Our History
Longview, Texas Since 1957
Most companies that claim a long history mean they bought an old name. This one is the actual thing: a man who learned refrigeration keeping military equipment running in India during the war, came home, opened a business in Longview in 1957, and handed it to his son, who still runs it.
- Founded 1957 by Roy L. Napps
- Family Owned Ever Since
- Engineered Refrigeration Heritage
- Plumbing Division Added 2012
Napps Cooling, Heating & Plumbing — Longview, Texas since 1957
From Wartime Refrigeration to East Texas Comfort
Roy L. Napps (1919 – 1998)
Roy Napps entered the heating and air conditioning industry in the early 1940s, taking a job with a leading Tyler-based air conditioning company. He worked there until the United States entered the Second World War, then went into the Army and served until 1946. Much of that service was spent in India, in charge of maintaining military heating and refrigeration equipment — and he used the time to complete college-level courses in refrigeration and air conditioning while still in uniform.
After the war he returned to the Tyler company and moved up quickly on the strength of his work ethic and his ability to solve problems. In the early 1950s the decision was made to have him open a branch operation in Longview. He directed the construction of the branch facility and built the business in the Longview area from the ground up.
1957 — Roy Napps Air Conditioning
In 1957 he returned to Longview on his own account and founded Roy Napps Air Conditioning. He started the business at home, with his wife Pauline running the office, and it grew quickly.
The air conditioning business in the 1950s bore little resemblance to today. There were very few air conditioning companies, packaged equipment as we now know it did not exist, and every central heating and cooling system had to be custom designed for its application. That meant running load calculations by hand and then selecting each component — blowers, coils, pumps, compressors, expansion valves and piping — so that the finished installation was a balanced system that actually met the requirement. Roy Napps chose to focus on the commercial and industrial market, where that discipline mattered most.
That habit never left the company. It is why we still size equipment on a load calculation rather than matching whatever tonnage was installed before — an approach that quietly prevents a large share of the comfort complaints we are called out to fix on other people’s installations.
Teaching the Trade
Roy Napps was as committed to teaching as to building the business. While running the company he taught air conditioning and refrigeration vocational courses at Longview High School, Kilgore College and local trade schools, and he continued mentoring people throughout his career. A good deal of the HVAC knowledge in this part of East Texas traces back through him.
1975 — The Second Generation
Eddie Napps had worked alongside his father and been mentored through every phase of the business since he was a young teen, before going on to the University of Texas at Austin. Since 1975 Eddie G. Napps has owned and operated the company, which was later incorporated as Napps Industries, Inc.
1987 — Chillers for Delta at Orlando
Through the 1970s and 1980s the company designed and manufactured large specialty refrigeration packages, including explosion-proof package chillers and control room systems. Then in the autumn of 1987 Napps received an order from Teledyne INET to design and manufacture one of the first central system package chillers used to cool commercial aircraft — equipment to cool Delta Air Lines’ fleet while parked at Orlando International Airport. The job was successful, and Teledyne immediately began positioning Napps to furnish systems internationally.
That opportunity was large enough that it would have compromised the core heating and air conditioning business, and the decision was made accordingly. Napps remained a committed regional company serving East Texas, which is what it is today.
2012 — The Plumbing Division
In early 2012 Napps launched a fully staffed plumbing division, on the reasoning that a customer’s problems do not respect trade boundaries. Today the company provides complete solutions for residential, commercial and industrial HVAC, sheet metal fabrication and plumbing, from a 23,000 square foot facility on Cotton Street in Longview.
Real Reviews from Real Napps Customers
These come straight from our Google Business Profile — unedited, and updated automatically as new reviews come in.
History Questions
What people ask about the company’s background.
Roy L. Napps, who lived from 1919 to 1998. He founded Roy Napps Air Conditioning in Longview in 1957 after learning the trade with a Tyler company before the war and maintaining military heating and refrigeration equipment in India during it.
Yes. Eddie G. Napps, Roy’s son, has owned and operated the company since 1975, having been mentored through every part of the business from his teens. It has never been sold to a franchise group or a national roll-up.
Yes. In the autumn of 1987 Napps received an order from Teledyne INET to design and manufacture one of the first central system package chillers used to cool commercial aircraft, for Delta Air Lines’ fleet parked at Orlando International Airport. The job was successful and led to an international opportunity that the company ultimately chose not to pursue, in order to stay focused on East Texas.
Early 2012, when the company launched a fully staffed plumbing division. Before that it was HVAC and refrigeration only.
Longview, Texas — a 23,000 square foot facility on Cotton Street that houses the corporate offices, an engineering department, sheet metal duct fabrication, a metal fabrication and welding shop, a compressor rebuild area, a paint facility, and assembly, testing and training areas.
More than you would expect. A company that has designed custom refrigeration systems approaches a residential problem by measuring and calculating rather than guessing, which is exactly what separates a lasting repair from a return visit.
Nearly Seventy Years in Longview. Call 903-758-6482.
The same family business, the same engineering habits, and the same phone answered by a person.
Get in Touch With Napps
Tell us what you need. For emergencies — no cooling, no heat, an active leak — please call rather than waiting on a form.
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24/7 Emergency Line 903-758-6482
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Office Location 1003 West Cotton St., Longview, TX 75604
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Emergency Service Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
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Financing Available Financing available on system replacement and major plumbing work