The Trane Company’s founder is James Trane, a Norwegian immigrant who opened his own plumbing shop in La Crosse, WI, in 1885.

With the inspiration of cold Wisconsin winters, James Trane invented a new low-pressure heating system he called the Trane Vapor Heating System. His son, Reuben, had a college degree in mechanical engineering; together they began manufacturing operations in 1910 and incorporated as The Trane Company in 1913. It was Reuben's invention of the convector radiator in 1923 that firmly established the company's reputation as an innovator.

The idea of using technology to give people relief from summer heat was a radical and unproven idea when Trane became an air conditioning pioneer in 1931.

Trane fundamentally changed the concept of air conditioning large buildings with the 1938 launch of Turbovac, the industry's first hermetic, centrifugal refrigeration machine. This was the beginning of a long chain of innovations leading to Trane's current CenTraVac®, the industry standard for large commercial air conditioning systems. This is the most energy efficient system available anywhere for large buildings and it has earned Trane the "Best of the Best" Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Trane Company acquired Sentinel Electronics in the late 1970s, and moved into the building automation and management field. The company was the first to offer integrated controls for all its products and became a leader in the still new field of energy management.

In 1982, Trane acquired General Electric's Central Air Conditioning Division which enabled the Trane Company to become a leader in residential air conditioning.

In 1984 Trane was acquired by American Standard Companies and remained the largest of its three businesses: Air Conditioning Systems and Services, Vehicle Control Systems (WABCO) and Bath and Kitchen.

On Nov. 28, 2007 Trane Company successfully separated the three American Standard businesses, leaving each free to concentrate exclusively on the markets it knows best. Over the course of the year WABCO was spun off as an independent corporation and Bath and Kitchen was sold to Bain Capital Partners. On Nov. 28, 2007, American Standard Companies changed its name to Trane.

On June 5, 2008, global diversified industrial company Ingersoll Rand acquired Trane, furthering its transformation into a multi-brand commercial products manufacturer serving customers in diverse global markets. (Information acquired from: The Trane Company website, www.trane.com/history)

George William Hoel was born on April 24, 1912, in La Crosse, Wis. to Alfred and Ada (Paulson) Hoel. He graduated from La Crosse Central High School in 1929. He married Marion Lovejoy on December 4, 1937 in La Crosse. Together they had one daughter, Karen (Hoel) Newburg and a son, George "Bill" Hoel Jr. Hoel attended and graduated from the La Salle Extension University Traffic Management course and the Chicago College of Advance Traffic.

He retired in 1977 after 42 years as the Traffic Manager for the Trane Co.

In addition to his career at the Trane Company, he was a 40-year La Crosse Elks Club B.P.O.E. member, a 70-year Frontier Lodge 45 of F. and A.M., the La Crosse and Eau Clair Consistory, the ZOR Shrine Temple, the DeMolay Legion of Honor and a charter member of the La Crosse Jaycees.

George W. Hoel died on Monday October 18, 2004, in La Crosse, Wis.