Sun Ray Heating, Inc. was started by Chris Sundeen at 89th & Ashland in Chicago during the mid 1930’s under the name of the Sun Ray Stoker Company. He passed the company on to his son, Harry S. Sundeen. Harry changed the name to Sun Ray Heating Company in the late 1940’s. He sold the business to his son, Harry C. Sundeen, and his son-in-law, Jack Brooks. They moved the business to Homewood in the mid 1960’s. The partnership between Harry and Jack was dissolved around 1970. In the early 70’s, Harry’s oldest son, David, joined the company as an installer/helper. During that period, Sun Ray was primarily a residential contractor doing new homes for local contractors, as well as add-on/replacement and service jobs. On April 18, 1974, Harry C. Sundeen incorporated and changed the name to Sun Ray Heating, Inc. Harry’s other sons, Philip, Kevin, and Tim, and son-in-law, Wally, also joined the family business. The Company stayed in Homewood until 1980 when they relocated into a new building at 216th & Main St., in Matteson, IL. Harry retired at the age of 56 in 1985. Since then, the 5th generation has entered the business, including David’s son, Jason, and 2 nephews, Brian and Jeffery. Today, David is President and is mentoring his son, Jason to lead the company in the future.
In 1999, David purchased the old, run-down Vindee building. He remodeled and upgraded it to a new 18,000 sq. ft. modern facility and relocated Sun Ray to its present location at 21740 Main St., in Matteson. Sun Ray was awarded the Matteson Beautification Award in 2001 for its improvement to the community.
On October 5, 2003, Sun Ray was hit by a devastating fire, losing a major portion of the building, several vehicles, and all of it’s inventory. The fabrication shop and offices sustained extensive damage as well. Through the help of its dedicated employees, friends, and American Family Insurance Co., Sun Ray was able to maintain business and rebuild with very minimal interruption to our customers. Today we are operating as efficiently as ever.