The friendship between Loren Wood and Charlie Laughlin has been well-known since their first meeting in 2010. Afterwards, Commercial Service soon became a subcontractor to Loren Wood Builders and the two have relied on each other ever since.

“When I was very new to the industry and just starting my company, I wanted to work with the best subcontractors in town and Commercial Service came up multiple times, and so I reached out to Charlie. I remember sitting down in his office and saying, ‘I’m new to the business I want to work with you guys. Will you work on a new house I have?’ Charlie thought I was crazy, but that’s how we met,” says Loren.

Before Loren Wood Builders was conceived, Loren had a long history of being a carpenter, but he and Charlie had never met before that day.

In regards to the day they met, Charlie had this to say, “As I remember it, he came in with a set of plans, and was like, ‘We’re going to build this house.’ It was spec house. It was 2010, right after the Recession and he left the room, and I kind of was thinking, ‘Who is this guy?’ It was about a week or two later and he called me back and said, ‘I want to work with you on this project.’ And we did. It was the first house he ever built in Bloomington, and that’s kind of where it all started.”

After the success of their first project together, Loren Wood Builders and Commercial Service started to work exclusively with each other on both residential and commercial projects. “They have done every bit of HVAC work that we’ve done since the inception of this company,” Loren states, and they’ve continued to work with each other for over eight years now. “Commercial Service has just been exemplary in how they support us and how they support our clients,” he says.

The dynamic between the contractors and homeowners and how they work together is something Charlie truly admires, “To have an opportunity sit down with the homeowner and talk to them about what’s best. To sit down with Loren’s crew and talk to them about what’s best. Those are important steps to take if you want to turn out a really unique, really beautiful project, and that’s what they do,” he states.

“When I really think about who Commercial Service is, and the quality service they provide, really it’s their crew,” says Loren. “I know the guys by name; I’ve got their phone numbers on speed-dial in my phone. I never worry when they’re on the job site, when they’re interfacing with my clients, or whether they’re representing my company the way I want it to be represented to the public. They’ve just done an amazing job of building and maintaining a high-quality crew. We just think the world of their guys, their crew, as well as their sales people and administrative staff.”

Loren and Charlie share a mutual respect for each other, specifically regarding the teams they’ve established. “Loren’s unique in the fact that the team he’s built is fantastic,” explains Charlie. “They understand the endgame is making the homeowner happy. That’s the same mentality that our crew has—we want to make sure the experience for the homeowner is the best and turn out a really good product. When you have that shared vision, or that shared goal, it makes bringing a project together a lot easier.”