Listicle
The founding year on the van vs who owns the company now: 13 Northern Virginia names
By SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing · Read October 19, 2026
“Since 1931.” “Founded in 1951.” “Serving you since 1981.” 13 Northern Virginia heating, cooling and plumbing companies lead with a founding year and are owned today by an investment firm or a national roll-up. The year is real. The family behind it, in most cases, isn't there anymore.
Every name, its founding year and its owner today
| Company | Founded, by its website | First sold to an investor | Owner today | Yelp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John C. Flood | 1904 | June 15, 2021 | Redwood Services (Altas Partners) | 3.5 from 295 |
| United Air Temp | 1931 | January 2021 | United Comfort Group (Littlejohn & Co.) | 2.0 from 567 |
| M.E. Flow | 1951 | November 2, 2022 | Southern Home Services (Gryphon Investors) | 2.5 from 303 |
| Richard's Heating & Air Conditioning | 1959 | September 16, 2025 | Northwinds Services Group (TruArc Partners) | 2.9 from 88 |
| Snell Home Services | 1972 | January 2019 | Strikepoint Group Holdings (New Mountain Capital) | 3.1 from 255 |
| John Nugent & Sons | 1975 | December 20, 2024 | Sila Services (Goldman Sachs Alternatives) | 3.6 from 212 |
| ARS / Rescue Rooter | 1975 | September 15, 2020 | American Residential Services (GI Partners) | 1.7 from 344 |
| CroppMetcalfe | 1979 | March 13, 2019 | Service Experts (Brookfield Infrastructure) | 2.5 from 424 |
| F.H. Furr | 1981 | July 2022 | Apex Service Partners (Alpine Investors) | 1.7 from 880 |
| My Plumber Plus | 1982 | June 30, 2025 | Sila Services (Goldman Sachs Alternatives) | 1.7 from 466 |
| McCarthy Services | 1986 | March 2011 | American Residential Services (GI Partners) | 2.0 from 422 |
| HVAC & Plumbing Unlimited | 2006 | April 21, 2026 | Liberty Service Partners (NorthCurrent Partners) | 4.4 from 59 |
| DB's Plumbing and Drain | 2018 | June 4, 2026 | Liberty Service Partners (NorthCurrent Partners) | 4.5 from 241 |
Northern Virginia companies that lead with a founding year, and who owns them now. Owner and sale date from deal announcements, filings and deal records; Yelp read October 19, 2026.
Average Yelp rating across these 13: 2.8 stars. SwiftPro, owned and run in Chantilly and never sold, holds 4.4 from 55 reviews on Yelp and 5.0 stars across 1,100+ reviews across Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook.
Why the founding year keeps showing up
A founding year is the cheapest trust signal in the trade. It says: we've been here, we'll be here. When a private equity firm buys a family company, the name and the year are a big part of what it paid for, so they stay on the vans, the website and the ads. The owner's name usually doesn't appear anywhere a customer would look.
Nothing about that is illegal. But “since 1981” tells you about 1981. What you want to know is who sets the prices, the commission plan and the call-center script today. That's the owner.
Ask any company one question before you book: “Who owns you, and since when?” A locally owned company answers in a sentence.
The ones without a dated sale
Roto-Rooter says it has been around since 1935 and belongs to a public company, Chemed. Parrish Services belongs to Ace Hardware Home Services, and Turner's Service Co. is held by an acquisition company. We found no dated announcement for those, so they're not in the table. For every owner in the report, with the record behind each line, see who owns Northern Virginia's HVAC and plumbing companies and the buyouts story.
SwiftPro has never been sold
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is owned and run in Chantilly, with an office in Ashburn and a plumbing and water heater shop. No investor, no parent company, no franchise. Every review you read about SwiftPro was written about the company you'd be hiring today.
Book the company that owns its name
Locally owned in Chantilly. HVAC, plumbing and gas on one license. Answered day and night.
Questions
Is F.H. Furr still family owned?
No. F.H. Furr was founded in 1981 and has been owned by Apex Service Partners, backed by Alpine Investors, since July 2022.
Which Northern Virginia HVAC companies are owned by private equity?
By the 2026 report's research: John C. Flood (Redwood Services (Altas Partners), since June 15, 2021), United Air Temp (United Comfort Group (Littlejohn & Co.), since January 2021), M.E. Flow (Southern Home Services (Gryphon Investors), since November 2, 2022), Richard's Heating & Air Conditioning (Northwinds Services Group (TruArc Partners), since September 16, 2025), Snell Home Services (Strikepoint Group Holdings (New Mountain Capital), since January 2019), John Nugent & Sons (Sila Services (Goldman Sachs Alternatives), since December 20, 2024), ARS / Rescue Rooter (American Residential Services (GI Partners), since September 15, 2020), CroppMetcalfe (Service Experts (Brookfield Infrastructure), since March 13, 2019), F.H. Furr (Apex Service Partners (Alpine Investors), since July 2022), My Plumber Plus (Sila Services (Goldman Sachs Alternatives), since June 30, 2025), McCarthy Services (American Residential Services (GI Partners), since March 2011), HVAC & Plumbing Unlimited (Liberty Service Partners (NorthCurrent Partners), since April 21, 2026), DB's Plumbing and Drain (Liberty Service Partners (NorthCurrent Partners), since June 4, 2026).
