HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019 by HVACR Business

“ They said they were art collectors. ”

“ I didn’t know what Pete was, but I knew he wasn’t in his cage. ”

YOU HAVE ENOUGH THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT. UNRELIABLE PRODUCTS SHOULDN’T BE ONE OF THEM. For generations American Standard has made some of the most-awarded and wellengineered heating and air conditioning products available. From our dealer-focused product innovations, to our large network of distributors—we focus on you, so you can focus on the unique challenges that sneak up on you at your job.

Find a distributor in your area at AmericanStandardAirDealers.com

So Many Inspiring Stories to Tell By Pete Grasso 5

History of the Spot Cooling Industry, part 2 By Terry Tanker 12

Profits and Cash are Not the Same By Ruth King 14

Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business By Joy Gendusa 15

HVACRBUSINESS.COM JUNE 2019 / VOL.14 / NO.6

TOPS IN TRUCKS FLEET DESIGN CONTEST

Page 6

ALSO INSIDE Â» Product Focus ...........................................................19 Military Makeover: Contractors Provide Comfort for Veterans ...................20 20 Questions with William Lewis Owner of Southern Air Pros in Woodstock, Ga.........22

MICHELLE GLASSON LEVITTOWN, PA Franchisee

When I considered a better bottom line... I realized that making positive changes to the ‘bottom line’ was a lot harder than I thought. I’m good at what I manage, but I’m not the master of it all—I needed some help. It was after talking with One Hour that I saw real options—solid solutions that applied to me. And it all started with just a conversation...Shouldn’t you be talking? 866.370.8302

The information presented in this advertisement is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, a franchise. It is for general information purposes only. An offer is made only through delivery of a Franchise Disclosure Document that has been registered with and approved by the appropriate agency in your state, if your state requires such registration (unless an exemption applies). If you are a resident of, or wish to acquire a franchise to be located in a state requiring registration, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in your state. One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising, L.L.C., 12 Greenway Plaza, Suite 250, Houston, TX 77046. Call 1-866-370-8302. ©2017 Clockwork IP, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENTS

JUNE 2019 / VOL.14 / NO.6

F E AT U R E S

Tops in Trucks Fleet Design Contest This year’s winners — Cardinal Heating & Air; GEM Plumbing & Heating; and Southern Air Pros — showcase fleet designs that are bold, memorable and set themselves apart from the competition. By Pete Grasso

Entrepreneurial Spirit: An Oral History of Spot Cooling, part 2 In part two, Ken Swanson and Garth Tagge, discuss how spot cooling went from NFL novelty to mainstream industry segment. By Terry Tanker

D E PA R T M E N T S

19 20

C O LU M N S

Profits and Cash are Not the Same Collect for profitable work quickly, pay the bills associated with that job and stay solvent. By Ruth King

Editor’s Notebook This industry is full of inspiring stories of perseverance. By Pete Grasso

Product Focus Sponsored Content HVACR Contractors Provide Home Comfort for Veterans as Part of ‘Military Makeover with Montel.’

20 Questions with William Lewis Owner of Southern Air Pros in Woodstock, Ga.

Marketing Strategies to Grow Your HVACR Business As long as you invest your marketing dollars in methods proven to generate leads and customers, growing isn’t difficult. By Joy Gendusa

THE EASY WAY TO BOOST PRODUCTIVITY. Adrian Steel’s Drop Down and Grip Lock Ladder Racks are designed with ergonomics and user safety in mind. Whether you’re upfitting a single van or an entire fleet, Adrian Steel has just what you need. Increased efficiency starts now. © Adrian Steel Company 2018, all rights reserved. Adrian Steel Company is an independent equipment manufacturer, prices may vary. Please visit AdrianSteel.com to contact your local distributor for further details.

