In 1936, George Koch Sons decided for the first time to expand into an industry completely unrelated to their other business, the air conditioning industry. George Koch Sons bought a Carrier franchise and became the first franchised distributor for Carrier Air Conditioning Company. During this time, only two places in Evansville were air conditioned. They were cooled with well water that was run through a cooling coil with a large fan placed to blow across it and create cool air. Evansville became an air-conditioned city much sooner than other same size cities.