Gaus-Scott: A Six-Decade, Feel-Good, Family Business Story for Tough Times
Date Posted: January 7, 2021
Posted In: Organizations, People,
Editor’s Note: Ron Unterreiner, founder of PEOPLE of Construction, has been mentoring W/MBE contractors for the past seven years. One of his mentees has been Patty Gaus, owner of Gaus Acoustics. Recently Patty and her husband Tom told Ron the story of Gaus-Scott Company, the business that began the family story that resulted in Patty’s entry into the industry.
by Ron Unterreiner, Founder, PEOPLE of Construction
It started in 1961 when Edward Gaus and Leonard Scott decided to exit from Ahrens-McCarren and take the entrepreneurial plunge into their own business. With a few bucks and a pocket full of dreams, they started a small commercial heating and ventilating company representing some of the most respected manufacturers in the business and selling their products to the HVAC contracting community.
Ed and Leonard flipped a coin to determine the order of their names in the company title and with that coin toss, Gaus-Scott was born. That was sixty years ago.
Leonard Scott retired in 1980 and Ed Gaus became sole owner of the company. Five years later Ed invited his son Tom Gaus, fresh off a football scholarship from Vanderbilt University, to join the firm as a salesperson and estimator…and janitor when necessary.
Tom worked alongside his dad for 10 years before assuming ownership and the title of president upon Ed losing his battle with cancer at the young age of 63. Tom has now been in place at Gaus-Scott for 35 years. His name is associated with many commercial and institutional buildings dotting the landscape of the St. Louis and Kansas City marketplace. Locally, these include Busch Stadium, Barnes Jewish Hospital, and Lambert Airport
The firm still represents some of the same manufacturers they started with 60 years ago, including Kinetics Noise Control where they serve as the exclusive representative for Missouri, southern Illinois and Kansas.
Gaus-Scott is known as a regional leader in matters of noise control in commercial and industrial buildings. They specialize today in vibration and isolation, noise barriers, seismic restraint devising solutions for unique noise problems in the built environment. Their customers include many of the major HVAC contracting firms in the greater St. Louis and Kansas City marketplace.
Tom has invited his son Andrew to join the firm and help take the firm forward. The company’s offices are in the Maplewood area. The company owns an office building that is shared with Gaus Acoustics, a successful commercial and interior architectural acoustics firm founded by Tom’s wife, Patty in 2012.
When asked how he will celebrate the company’s sixty years in business, Tom replied he simply wants to reconnect and reunite with the many good industry friends and firms that helped him achieve success through the years. He is happiest when asked to solve a noise problem in a commercial or industrial setting that has escaped the minds of others before him.
There are not many firms in our industry that can stand the test of time. It takes focus, determination, and an unwavering commitment to being the best resource possible for your customers, both in the good times and challenging ones. It takes a family that has values, professional integrity, and personal ethics that transcend generations.
Congratulations to Gaus-Scott for representing their manufacturers, their customers, and our industry so well.