AdrianSteel.com

PROFITABILITY° Achieve a whole new degree of profitability with LG Air Conditioning Technologies Easy to sell, install and service • Strong brand recognition and consumer loyalty • Powerful marketing, training and incentives for LG Excellence Contractors • Flexible system designs with ducted and duct-free options • Rebates available on many energy efficient systems

Discover why contractors who install LG Air Conditioning Technologies are more profitable. lghvac.com/profitable

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

BY PETE GRASSO THE HVACR MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE

TERRY Tanker Publisher ttanker@hvacrbusiness.com PETE Grasso Editor pgrasso@hvacrbusiness.com MEGAN LaSalla Art Director mlasalla@hvacrbusiness.com BRUCE Sprague Circulation Manager bs200264@sbcglobal.net BARBARA Kerr Executive Assistant bkerr@hvacrbusiness.com

ADVERTISING STAFF EAST COAST/SOUTHEAST JIM Clifford Regional Sales Manager Tel 201-362-5561 Fax 201-334-9186 jclifford@hvacrbusiness.com MIDWEST ERIC Hagerman Regional Sales Manager Tel 216-409-3246 Fax 440-731-8750 ehagerman@hvacrbusiness.com WEST COAST TERRY Tanker Publisher Tel 440-731-8600 Fax 440-731-8750 ttanker@hvacrbusiness.com

HVACR Business, founded January 1981, is a monthly national trade magazine serving contractors, mechanical engineers, manufacturers, manufacturer representatives, wholesalers, distributors, trade associations, and others in the heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) industry primarily in the U.S. The editorial focus and mission of HVACR Business is to provide business owners and managers with the very best business management concepts available. Critical topics covered include leadership, management, strategy, finance, sales, marketing, training, education, staffing, operations, human resources, legal issues, customer service and more. We are dedicated to helping contractors master these key management skills and provide them with the resources necessary to build strong, profitable companies. Every effort is made to provide accurate information, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for accuracy of submitted advertising and editorial information. Copyright©2019 by JFT Properties LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Subscription Rates: Free and controlled circulation to qualified subscribers. Non-qualified persons may subscribe at the following rates: U.S. and possessions: 1 year $48; 2 years $75; 3 years $96; Canadian and foreign, 1-year $108 U.S. funds only. Single copies $8. Subscriptions are prepaid, and check or money orders only. Subscriber Services: To order a subscription or change your address, write to HVACR Business, 31674 Center Ridge Road, Suite 104, North Ridgeville, OH 44039 or call (440) 731-8600; or visit our Web site at www.hvacrbusiness.com. For questions regarding your subscription, please contact bkerr@hvacrbusiness.com. HVACR Business (ISSN 2153-2877) Published monthly by JFT Properties LLC., 31674 Center Ridge Road, Suite 104, North Ridgeville, OH 44039. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to HVACR Business, 31674 Center Ridge Road, Suite 104, North Ridgeville, OH 44039. Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, OH and additional mailing offices. (USPS 025-431)

31674 Center Ridge Road, Suite 104 North Ridgeville, OH 44039 Tel: (440) 731-8600 Fax: (440) 731-8750 Web site: www.hvacrbusiness.com (ISSN: 2153-2877)

www.hvacrbusiness.com www.HVACRBUSINESS.com www.hvacrbusiness.com

So Many Inspiring Stories to Tell

erhaps one of my favorite things about our annual Tops in Trucks Fleet Design Contest (pg. 6) is my opportunity to interview all the finalists. In addition to getting all the details on how and why they came up with their winning truck designs, I also hear some amazing — and often inspiring — stories. Unfortunately, there’s never enough room to print all these great stories within the Tops in Trucks Fleet Design Contest article itself, but I thought I’d use this space to share one of them with you. With more than 25 years of HVAC experience, Anthony Melisi and his wife Dana started their company, AMTEK HVAC, in 2007. They were only dating at the time, but they knew they’d be great partners in business and in life. Since then Amtek HVAC has served Ocean and Monmouth counties in New Jersey with a commitment to developing customer relationships throughout the community. For 10 years they worked hard, growing the company.

made it through the summer months, while Anthony went through rehabilitation to learn how to walk again, how to feed himself again … how to take care of himself again. Prior to Anthony’s paralysis and diagnosis, he and Dana had been following Service Nation Alliance and learning a lot about business from fellow contractors. One thing that really struck a chord with them was the need for formal policies and procedures, something they didn’t have.

This industry is full of amazing and inspiring stories of perseverance.

