John Bouley - Recipient of the MDNA Craig L. Ward Person of the Year

Much of John Bouley’s adult life has been spent in service to others: to his family, his business associates and customers, his community, his nation, and to the world.

John owns and operates Furnace Brokers International, which buys, sells, appraises, and exports industrial heat treat furnaces and ovens from its headquarters in Tolland, Conn., a Hartford suburb. He has been in the thermal processing business since 1973 and has run Furnace Brokers since 2016, when Clarence Sherman, his original business partner, retired.  They established the company as Furnace Brokers, Inc., in 1983, and remain the best of friends.

“I’m a very proud member of the MDNA and have been since January 1990,” John said in a recent interview. He has chaired the MDNA’s Northeast Chapter and remains an active member there. “I like what we stand for,” he continued. “I really appreciate its Code of Ethics and the (Austin D. Lucas) scholarship program.”

Furnace Brokers operates on a global level, buying and selling used industrial heat treating furnaces and ovens. The majority of its sales are in ovens, and it also offers some new equipment. “We can give you value and you can have it today, at a substantial reduction in price,” he said of Furnace Brokers’ appeal to customers. “We buy and sell, and we’ll refer rebuilds to a network we’ve established.”

John is a Rhode Island native who enlisted in the Marines at age 17. His four-year stint included a Vietnam combat tour as a helicopter door-gunner.  Home from the service in 1971, he enrolled in college, then a Marine buddy pointed him to a summer job in Connecticut with a used furnace dealer.

“Within a month or so, I fell in love with the business,” he said. That was the start of his association with Industronics, Inc., which is where he met Sherman. They worked together for 10 years before facing a career crossroads and deciding to go into business together, which, he said, “was the best thing I ever did.”

John and his wife Cathy live in Tolland and have three adult children and a couple of grandkids. His community involvement has included a lengthy stint as a Little League baseball coach. And for the past 25 years, John has been active through his local Roman Catholic church in relief work in the Caribbean nation of Haiti. He joined the board of the Outreach to Haiti organization and has made numerous trips to the nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince, where Outreach is involved in food distribution, a health clinic, and education. Though he has been unable to visit Haiti since 2019 because of the nation’s crippling social unrest, he remains devoted to the cause.

“It has been my life’s mission,” he reflected. “The people of Haiti are special —hard-working and willing to work. They just want an opportunity.”

John is not about to walk away from the chance to provide that opportunity.  “I believe God brought me back from Vietnam for a reason,” he reflects. “And this is it.”

Mr. Bouley was named MDNA Person of the year at the MDNA Annual Meeting that took place at the 2025 Convention in New Orleans.  Named in honor of Former MDNA President Craig L. Ward.  Mr. Ward was dedicated to his community and beyond.  He was MDNA’s president from 2021 to 2023.  This award is presented annually, honoring a member’s commitment to benevolence and community impact, as well as their excellence in the used machinery industry.

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