1981

Wanda Madden (Tim's Wife), brings home 'Be your own chimney sweep' from the Greenville Library.

Tim read every piece of literature he could get his hands on and shortly after the idea of starting his own chimney-cleaning business became more of a reality. "It was God's inspiration to me to start a chimney company." Madden wrote.

A True Leap of Faith!

December 11th, 1981

Shadrach & Co. Chimney Sweeps is founded

 This name originated from the biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego  where when the men came out of the fiery furnace, their clothes did not smell of smoke due to their faith. Tim Madden a man of devout faith himself said, "I thought that would be a neat thing since I often smelled of smoke in those early days"

February 1st, 1982

One of Madden's first newspaper ads was in The Mountain Pennysaver.

He also ran ads in the Tri-Village Town Crier. Madden relied on these weekly ads for lead generation. Madden also generated business by going door to door sweeping and inspecting fireplaces and chimney's

July 22nd 1982

The Greenville Local puts Tim Madden on the front page of their Newspaper.

This gives Madden the publicity and boost his small business needs at this time. A year later, in September of 1983, Shadrach & Co. would hire their first office employee.

March 1984

Shadrach & Co. Chimney Sweeps is Changed to Matchless Chimney Care.

Madden described why he changed the name to Matchless,

"(In the first couple years of Shadrach & Co.) We used to hand out matchbooks that said, "For our Match-less Friends," on the back cover, and on the inside, it said, "Told you we were Matchless.""

Madden and his team's precise attention to detail & professionalism in their work deemed them "Matchless" in their quality of service and products. 

* Wanda Madden (Tim's Wife) Can be seen above at their first booth set up at the Altamont Fair in the summer of 1984.

May 8th, 1984

    Tim Madden purchases his first camera and tv set.

When inspecting chimney's, Madden wrote, "It was frustrating not knowing what was up that flue."

The answer to the problem was to insert some sort of camera inside the chimney with a video monitor outside which to view the interior. "A lot of (chimney) sweeps had the idea," Madden admitted. It was designing a workable system at a reasonable price that created the stumbling block to most sweeps. Tim and his business partner Bob Ramey designed a device of their own, bought the parts and hired an engineer from Long Island who had 30 years of experience to put one together for them.

June - 1984

Madden patents the Matchless Chimney Monitor and starts 'Matchless Chimney Monitors'.

The next step was to have it reviewed by their peers. The National Guild of Chimney-Sweeps had a 4-day tradeshow in Washington DC and Madden & Ramey brought the camera system to the show. They built a chimney and used it to demonstrate their video device more than 400 times. The result was a number of orders at $973 a unit, to Sweeps across the country. Matchless Chimney Monitor's is born.

January 1st, 1985

New York State becomes the first in the nation to require that after a chimney fire, an inspection be made before the fireplace or woodstove can be used again.

Madden wrote "With the new video equipment, the homeowner need never again depend on someone else to answer the question. "Is my chimney still safe?" Seeing is believing" "If we save even one life, then we've done a good job."

Summer - 1986

Matchless Chimney Care acquires The Woodburners Shop & its inventory, which supplied Fisher Stoves to the capital region.

Spring of 1987

 Matchless Chimney Care purchases Starkweather Supply, a wood stove distributer in Glenmont, NY. Matchless would dedicate this location as their central hub of business. This location in Glenmont still serves as the main location sales, service and warehousing.

Summer of 1987

Matchless Chimney Care changes its name to Matchless Stove & Chimney, Inc.

Wood Stove companies would bring their stoves in on trucks and trailers and sell the wood stoves right out the back of the truck in Matchless' parking lot. The Wood Stove industry was booming due to the nationwide oil crisis 10 years earlier and it crucial for Matchless to market stoves in their brand name.

Summer of 1988

Matchless Stove & Chimney Purchases Otto Best Chimney Sweep Extraordinaire

September of 1994

Madden sets up massive booth at the Altamont Fair.

Matchless was a frequent visitor of the Fair in those days. Tim's daughter mentioned "It would take upwards of a week to set up those booths."  His 6 children (some pictured above) would be seen handing out fliers, boxes of matches and signing up people for chimney sweeps. 

A True family-Run business

Throughout the '90s and early 2000's it was becoming increasingly clear that Tim's sons were taking special interest in the company.

Whether it was grooming the grounds of the Glenmont location, sweeping chimneys, or installing fireplaces, they were doing it all, learning the ins and outs of Matchless Stove & Chimney, doing quite the good job mind you. 

September of 2007

As Matchless continued to grow, the time for the company to spread it wings had come.

On a rainy day, in the fall of 2007, Matchless Stove & Chimney opened its doors in Clifton Park, NY serving an ever growing Saratoga County.

TV ADs 2008-2017

"Matchless Stove & Chimney, Can we Build a Fire for you!"

Whenever the capital regions thinks of Matchless Stove & Chimney, the first thing that comes to mind is their catchy jingle from their iconic tv ads in the mid 2000s.

Meet Jeremiah Madden

As Matchless continued to grow and expand, so did Tim & Wanda's son, Jeremiah's interest and devotion to Matchless. It was becoming evident that Jeremiah's vision was to grow Matchless while blessing others for God's glory. In 2018, Jeremiah's transition to leadership and taking Matchless into his care took to foot.

From Bleak to Booming

In 2020, the Covid-19 Pandemic initially hit Matchless hard as it did all business', however through prayer, determination, and an influx of post-pandemic business, Matchless blossomed. 

In 2021, Jeremiah had set eyes on the retail plaza at 1581 Rt.9 in Halfmoon, NY. His plans were to leave the leased showroom just a few miles north and purchase the retail plaza to open a state-of-the-art showroom for Matchless Stove & Chimney.

A Grand Opening!

Matchless purchased the Halfmoon location in June of 2021. Remarkably, in just a few short months, Matchless had completely transformed the location into a beautiful showroom offering 24 fireplace displays with the most current designs, finishes, colors, and features.

On a beautiful September morning in 2021, Matchless Stove & Chimney's grand opening took place at 1581 Rt.9 in Halfmoon, NY

The Expansion Across the River

For so long, the Hudson River has divided Rensselaer and Albany counties for residents not only physically but mentally as well. When folks living in East Greenbush, Troy, or Rensselaer think of going to Albany, they think of it as a day's journey. Matchless Stove & Chimney decided to "part the Red Sea (Hudson River)", and purchased the old NAPA Auto Parts building at 300 Columbia Turnpike, in East Greenbush in early 2023. Once again, under the devoted leadership of Jeremiah, he and his crew transformed the location into a spectacular showroom and warehouse to serve the people of Rensselaer county.