Named for a giant who won with his head.
McCool Supply started on a trip to Ireland. My wife and I both come from Irish families, and we went to see the places our surnames came from. Everywhere we went, someone had a story about Finn McCool.
Finn led the Fianna, the legendary band of warriors who protected Ireland. As a boy, he burned his thumb while cooking the Salmon of Knowledge, and with it he gained all the wisdom in the world. In the best-known tale, Finn built the Giant’s Causeway, a road of stone across the sea, and a Scottish giant far bigger than Finn came across it to fight him. Strength didn’t win that day. Finn’s wife, Oonagh, dressed him up as a baby and tucked him into a cradle. When the giant saw the size of the “baby,” he pictured the size of the father and ran all the way home to Scotland.
That story stayed with me. I served in the U.S. Navy during Desert Storm as a nuclear propulsion Machinist’s Mate, and I’ve spent more than 30 years in HVAC, the last 20 focused on VRF and mini-split systems. The best jobs I’ve seen were won the same way: know your equipment, think the problem through, and have the right partner in your corner. I started sketching this company on that trip, and over the next six months the notes turned into a plan.
McCool Supply is built on that idea. The right knowledge and the right parts, whether you’re a homeowner putting in your first mini-split or a contractor who does this every day. For larger buildings, our partner firm Trident Thermal Solutions brings the same thinking to commercial projects.
Read the full story, with photos from the trip →
Jon ByrnesFounder, McCool Supply · U.S. Navy veteran, Desert Storm · Rockwall, Texas