In 1909, Maurice S. Johnston started out on a horse-drawn milk wagon. By 1932 he was repairing and reselling refrigeration equipment from his basement on Mulberry Avenue. Ninety-four years later, the company that bears his initials is still built the same way: on mechanical aptitude and showing up.
Three generations of Johnstons
The company moved to its Pennsylvania Avenue campus in 1942, on the site of a former Mennonite farm, and both divisions operate there to this day. Maurice F. Johnston joined as a service repairman in 1953 and became the second-generation president. Michael S. Johnston, P.E., the current president, is a licensed professional engineer in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Part of the community, not just the skyline
M.S. Johnston has collected unwanted bicycles and sewing machines for more than 13 years, diverting them from landfills to new lives in developing countries through Bikes for the World. Recycling and reuse aren't marketing here; they're habit.
Why tenure matters
We've been an authorized York dealer since 1939, the longest-tenured York dealer in the world. Most of our employees have been here more than 20 years. In a trade where contractors disappear mid-warranty, that's the fact worth remembering.
