a business on very loyal customers and a dedicated team of employees who genuinely enjoy working together, despite the challenging conditions of HVAC work.
We’re thrilled to welcome the Rawlings crew to our team. Our goal is to enhance our service to customers with faster response times and next-day emergency equipment installations, all while keeping our passion for serving people.
Please, old friends of Rawlings legacy post your stories, love and well wishes for the family at this time. They need to know how much you care and were inspired by their great contributions to your lives. ❤️