C & K Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing Services

We repair, install and design your home or businesses heating, cooling, geothermal, plumbing & architectural metal. Family owned and operated since 1968.

In 1968, Corwin and Kay Stephan arrived at the corner of preparation and opportunity. From a simple idea, and with a lot of hard work, the couple built an organization that would stand the test of time.

As a full time firefighter for the City of Ames, Iowa, Corwin worked in shifts, 24-hours on, 48 hours off. That meant that he had about 20 days off per month. Having a family to provide for, Corwin saw this as time to get to work. So he did.

In his time off from the fire department Corwin found work as a furnace and A/C installer. He worked in heating and cooling for years and rose to the level of foreman at a local HVAC company.

Construction boomed in Ames in the late 60’s and HVAC became an obstacle for builders. Local heating and cooling contractors couldn’t keep-up with demand. This is where Corwin saw his opportunity.

In the midst of a busy construction year in 1968, Corwin presented an idea to his wife Kay. With this idea, he thought, they could do two things. They could help one of Corwin’s good friends in the building construction business. A builder who needed great service but couldn’t find it. And second, they could fill a void in the heating and cooling market. A void that could only be filled by a great service business.

The idea was to start a mechanical service company, but not like the others. They would run a client focused service. The new business would care about relationships and quality work. Corwin would run the operations and Kay would run the office processes. And so, later that year, C and K Inc. was founded.

Corwin, a man of action, was the driving force of C and K. But Kay, a woman of thought and care, was the organization’s heart. In those days, if you ever called C and K, you were talking to Kay. She did almost everything aside from quoting, installing, and servicing equipment.

Her involvement and thoughtfulness made Kay a great connector and community leader. She and Corwin were, and still are, a fantastic team. They ran the company together for many decades. Their children grew-up in C and K. And, before retiring in the mid-1990’s, they sold the company to their son Steven.

Lead by Steven and his wife Sonja Stephan, C and K Inc. remains family owned today. We still strive to uphold the values that Corwin and Kay instilled in the company all those years ago. From time to time they like to stop in to check on us. It’s a new era, but our foundation will always be Corwin and Kay.