Juli Weber and Air Equipment & Repair Mark 50 Years Serving Customers
“I’m opening this business, and you’re gonna go down and answer the phone,” said Juli Weber’s dad.
“Okay,” replied 16 year old Juli, who started working at Air Equipment & Repair in downtown San Antonio, TX, the same day it opened on March 1, 1976.
Fifty years later, both Juli and Air Equipment & Repair remain, serving a growing customer base of contractors and manufacturers.
From Phones to Almost Everything Else
Air Equipment & Repair (AER) began as a simple repair shop for DeVilbiss spray equipment. Juli’s father, Pat Rhoades, funded the business after the original investor backed out.
While Juli handled phone calls, William “Butch” Pannell handled equipment repairs.
Juli completed high school and quickly took on bookkeeping and accounting. “That’s the only thing I loved as far as school went,” she recalls.
“I also became customer service. I waited on customers. I talked to customers on the phone. I could go back and do shipping if I had to. I did almost everything except for the repairs.”
Juli wasn’t really interested in learning how to do repairs. Besides, “Butch could repair anything.”
In 1980, Butch became a business partner with Juli’s father. At the time, most of their customers were painting contractors, sandblasters and people dragging in hydraulic jacks for repair.
Growing Up with the Business
As Air Equipment & Repair matured, so did Juli. Seven years after AER opened, she married her husband Paul – not Butch.
Longtime customers still mistake Juli and Butch as a married couple because they’ve worked together for so long. “No, no… I have a real husband,” clarifies Juli.
Paul Weber served 34 years as a firefighter and often got put to work at AER.
“He’s a handyman,” says Juli. “He came down here and put cabinets in. He’s helped one of the guys. We don’t pay him for it. He just comes down and does it for us.”
Paul and Juli’s children also grew up in the business, running through the shop before and after daycare and school.
As her dad’s health declined in the early 2000s, Juli purchased AER from her parents.
“A lot of people think they gave me the company, but no, I had to buy it because that was their livelihood. They had to live on something,” she says.
Becoming one of the industry’s few female owners was an intentionally subtle transition.
“I never even called myself a boss,” she said. “Everybody’s known me since I was 16, so I just said, ‘We’re all gonna work as a team.’”
Becoming Part of ICAFe Companies
Juli and Butch were sharing ownership, when Air Equipment & Repair became part of ICAFe Companies on Jan. 1, 2020. They felt reassured by ICAFe’s commitment to not change their business’ name nor how customers experience AER’s personal service and technical knowhow.
That continuity proved essential during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Air Equipment & Repair stayed open, stayed connected with other ICAFe branches, and continued supporting AER customers.
“A lot of our customers were essential because they’re manufacturers, so they didn’t shut down either,” says Juli.
Still Serving Customers In Person and Remotely
Today, Air Equipment & Repair remains a trusted supplier for spray foam contractors and manufacturers. While industrial customers place most orders remotely, AER still serves walk‑ins.
“Probably on a given day we could have eight to ten people come in, usually spray foam contractors,” says Juli. “We keep a pretty nice showroom. My dad was very tedious. Everything had to be nice and clean.”
Third and Fourth Generations
Pat’s clean showroom standard continues, even after he passed away in 2004, as does a strong family dynamic.
All three of Juli’s children now work at AER, supporting customer service, ordering, operations, and accounting.
“I didn’t push it. I just said, ‘Hey, we have an opening. Do you want to join Air Equipment?’” says Juli.
New generations keep coming. Juli adds her granddaughters “have grown up here.”
50 Years and Looking Forward
After 50 years, Juli still enjoys coming to work.
“I enjoy the customers, I enjoy the people I work with,” she says.
Looking forward, Juli positively views Air Equipment & Repair’s future as part of ICAFe Companies.
“It’s a healthy thing… We all work as a team.”
