Family-owned since 1966
Three generations of keeping kitchens running.
CONES Solutions started as one man with one service truck in Moline. Today it is a CFESA Certified Company with three branches, and it is still owned by the same family.
1966 · Founder
William D. Cone
Started the business with one service truck in Moline, after twenty years at the local utility.
1975 · Second generation
Dan and Paula Cone
Bill’s son joined out of technical school and ran the company for most of its life. Dan still consults.
Today · Third generation
The CONES family
Same name over the door, sixty years on.
What we do
We sell, install and repair commercial foodservice equipment: refrigeration, cooking equipment, warewashing and ice. Our technicians work on equipment both in and out of warranty, for a wide range of manufacturers. Parts are stocked at the Moline warehouse and carried on every service vehicle. Corporate headquarters are in Moline, Illinois, with branches in Bloomington and Cedar Rapids covering western and central Illinois and the eastern half of Iowa.
Our history
- 1966
Bill Cone starts the company
After twenty years at the local utility company, where he picked up both the technical training and the management side, Bill founded the business that would carry his name.
- 1974
Incorporated as Cone’s Repair Service, Inc.
Eight years in, the business Bill had been running was incorporated in Iowa. One man and one service truck.
- 1975
Dan Cone joins
Bill’s son came in straight out of technical school to help with the growing workload.
- 1997
Dan takes over
Bill retired and sold the business to Dan, after twenty-two years of Dan working in it.
- 2004
One of the first CFESA Certified Companies
Cone became one of the earliest service agencies recognized by CFESA, the national trade association for commercial food equipment service.
- 2005
Trading as the Dan Cone Group
Dan took the business out under a new name that reflected a team rather than a single technician. The corporation kept its original name; this was the name on the trucks.
- 2022
The third generation buys the business
Dan’s son Travis Cone and son-in-law Jason Gavin purchased the company.
- 2023
CONES Solutions, Inc.
The corporate name itself changed for the first time since 1974, dropping the Dan Cone Group name and marking a deliberate strategy of growth.
CFESA Certified Company
What that certification actually requires
The Commercial Food Equipment Service Association is the trade association for professional service and parts distributors, founded in 1963. Its company certification has five requirements: financial standing, education and training, industry participation, industry relations, and professionalism. Certified companies must recertify every three years.
CONES has held that certification since 2004, when it became one of the first service agencies to earn it.
Verify on cfesa.com ↗Opens CFESA’s site in a new tab
Mission, vision and how we get there
Our mission
To provide reliable, timely, and professional foodservice equipment sales and service to the hospitality industry.
Our vision
To be the premier provider of foodservice repair and equipment by fostering a culture of growth and sustainability.
CONES Solutions is committed to building a business as great as its customers. The strategy for getting there is three things:
- Invest in our people.
- Align people with processes for high-performance teamwork.
- Build long-term relationships through a total quality culture.
Our values
Customer Satisfaction
We listen to our customers’ needs and expectations, and work to exceed them.
Quality and Safety
We hold to the standards of quality and safety our certification requires, so equipment performs and lasts.
Integrity and Excellence
We strive for excellence while dealing with integrity: with customers, with suppliers, and with each other.
Innovation and Improvement
We look for better ways to run the work, rather than defending the way it has always been run.
Teamwork and Collaboration
We work as ONE team, supporting each other and sharing what we know.
Where we are
Dan is still here
Dan sold the business to Travis and Jason in 2022 and stayed on as a consultant, which is his title and an understatement of what he actually does. He still turns up and works on equipment when he feels like it, which is often enough to keep his hands in. Forty-odd years after walking in out of technical school, the service work is still the part he likes.