The oldest son of current owners Tim and Amy Benedict was about 4 years old when a stranger asked his name.

"Tony Benedict Refrigeration" came the response.

"Refrigeration" is not the family's surname, but it is the area of specialty that helped an Altoona-based business celebrate its 70th anniversary last year. The company also was named Small Business of the Year last week by the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce for firms with 26 to 150 employees. Nohre and Co., CPA's earned the title for organizations with 25 or fewer employees.

The award's criteria include staying power, growth in number of employees, increase in sales and/or unit volume, financial success, entrepreneurship, innovation of product or service, response to adversity, community involvement and innovative efforts shown in areas of local or national interest. Businesses also must be chamber

members for at least five years.

Benedict Refrigeration Service sells, installs and services refrigeration equipment for commercial customers. It also provides new and used restaurant equipment and other services.

Business eventually outgrew the Water Street location, and a new facility was built at 1036 Harlem Street in Altoona. Tim, a graduate of Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis, came to work full time for his father, John, in 1977.

"I take a lot of pride in it being a family business," Tim said. "And it wasn't without challenges; my father and I used to fight about things quite a lot. But it's going strong in the third generation, and it's important to keep that going for the fourth."

Tim described his first role with the family business as a part-time gofer.

"I did anything they needed," he said. "I washed trucks, helped with installs and made runs for parts."

Tony, now 25, had a similar experience when he started at Benedict. He graduated from UW-Eau Claire with a degree in business management and now works full time for the company. The youngest son, Luke, will join the cause in May after graduating from UW-Eau Claire with a degree in marketing. Amy signed on in a full-time role recently after working for 30 years as a legal assistant for a local law firm.

Tim said he never pressured his kids into following in his footsteps.

"My dad was cool about that," he said. "He said there are opportunities here, but you do what you want in your life, and I've passed that on to my kids."

Tim and Amy became partners in the business in 1982 and took full ownership 10 years later. They added a bar and restaurant line and made other improvements. Today the company can handle restaurant projects from start to finish - from layout to providing tables and chairs to installing kitchen equipment.

The company's expansion plans, however, took a hit on Oct. 5, 2006. A fire left its location at 1036 Harlem Street a total loss. Plans already were under way to relocate to a nearby location at 1003 Harlem Street, but the fire destroyed decades of records and much of the company's inventory.

But Benedict stayed in business. The company's service vans were spared in the fire, and much of its used equipment had been stored in a separate warehouse.

Jerry Salter, owner of Trubilt Auto Body, brought over a crew to help paint the new location and ease the sooner-than-expected relocation effort. Mega Pick'n Save donated food, and other organizations and individuals contributed as well.

"You want to talk about a community coming together to help a business," Tim said. "That was amazing."

Benedict Refrigeration Service today has 38 employees - a 34 percent increase over the past five years - who work out of a 20,000-square-foot facility. It has 39 employees if you factor in Shooter, the family dog, who's served as a shop and showroom greeter for the past six years.

The business recently was forced to lay off two positions, a move due as much to seasonal factors as the recession's influence, but currently is looking to add three workers. The company serves much of west-central Wisconsin and has clients in the Twin Cities. It also has service personnel in the Rice Lake and Hudson areas.

"We've weathered (the recession) quite well, but there have definitely been slow times," Tim said. "We did some cost-cutting to get more efficient, and that definitely helped.

"We're very busy now. Our salespeople have all the work they can handle."

Sales have increased 16 percent over the past five years, and, thanks to those cost-cutting measures, gross profit has grown 26 percent over that time. Employee wages have increased 32 percent.

Membership in a national buying group helps the business keep costs competitive, but it's the employees who make the biggest difference, Tim said. He and Amy reward their staff and their families by sponsoring summer fishing contests, periodic office potlucks and fall cookouts. Employee of the Year winners are determined by peers, and others are recognized with service awards.

Customers also see the personal touch. On the rare occasion that a client complains, the message is immediately forwarded to Tim, who responds with a personal phone call.

"I care very much about my employees," he said. "They're not just numbers to me. I believe in taking care of them and, obviously, our customers. I try to put myself in their shoes."