Southampton - William Berkoski, Sr. got his start installing and servicing refrigeration units for local businesses in the Hamptons before building his own ice manufacturing plant in his backyard in 1964. Today, his son, Bill Berkoski, Jr., still delivers ice across Long Island with the same eye toward quality and customer service, though now he applies that business model to an ever-expanding list of products.

At full capacity, Berkoski's ice plant can pump out up to 85 tons of ice per day.

As the business developed, the senior Berkoski purchased North Sea Fuel in the late 1960s to add a winter component. "It wasn't his idea," Berkoski, Jr. explained from his office on Mariner Drive just off of County Road 39, "The same carts that would deliver coal in the winter would deliver ice in the summer." Berkoski, Jr., now the owner of the company, had planned on becoming a commercial pilot after graduating from high school, though the mid-1970s "wasn't the best time to be a pilot," between the fuel crisis, the advent of the 747 and an influx of experienced pilots returning from Vietnam. Looking for work, Berkoski joined his father delivering ice and oil in 1974, and while "Dad was happy with a one-or-two man operation, I wanted to make things bigger."

The younger Berkoski obtained a number of chain stores throughout Suffolk and Nassau Counties as clients for the ice delivery service. The company grew from his father's small ice plant producing 80 bags of ice a day to four industrial ice-making machines that can produce 85 tons of ice a day at full capacity. In the heat of the summer, 200 to 250 tons of ice are shipped out of the Southampton plant to points across Long Island every day.

Ice and fuel run on complementary cycles, as ice sales are highest in the summer and wane in the winter as the demand for heating oil rises. While the ice company deals mainly with commercial retailers such as convenience and grocery stores, oil sales target a more residential consumer, which segued well into Berkoski's next venture: Berkoski Security.

The warehouse on Mariner Drive has a fully automated packaging system that bags cubbed ice in five, ten and 40-lbs. bags.

Berkoski cites his 27 years as a fireman as the reason for getting into the safety sector. As businesses go, "It's the same as with oil," Berkoski explained, "It's mostly residential, but we do some commercial [business] as well." Security adds another leg to the stool and is another seemingly recession-proof industry, according to Berkoski. "Ice and oil aren't really affected by the economic climate - people need oil and people need ice. The only thing that can affect these businesses is a dramatic turn in the weather," he asserted.

Security seems to have a similar immunity to the economic downturn. "When times are good people buy it to secure their stuff, when times are bad people really want security," Berkoski continued, adding that the security company has seen a decline in new home installations, however there hasn't been a rush of cancelations either. "We've been in business now 45 years," he explained, "Except for a few minor years, every year was better than the previous one in sales," and he expects 2009 will follow suit despite fluctuations in both ice and oil prices.


"They enhance one another," Berkoski maintained, "People say, 'Geez, you do all kinds of things.' But it's like a supermarket, there are lots of products not separate businesses." Berkoski Security is teamed up with General Electric (GE), one of the largest conglomerate businesses in the world, which employs a similar business model, adding complimentary industries to a single reliable company.

Berkoski's next venture will be in solar panels. "I'm in the oil business, so I'm looking toward designing a hybrid system," he explained. In an attempt to catch the next wave of development without putting himself out of business, Berkoski plans to install solar panel systems on homes and use the electricity to power heat pumps, an alternative heating and air conditioning system that uses electrical power rather than fuel oil. Heat pumps are usually more expensive to operate, as electricity rates are currently higher than oil prices, however with solar assistance homeowners would be able to continue regulating the temperature in their homes in the fall and spring at a comparably low cost, though they would still need oil in the dead of winter. "It's a practical way to offer an alternative," Berkoski contended.

Bill Berkoski, Jr. joined his father's business in 1974 and began to broaden the business into new ventures, adding an ever-expanding list of products and services.

Though his products are eclectic, Berkoski's business model is based around cultivating a good company name. "My whole philosophy in business is quality. My name is on everything," he explained, touting Berkoski Oil as the first to upgrade houses to high-quality boilers despite the fact that they burned less fuel. The goal, according to Berkoski, is sustainability and longevity, not quick profits. "I'm not the biggest oil company around," he assented, "but I'm still around."

Berkoski's commitment to quality may be most evident in his ice, which is clear as glass and packaged in a pristine, state-of-the-art facility that helped set the standards for the International Packaged Ice Association (IPIA), which establishes safety regulations for ice production nationwide. "The difference between homemade ice and ours is there's no cloudy center," Berkoski explained, as ice made in a tray freezes from the outside in, pushing all the minerals in the water toward the center. Berkoski Ice is frozen vertically, keeping it dense and pure. "A cube that doesn't have impurities will absorb heat better, make it taste-free and it can't go bad," he asserted, standing firmly behind every bag with his name on it.

While the "ice industry is going as well as its ever been," and the fuel delivery service is thriving, Berkoski is always looking for the next enterprise. "I don't know what I'm going to be selling next," he said, comparing his business to a river winding its way through the terrain, "Whatever comes next, that's what I'll be doing."