Executives aplenty mouth catch phrases about their businesses being "nothing without our people." During an era of outsourcing, temporary hires, early buyouts and battered loyalties, such tributes frequently strike a dissonant note.

But when the bosses at Southern Refrigeration Corp. of Roanoke emphasize how important the company's employees are, their words have a sincere ring.

"That's been the secret of our success," said Jack Lang, 71, an employee of Southern Refrigeration since 1965 and company president for more than 30 years. "Without a doubt, we consider them to be our most valuable asset."

Lang spoke during a recent interview at Southern Refrigeration's new $4 million, 70,000-square-foot distribution center and corporate headquarters on Shenandoah Avenue. Southern Refrigeration, founded in Roanoke in 1947 by Lang's late brother-in-law Bill Andrews, is a wholesale distributor of refrigeration, air-conditioning and heating supplies, parts and equipment. Its new facility opened Nov. 7.

For its fiscal year ended Oct. 31, Southern Refrigeration had sales of more than $35 million, said Lang. The company operates wholesale distribution centers in nine Virginia communities, including Roanoke, Christiansburg and Lynchburg. It has 85 employees companywide, with 50 in Roanoke.

The privately held company doesn't disclose profits; it has had an employee stock ownership plan since 1991.

Kudos by longtime customers might help undergird Lang's certainty about the worth of experienced employees.

Dick Foster, a store mechanic for Kroger Mid-Atlantic for 22 years, said he likes Southern Refrigeration's new building and its layout of counter space and at-hand merchandise for wholesale customers. But Foster said he returns as a customer time and again because of the savvy people who staff the counter.

"Their personnel are the best in the valley when it comes to parts," said Foster. "That's what keeps us coming back. Usually, they have everything you need."

Lang, who grew up during the Great Depression, said the company's strategy for growth has tended toward conservative, with an emphasis on steady instead of sudden, dramatic expansion.

"We've been able to compete against much larger companies because we're more flexible. We don't have to go through a lot of layers of management to make decisions," he said.

The decision to build a new distribution center and corporate headquarters on bare land along Shenandoah Avenue did not come easily, he said. Key factors included a need for consolidation in Roanoke, where Southern Refrigeration had been operating out of a Salem Avenue location and two separate warehouses, and, oddly enough, a national mandate from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Beginning Jan. 23, manufacturers of central air-conditioning systems and heat pumps must produce units with an energy efficiency rating of 13 SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio), up from 10 SEER. Production and distribution of these more energy-efficient models began years ago. The new units are significantly bigger than less energy-efficient models.

Southern Refrigeration, a distributor of Heil brand heating and cooling equipment, needed more warehouse space to store the larger units and more truck docks to handle deliveries by 18-wheelers, said Gary Click, executive vice president.

And the steadily growing company simply needed room to grow, said Click. The new facility's site at 3140 Shenandoah Ave. offers room for expansion, he said.

"I think everybody is tickled to be here," he said. "This is so much better than we had before."

Lang said he is thinking about retirement and "trying to phase myself out." He said he is proud of what the company has become.

"Through the years, we just evolved from a humble beginning. And the company has evolved through a lot of hard work by a lot of people. We always try to do the right thing, to be honest with our customers, our vendors and our employees."