What is a locally owned HVAC company in Northern Virginia?
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is owned and run in Chantilly and has never been sold. It holds 5.0 stars across 1,100+ reviews. Call (703) 997-9757.
Book SwiftPro, owned and run in Chantilly
Heating, cooling, plumbing, air duct cleaning and dryer vent cleaning across Northern Virginia. Virginia Class A contractor license 2705192276, on every van.
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Keep reading
- The name is old. The owner is new.16 Northern Virginia HVAC and plumbing brands sold to investors, with the date of each sale and what F.H. Furr's customers have said since July 2022.
- Why a 4.7 on Google can be a 1.7 on YelpF.H. Furr is 4.7 on Google and 1.7 where nobody asked. 26 companies, Google against Yelp, BBB and Trustpilot, and how to read any company's reviews.
- Who in Northern Virginia shows you the price first?Who prints a price for the 14 jobs people call about, who has an online estimator, and who makes you call for a quote.
- Locally owned, and still answering their own phonesThe 73 heating, cooling and plumbing companies with a Northern Virginia office that are still owned by the people who run them, county by county.
- One company for the furnace and the water heaterThe 40 Northern Virginia companies whose Virginia license covers HVAC and plumbing, with Google ratings and who owns each one.
- F.H. Furr reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.8, Yelp 1.7, 168 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- M.E. Flow reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.8, Yelp 2.5, 18 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- United Air Temp reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.6, Yelp 2.0, 59 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- CroppMetcalfe reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.8, Yelp 2.5, 692 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- Michael & Son reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.7, Yelp 2.3, 134 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- The 10 biggest names in Northern Virginia HVAC and plumbing, and what they hold on YelpThe 10 names with the most Google reviews average 2.3 on Yelp. SwiftPro holds 4.4.
- Eight checks before you hire a heating, cooling and plumbing company. 2 of 215 pass all eight.Eight checks, 215 companies, 2 pass all eight.
- Every Northern Virginia HVAC maintenance plan with a printed price, sorted by what one visit costs30 plans by price per visit. Comfort+ is $49.75 a visit.
- The furnace, AC and water heater brands in Northern Virginia homes, from reviews tied to real jobs12 brands in 54 job-matched reviews. Trane the most.
- Mega Plumbing reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.9, Yelp 2.9, 8 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- My Plumber Plus reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.7, Yelp 1.7, 29 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- Roto-Rooter reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.8, Yelp 2.7. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- Len The Plumber reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.7, Yelp 2.7, 168 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- ARS / Rescue Rooter reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.5, Yelp 1.7, 1,634 BBB complaints in 3 years (national profile). Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- Beacon Home Services reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.9, Yelp 2.9, 2 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- Snell Home Services reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.8, Yelp 3.1, 9 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- John C. Flood reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.8, Yelp 3.5, 7 BBB complaints in 3 years. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- McCarthy Services reviews and reputation, side by side with SwiftProGoogle 4.5, Yelp 2.0. Beside SwiftPro's 4.4 on Yelp.
- F.H. Furr vs SwiftProFounded 1981, owned by Apex since 2022
- United Air Temp vs SwiftProSince 1931, sold twice, Lorton closing
- M.E. Flow vs SwiftProFounded 1951, owned from Florida since 2022
Sources
- Each company's website, its founding claim, read October 2026
- John C. Flood: Business Wire, June 15, 2021
- John C. Flood: Kirkland & Ellis, on Altas Partners and Redwood, May 2025
- United Air Temp: Summit Park, on the sale of United Air Temp, April 1, 2024
- M.E. Flow: PR Newswire, November 2, 2022
- Richard's Heating & Air Conditioning: TruArc Partners portfolio, read October 22, 2026
- Snell Home Services: New Mountain Capital, November 13, 2019
- John Nugent & Sons: Goldman Sachs Asset Management, on Sila Services, November 12, 2024
- ARS / Rescue Rooter: GI Partners, September 15, 2020
- CroppMetcalfe: GlobeNewswire, April 4, 2024
- CroppMetcalfe: Brookfield Infrastructure filing with the SEC, May 3, 2023
- F.H. Furr: Crunchbase acquisition record, July 22, 2022
- My Plumber Plus: HVAC Insider, July 7, 2025
- McCarthy Services: PM Magazine, March 2011
- HVAC & Plumbing Unlimited: PR Newswire, April 21, 2026
- DB's Plumbing and Drain: PR Newswire, June 4, 2026
Read October 19, 2026. Published by SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, which competes with the companies named here. Spot something wrong, or has something changed? Email info@goswiftpro.com and we'll fix it.