Pictured above (left to right): LBMC’s Jeff Drummonds, Lochinvar’s Bill Vallett, Jr. (center), and LBMC’s Mike Cain in conversation, reflecting the long-term business relationship and enduring personal-professional bond between the companies.
LBMC had been in business for barely a year when Bill Vallett, Sr. came knocking, seeking an accounting firm for Lochinvar, his family’s rapidly growing Nashville-based water heater manufacturing company. That initial meeting was the start of a long-term business relationship that spanned four decades, which saw both companies grow exponentially to become innovative leaders in their respective industries.
LBMC co-founder Mike Cain remembers those early meetings, and how both parties immediately began to benefit.
“Lochinvar was growing their business at the same time we were growing LBMC,” Cain says. “We spent a lot of time learning from each other, and I learned some basic things that we adopted in our business. Many of the family-owned companies that we started working with in 1984 are still in business, and we generally still have them as clients.”
“It’s been a really great relationship from that standpoint, to be able to grow our businesses together,” Vallett, Jr. says. “Over the years, LBMC started developing and adding new services, and we needed those services.”
In fact, Lochinvar has utilized just about every aspect of LBMC’s growing list of services. What started as an audit, tax, and a basic accounting relationship expanded into areas including IT, staffing, cybersecurity, valuation, and more. But for Cain and Vallett, it goes deeper than any service or offering.
“The idea that it’s nothing but a service just doesn’t get you very far,” Cain says. “The relationship we have with our clients has been personal to us always. These are important issues for our clients, and it’s how we make a living.”
Legacy of Innovation and Leadership
The roots of Lochinvar go back to Detroit in 1939 when Vallett, Jr.’s grandfather established the company as the Walter Vallett Company. After successfully growing the business, he passed the torch to his son, Bill Vallett, Sr., in the 1960s. The company made the move to Nashville in 1969, acquiring the Wagoner Water Heater Company.
Fast forward to the late-1970s, when the U.S. faced a crippling oil embargo and a subsequent energy crisis. Where his competitors saw the need for layoffs, Bill Vallett, Sr. saw a rare opportunity.
“My father saw it as a vision for the beginning of an everlasting race for energy efficiency,” Vallett, Jr. says. “He decided to hire some good engineers to develop high-tech, high-efficiency products.”
Lochinvar’s energy-saving innovations became a game-changer for the industry, and the company was soon custom-training technicians to service these newly engineered units.
Next Generation and Continued Partnership
A booming business meant new challenges and fresh, third-generation leadership, as Vallett, Jr. and his siblings stepped up to take the helm at Lochinvar in 1980.
The team of Bill, Jr. and his brothers Tom and Jeff have now guided Lochinvar through four decades of dynamic growth, working closely with a new generation of leaders at LBMC. With Lochinvar at the top of its game, the siblings made the difficult decision to sell the company in 2011, and LBMC was there to help facilitate that complex process.
Over the years leading up to and following the sale, the Vallett family turned to LBMC for help with estate planning. Once again, those enduring trusted relationships came fully into play, this time including full circle, in service of a longtime client.
“If you were to ask me what the greatest thing LBMC has done for our family, I would say it is twofold – actively listening and evolving with us as we grew and ensuring a smooth transition from generation to generation,” Vallett, Jr. says. “Relationships like those with Greg Herman and LBMC Investment Advisors also brought invaluable expertise. LBMC became true lifelong business partners—something rare to find.”