The Brand Story
MRCOOL: A Kentucky Family Business That Grew Into a National Comfort Brand
Hickory, Kentucky is the kind of place you can drive through in under a minute. Corn and soybean fields roll out in every direction across Graves County, and the industrial park on the edge of town is not where most people would expect to find the headquarters of a heating and cooling brand sold across the United States and Canada. But that is where MRCOOL lives, and it is there on purpose. The story starts with a small family business, a father and son named Ingram, and a decision to build something bigger without leaving home.
Chapter 1 · The roots
Water, air and a family name
Before there was a MRCOOL, there was Ingram's Water and Air Equipment, a local, family-run business serving the farms and homes of western Kentucky. It was the kind of shop where customers knew the owners by name and the owners knew which systems held up through a humid Kentucky summer and which ones did not.
Doug Ingram and his son Jason saw room to grow beyond a single storefront. Rather than chase a franchise from one of the big national manufacturers, they set out to build their own line of equipment and the distribution network to support it. That ambition would turn a local dealer into a wholesale operation, and eventually into a brand name.
Chapter 2 · 2013 to 2014
From distributor to brand
Local reporting describes the family business being reestablished in 2013 as a wholesale distributor of heating and cooling products. The company itself dates MRCOOL to 2014, the year the brand name and MRCOOL LLC took shape as the public face of the business. From the start, the idea was to design and specify equipment under the company's own name and to support the contractors who sold and installed it.
The early operation ran out of Paducah, the nearest city of any size. As the business grew, the Ingrams faced the question every growing company faces: where to put the next building. Their answer was to go back to the county they came from.
Chapter 3 · Coming home
Hickory Industrial Park
MRCOOL moved its headquarters from Paducah to the Hickory Industrial Park in Graves County. Doug Ingram explained the move in plain terms to the Mayfield Messenger.
“We wanted to come back to our home area and help our county.”
He also said that being closer let the family control the business better. Most of the people who work there grew up in Graves County, and Jason Ingram has described the company's growth as something the whole area shares in. The campus now covers about 120,750 square feet of office and operations space, with a separate distribution facility of roughly 100,000 square feet.
Chapter 4 · 2023 to 2025
Franchises, dealers and a ribbon cutting
In 2023 MRCOOL began opening franchise distribution centers, with early locations in Los Angeles, Pensacola and Boston, putting stock and support closer to the contractors who install its equipment. By then the company counted more than 3,000 dealers across the United States and Canada.
Growth soon outran the buildings. A $5.35 million expansion added 22,000 square feet of offices and 40 full-time jobs, and in November 2025 the company held a ribbon cutting for its expanded headquarters, complete with a showroom where dealers and partners can see the full lineup. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear recognized the company by video. The same gathering doubled as MRCOOL's first annual franchise conference, with owners from Massachusetts, the Gulf Coast and Los Angeles in attendance. The company that began as a family shop now has a team of nearly 300 people.
The Lineup
What MRCOOL builds today
MRCOOL sells a broad residential and light commercial lineup: ductless mini split heat pumps, ducted central systems, packaged units, geothermal heat pumps, water heaters, controls and maintenance supplies. HVAC365 focuses on the professional lines, the equipment a licensed contractor sizes, installs, charges and commissions on the job.
- Advantage ductless heat pumps: the Advantage 5th Gen series, including single-zone condensers such as the 9,000 BTU 21.5 SEER2 heat pump, a straightforward choice for a single room or addition. Browse ductless mini splits or shop by room size and BTU.
- Olympus indoor units and multi-zone systems: Olympus 4th Gen wall-mounted heads and ceiling cassettes with decorative grilles, built to pair with multi-zone condensers so one outdoor unit can serve several rooms. See multi-zone ductless systems.
- Ductless heat pumps for year-round comfort: heat pump versions across the Advantage and Olympus families, listed under ductless mini split heat pumps.
- Universal Series packaged heat pumps: self-contained DC inverter package units up to 5 tons and 18 SEER2, running on R-32 refrigerant.
- VersaPro packaged equipment: horizontal packaged heat pumps and multi-position gas/electric package units, such as the 2 ton, 13.4 SEER2 model with a 60,000 BTU, 81% AFUE gas furnace section, on R-454B refrigerant.
- GeoCool geothermal: MRCOOL's ground-source line, supported by open loop kits with flow meter and solenoid valve and closed loop kits with angled manifolds and flow centers.
- Components, controls and care: individual system components, the MRCOOL Mini-Stat, Care Kits with foaming coil cleaner and other accessories, plus a 199,000 BTU whole-house natural gas tankless water heater.
The Next Chapter
Two refrigerants, one transition
Look closely at MRCOOL's current model names and you can see the industry's refrigerant change happening in real time. The Universal Series package units run on R-32, while the VersaPro packaged line and the latest Olympus indoor units carry R-454B. Both refrigerants replace R-410A under the federal phasedown of high global warming potential refrigerants, and both are classified A2L, or mildly flammable. For contractors that means A2L-rated tools and updated procedures, and it means matching indoor and outdoor equipment built for the same refrigerant rather than mixing old and new.
At a Glance
MRCOOL at a glance
- Brand launched
- 2014
- Roots
- Ingram's Water and Air Equipment
- Co-owners
- Doug and Jason Ingram
- Headquarters
- Hickory, Graves County, Kentucky
- Campus
- About 120,750 sq ft plus a 100,000 sq ft distribution site
- Team
- Nearly 300 people
- Dealer network
- More than 3,000 in the US and Canada
- Ownership
- Privately held, family owned
Questions
Frequently asked questions about MRCOOL
Who owns MRCOOL?
MRCOOL is a privately held, family-owned company. Doug Ingram and his son Jason Ingram are its co-owners.
Where is MRCOOL based?
MRCOOL is headquartered in the Hickory Industrial Park in Hickory, Graves County, Kentucky, after moving there from nearby Paducah.
When was MRCOOL founded?
MRCOOL dates its brand to 2014. The family business behind it, Ingram's Water and Air Equipment, was reestablished as a wholesale distributor in 2013.
Is MRCOOL part of a larger HVAC manufacturer?
No. MRCOOL designs and sells equipment under its own name and is not affiliated with any of the major HVAC manufacturers. The owners have said in-house manufacturing is a long-term goal.
What is MRCOOL GeoCool?
GeoCool is MRCOOL's geothermal heat pump line. HVAC365 carries GeoCool installation kits for both open loop and closed loop ground-source systems.
What refrigerant do MRCOOL systems use?
Current MRCOOL equipment uses lower-GWP A2L refrigerants. The Universal Series package units use R-32, while the VersaPro packaged line and Olympus 4th Gen indoor units use R-454B.