In addition to doing residential maintenance, AMTEK technicians work with customers to save them time and money, whether it’s going over utility bills or giving them a heads up about problems that might arise so as not to experience a breakdown in the middle of the season. Everything was going good and the Melisis had built a trustworthy, honest company on which people could depend. Then, the unexpected happened. In April 2017, Anthony suddenly became paralyzed from the neck down. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks part of its peripheral nervous system — the network of nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord. So, right in the middle of maintenance season, going into air conditioning season — their busiest time of the year — Anthony was stuck in the hospital, unable to move. As he laid in the MRI for nearly five hours, he prayed like he’d never prayed before. He spent the next 30 days recovering in the hospital, learning to walk and feed himself all over again. Throughout Anthony’s recovery, the Melisis kept telling themselves it’s only a minute in their lives and that they have nowhere else to go but up. Dana immediately — and without question — took charge of the company. She and AMTEK’s head technician

With Anthony’s sole focus on learning how to be himself again and Dana firmly in charge of the company, the time had come to develop and implement those policies and procedures.

Dana, in fact, did more than simply manage the business in Anthony’s absence. No, Dana was — and still is — a true leader. In that first year that Dana took over running the day-today operations, AMTEK grew nearly 500 percent. Anthony and Dana weren’t just grateful that they were in the black and able to pay their mortgage, they were overjoyed that Anthony was recovering and the business had grown to a point where they were able to hire additional employees. Today, Anthony is able to walk again but instead of returning to the helm of the company, he spends his time out in the field, training his technicians. Dana still runs the company. In fact, as you’ll see on the following pages, their winning truck design features what Anthony believes to be the most important aspect of the design: the words “Woman Owned Business.” When people see that and tell Anthony, “I thought you owned the business,” he smiles and tells them he did own the business, but his wife took charge and now she really owns the business. “It was really the best way I could say ‘thank you’ to her for not only taking care of our family and our house, but also our livelihood,” Anthony says.

MAKE A NAME FOR YOURSELF

FLE ST ET DE SIGN CONTE

BY PETE GRASSO

On the roads driving from job to job, parked at a call or at a technician’s home after hours, your trucks are seen by countless customers and potential customers every day.

The not-so-secret secret to success many contractors have learned is to invest in an eye-catching, memorable design for their biggest asset — their fleet of vehicles.

“Remember that when potential customers see your vehicle, more than likely they’re in their own vehicle, so making your brand easily identifiable and your contact information easily readable is of the utmost importance,” says Joseph Kalinowski, creative director for the Content Marketing Institute.

hether your company is large or small, commercial or residential, one of the most important things you need to do is advertise. No matter the size of the business, all HVACR contractors face the same dilemma: How best to use those advertising and marketing dollars.

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

There’s no reason why you shouldn’t use this vast amount of real estate to advertise your company and get your message out there. And, throughout the years, more and more contractors are taking advantage of it and upping their game when it comes to bold, impactful designs that set them apart form the competition. Now in its 13th year, our annual Tops in Trucks Fleet Design Contest pays tribute to those contractors who go above

and beyond to set forth a positive, lasting impression of their companies and this industry. “As you can see with this year’s finalists, there is a consistent theme: Bold colors, recognizable iconography and legibility were key to securing a top spot,” Kalinowski says. “Having a large, wellplaced and recognizable logo is always key for any brand who advertises on outdoor media such as vehicles or outdoor signage such as billboards.” www.hvacrbusiness.com

“I presented a few of the designs to the management team and then momentum took over,” Breiwick says. “I said, ‘If we’re going to do this, let’s do it.’” What resulted from the consultation with KickCharge was a professional, modern design that isn’t, what Breiwick refers to as, “too gimmicky.” “It has a professional feel that appeals to our builders, as well as the general public,” Breiwick says. “The bird logo is something we’d never had before, but it really works from a branding standpoint.” The goal was a design that could be used beyond the trucks … a logo that employees would be proud to wear on a hat or a shirt. Something Breiwick refers to as a cool factor.

“Sometimes, the mentality is, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But the old look was dated and we kind of just blended in with everyone else.” –Kevin Breiwick, Cardinal Heating & Air The days of a fleet of white vans with the company name, phone number and every possible service plastered on the side are going by the wayside as evidenced by the hundreds of entries we’ve seen over the years. Marketing savvy contractors have dialed in to the use of bold colors, impactful imagery and only the most essential information on their trucks to put themselves top of mind when it comes to HVACR services in their market. “What takes this year’s winners to the next level is the not just the icon placement, but their placement and ease of legibility of their contact information,” Kalinowski says.

