Our Humble Beginnings
General Insulation Company was founded in 1927 by George Hinman, a Johns Manville sales representative. General Insulation Company originated in Cambridge, Massachusetts and functioned as a Boston area contractor. In 1973, after surviving three generations of the ownership of the Hinman family, George’s son Bill redirected the focus of the company to insulation distribution. Peter Hinman took the reigns of leadership of General Insulation Company in 1975 and remained in control until 1978 when the company was bought by Jack Doherty. Peter Hinman continued to manage the business until 1982.

Start of an Insulation Powerhouse
In April of 1982, Jack Doherty sold General Insulation Company to Frank Granara. At this time, General Insulation Company had only a single location in Somerville, Massachusetts, but maintained annual sales of roughly $900,000. In as little as three years, Frank's effect was evident. Frank opened a location in Auburn, Massachusetts (later relocated to Millbury). Just one year later, the Lewiston, Maine and Hartford, Connecticut branches opened. Frank Granara embarked on an aggressive growth strategy.

Your Distributor of Choice
Despite facing a minor setback with the closing of the Hartford branch, General Insulation Company continued growing at an exponential rate. Hartford’s business transferred to Millbury, Massachusetts.

In the late 1980’s, Frank set his sights, yet again, on expansion. The New England economy began to slow, but General Insulation Company offset this downturn in the economy by opening branches in warmer climates. The Orlando, Florida branch opened and thrived on the opportunities offered by the proximity to the Disney complex and the forthcoming Universal Studios theme park. The early 1990’s brought General Insulation Company to a Texas economy opening the Dallas, Texas branch in 1991. Frank’s intuition saw only improvement for the Texas economy.

By 1999, General Insulation Company had purchased the Schenectady, NY branch of Snowbelt Insulation, as well as TruTemp Industrial, and Northeast Specialty Insulations Incorporated. By the end of 1999, General Insulation Company opened 12 additional branches, including one branch in the Atlanta, Georgia market which was preparing for the 1996 Olympic Games, and also including one branch which opened in the United States' largest market, New York City.

21^st Century
By the end of the year 2000, General Insulation had opened four additional branches: San Francisco, California; Camden, New Jersey; Long Island City, New York; and Chicago, Illinois. Frank saw the need for a fabrication branch similar to Northeast Specialty Insulation in the south. Thus in 2001 Southeast Specialty Insulation, Inc opened near General’s Tampa, Florida branch.

By the end of 2007, General Insulation Company opened up in the Canadian market in Halifax and Toronto. We also acquired Alloyd Supply, Inc. Based in Dayton, Ohio, Alloyd Supply fueled General Insulation’s expansion into the Midwest. Currently, GIC is the largest distributor of 3M fire-stopping products in the United States.

Future
Granara intends to keep General Insulation expanding over the coming years. General Insulation Company is one of the biggest distributors of insulation products, HVAC products, and fire-stopping products. GIC intends to remain the largest distributor of 3M fire-stopping products in the future. General Insulation Company continually strives to be the #1 distributor of choice.