JOHN JACKLICH HAS BEEN WITH M&G DURAVENT for 56 years in many respected positions, including president. M&G DuraVent has deep appreciation of Jacklich’s efforts and achievements. He and his contributions will be missed.

In 1956, the Peerless Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of wall furnaces, unit heaters, and room heaters, decided to get into the venting business. To accomplish this goal, it hired an engineer from General Electric to be the new general manager. The engineer was Alex Boutacoff, a Russian with some farsighted ideas for the emerging venting industry. As a result, the DuraVent Corp., a subsidiary of Peerless Manufacturing, was founded in a garage in Redwood City, California.

In 1957, the company moved into a small manufacturing facility consisting of two surplus steel buildings located in Redwood City. A few weeks later, the first DuraVent gas vent pipe, in round sizes of 3 through 12 inches, started to come off the production line. The product line was sold by factory representatives and manufacturer agents who also sold the Peerless line of gas heaters. This was DuraVent’s introduction into the marketplace.

Jacklich joined DuraVent for his first job in research and development and developed the chimney line. In 1958, DuraVent expanded the product lines, adding 14- through 30-inch round commercial vent products; introduced 4- and 5-inch oval gas vent; and developed a triple-wall, factory- built chimney product line for oil-fired boilers, furnaces, metal rain gutters, and downspouts.

In 1962, Jacklich became a salesman for DuraVent Northwest Territory. DuraVent expanded its sales to all 50 states and added freestanding and zero-clearance fireplaces. During this era, the Peerless Manufacturing Company and DuraVent were separated, and DuraVent became a subsidiary of the Dover Corp.

By 1966, Boutacoff had become the president of DuraVent. With the desire no longer to be a subsidiary of another company, he and the employees of DuraVent purchased the company in April 1966. DuraVent was now on its own in the marketplace. From 1962 to 1967, Jacklich moved to sales in Seattle, Washington; Kentucky; New Jersey; and then back to California.

After returning to California, Jacklich and partners left DuraVent in 1968 and formed Royal Mfg. In 1969, George Bissell merged Royal into DuraVent. At this time, Jacklich became president of DuraVent. Between 1966 and 1972, DuraVent became deeply involved in developing a new product line: modular housing. This concept appeared to have great potential to meet the need for low-income housing, but unfortunately, it turned into a heavy financial drain on the company and was eventually sold at a considerable loss.

During the 1970s, DuraVent focused its efforts in the wood-burning industry. Several new product lines were developed, including single- wall (Black Pipe) and doublewall (DVL) products, as well as the first metal relining system for masonry chimneys (Renew-a-Flue). When the energy crisis hit in the 1970s, and wood stoves became popular, DuraVent enjoyed a tremendous growth in sales and opened another factory location in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Unfortunately, the wood-stove fad ended with the energy crisis, leaving DuraVent with bulging inventories of raw materials and finished goods, several warehouses, and declining sales. In November 1981, DuraVent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At this time, Bissell left DuraVent. In April 1982, Jacklich contacted Simpson Manufacturing Company, which purchased DuraVent out of bankruptcy and began an intensive and complete rebuilding program to turn the company around and back into an industry leader.

In 1984, the old Redwood City facility was moved into a modern, newly constructed plant Vacaville, California. Key management positions in sales and marketing, finance, and plant management were filled with professionals as the transformation of DuraVent was underway, and Jacklich took over research and development. Manual systems in finance and customer service were soon computerized, and a new CAD system came online in research and development. Production lines were automated, and new tooling and machinery were brought online to improve quality and dependability.

Between 1985 and 1990, Jacklich completed the upgrade and redesign needed to achieve the leadership position in the industry. New product lines were introduced with patented features that captured the attention of the industry. New production lines included DuraPlus chimney, DuraLiner for relining masonry chimneys, Pellet Vent for the new pellet stoves, and DuraConnect for quick installation for venting gas appliances.

In 1993, DuraVent introduced Direct Vent for the gas-stove/fireplace market at a time when there was little or no competition; this is a position that the company is attempting to maintain. Through OEM relationships with certain stove manufacturers and through DuraVent’s gas-vent distribution network, Direct Vent has skyrocketed to a position as the number-two product line for DuraVent. It has also been one of the most challenging, due to the increased need for new items as gas stoves and fireplaces gradually take market share from the wood-burning industry.

During the past few years, Jacklich has worked on new products and was helping to redesign old ones. Jacklich has had a successful life at DuraVent and extends many thanks to the people with whom he has worked. He is now relaxing and enjoying his well deserved retirement. M&G DuraVent Announces John Jacklich’s Retirement John Jacklich Marc Sculler Pete Harper