Longtime Empire sales representative Al Bradtke, passed away on Wednesday, April 25, at the age of 98.

Bradtke served as a Navy SeaBee during World War II. He worked for Whirlpool for more than 18 years before striking out on his own as an independent sale rep in 1983. The Bradtke Sales Agency represented Empire for more than 15 years and was instrumental in carving out a market for Empire’s vent-free heaters in the southeast.

Empire initially imported vent-free heaters from Spain under the brand name “Corcho.” Bradtke’s strong advocacy of the then-new technology earned him the nickname “Mr. Corcho,” a name that stuck with him long after Empire began making vent-free products domestically under its own Empire Heating Systems brand.

He truly was a selling legend in the heater industry.