Executive Profile

Executive Profile Kimberly LaRoche

Owner/Manager, Valor Enterprises of Florida LLC

Kimberly has three adult sons (Alphonso, Edouard, and Jordan) and is a native Floridian. She was educated at Florida A&M University and her fields of expertise are operations management and training and development. Her hobbies are love of people, dance, and music. Kimberly loves anything outdoors, including fishing with her mother, Gertrude Bell, and swimming.

“The diversity of my mentors are what I think made for the best lessons. Most of them demonstrated excellence in professionalism, fair treatment of employees, communication and ability to understand and relate to the messaging provided by your team. ”

How did you get your start in the filter industry?

After research of initially looking to partner with a local filter company for a filter delivery service, our eyes were opened to the much larger world of HVAC, filter quality, and their relationship to clean air initiatives. We initially took a very small trial with a local county to help their team out with the timely change of filters. The trial was successful and soon thereafter, there was a bid opportunity and Valor Enterprises of Florida was successful. From there, we have continued to grow.

What's the most challenging aspect running a filter company?

Distribution lines. It’s hard to get the filters to our warehouse in an economical way. In searching for the best product, we tend to find them in different states/regions. This increases our cost to get the filter from the provider to our warehouse. Because we work by contract, this has been challenging for us to absorb the additional cost when necessary. There has also previously been issues with receiving filters in particular sizes, but this gap has closed significantly.

What’s the best piece of business advice anyone ever gave you?

Invest in your employees.

If you don’t, someone else will - This resonated with me because no matter if I’m working for a large or a small company, or even for myself, there has to be an investment in the “employee”. Without good employees, you have nothing. So, invest the time, resources, and funding into them on every level you can. And when you’re done with the tangibles, give a little of yourself so they know who they are connected to as well as what you’re truly about.

What do you think is the biggest challenge the air filtration industry currently faces?

From my perspective, continuing to provide filters at a fair and consistent price will be a challenge. With the cost of everything going up, and carriers changing how they will charge for the load, the end cost to the purchaser has grown considerably and could continue to grow.

Did you have a business mentor and if so, who is/was it?

I love people and look for opportunity to grow with every interaction. As a result, I have had many mentors along the way. Men, women, black, white –The diversity of my mentors are what I think made for the best lessons. Most of them demonstrated excellence in professionalism, fair treatment of employees, communication and ability to understand and relate to the messaging provided by your team. I’ve incorporated their lessons into all that I do. While there are many mentors who have supported me and demonstrated excellence, I’ll name just a few: Michael Johnson, President and CEO of J&A Group, Timothy Davis, Owner of 4TD Kids, and Kim Taylor, Human Resource Manager of Federal Express (Retired). A few of the many that I admire and who have collectively helped me to lay down a strong professional framework.

How has your company benefited from NAFA membership.

While we are relatively new to NAFA, what we look forward to is aligning ourselves with others in the industry for further growth through connected resources. It is also a great opportunity for us to continue to learn about filters and the latest in the industry from the best there is. 

Valor Enterprises of Florida began in 2019 as an idea for a company that could provide quality services that are flexible and trending for a reliable customer base.

Through our research of the HVAC and filter industries, it became clear that there could be a need for larger companies and municipalities to have a third-party service to change filters on a regimented cycle of service. The era of COVID has taught us that the cleanliness of the air we are breathing in small spaces can be life changing. Our next steps are to continue our growth with other service contracts related to filter changing and to possibly diversify in the area of filter sales. We have recently been certified as a Minority Business and hope to connect with others who are in need of a Minority Certified partner. Keep your eyes on Valor Enterprises of Florida. We are making plans to be around for a while.

Meet MANN+HUMMEL Air Filtration Americas

Big Business News

Three of the air filtration industry’s leaders, Tri-Dim Filter Corporation, Tri-Dim Hardy & Pamlico Air have formed the Air Filtration Americas division for the Life Sciences & Environment segment of MANN+HUMMEL. Pamlico Air, with its state of the art manufacturing facilities and nationwide footprint, has joined Tri-Dim Filter Corporation’s rich 60+ year legacy and nationwide service footprint, along with Tri-Dim Hardy and its strong Canadian sales and manufacturing footprint. Together we create an air filtration industry leader in North America.

One Team. One Goal. One Voice.

What does this integration mean?

- Increased footprint & sales representation across the Americas - Financial strength & backing by 80+ years filtration industry leader - Access to greater supply of industry resources - More manufacturing locations - Enhanced product o ering - Superior customer service - Expedited lead times

Shawn Windley President