WINNER

to where it is today. “Sometimes, the mentality is, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’” says Kevin Breiwick, general manager for Cardinal Heating & Air. “But the old look was dated and we kind of just blended in with everyone else.” Even though the company had a great reputation, and received a lot of referrals from other contractors because of their expertise in certain areas, the feeling was that the average homeowner didn’t know them because their trucks didn’t stand out.

RORY RICHARDSON & MIKE HASTINGS, OWNERS Change can sometimes be a difficult thing to embrace, especially when you’ve been doing the same thing since Day 1. Rory Richardson and Mike Hastings started Cardinal Heating & Air in 1991, and they’d used the same basic logo for many years while building their business

After filling out a questionnaire, Breiwick gave KickCharge the direction they needed to come up with the company’s winning truck design.

Kirkland, Wash. | 41 vehicles

www.hvacrbusiness.com

“We wanted something that was extremely bold, and that was going to show up … that you could see from anywhere,” Gemma says. “And that’s exactly the presence that it’s created in the Boston and Rhode Island markets.” To come up with their bold, winning design, Gemma gave the task to Jenny Preservati, business development manager, and Jenn D’Ambra, vice president of operations. The pair took the mission very seriously and began with a lot of research. “We actually started Googling images of different trucks and saving them in a Word document,” D’Ambra says. “Then we’d show them to different people around the office, as well as our technicians, and ask what they were drawn to.”

WINNER

What they found, time after time, was that two trucks in particular kept catching the eye of everyone they surveyed. After digging a little further, they discovered that both those trucks were created by the same design firm: KickCharge Creative.

GEM Plumbing & Heating Services

After contacting KickCharge, D’Ambra continued to do her due diligence on the truck design.

Lincoln, R.I. | 175 vehicles LARRY GEMMA, OWNER Founded in 1949 by Owner Larry Gemma’s father, GEM Plumbing & Heating Services is a family business that

“KickCharge sent over two different color pallets,” she says. “I preferred one, but we decided to see which one would catch the eye of the public better.” continued on page 8

Breiwick took charge of the redesign initiative and looked to the connections he’d made with other contractors around the country. That’s how he found KickCharge Creative. “I honestly really didn’t shop around,” Breiwick says. “It was just like, ‘Yeah, this is the right fit, and these guys know their stuff,’ so that’s how we went with them.”

Cardinal Heating & Air

“Our name didn’t change, who we are and our core values didn’t change, or how we did business,” Breiwick says. “It’s just what we’re presenting out to the public changed.”

was ready for a fresh, new look to celebrate its 70th anniversary.

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

WINNER

Southern Air Pros Woodstock, Ga. | 3 vehicles BILL LEWIS, FOUNDER & CEO As a Navy veteran who started Southern Air Pros in 2016 after working for several other residential and commercial HVACR companies, Bill Lewis has a small company focused on owning the residential market in Woodstock, Ga.

“The idea is to choose something that might be a little uncomfortable, something people aren’t used to seeing, because that will grab their attention.” –Jenn D’Ambra, GEM Plumbing & Heating Services continued from page 7

D’Ambra and Preservati took both color pallets to two different locations in their market and started surveying the public. Contrary to what they thought, the blue, yellow and orange combination won out nearly every time. “It really drove home the idea that when you select a color combination for your company, you shouldn’t necessarily go with the one you like best,” D’Ambra says. “The idea is to choose something that

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

might be a little uncomfortable, something people aren’t used to seeing, because that will grab their attention.” With the color palette chosen, GEM went full steam ahead with KickCharge on the actual design of the truck and, eventually, a complete company rebranding. “We did the trucks first, most importantly because that’s our best return on investment,” D’Ambra says. “The money we spent there is seen instantly, daily, with a fleet of about 150 wrapped vehicles.”

“Honestly, our main focus is we just generally want to own our back yard,” Lewis says. “The idea is to have, essentially, two strong teams, each having a technician and a install crew so that they feed each other.” The original design for Lewis’ fleet of three vehicles was a burgundy van with a compass on it and the words, “Southern Air Pros” … with the southern point on the compass tying it all together. “But it wasn’t getting anyone’s attention,” Lewis says. “It’s a rolling billboard and no one was noticing it.” As an avid reader, Lewis says another contractor suggested he read Dan Antonelli’s book, “Building a Big Small

Business Brand,” and that’s when he decided to contact KickCharge Creative. “I would visit their website and the chat pop-up kept coming up, and I’m like ‘no, no no,’” Lewis says. “Then, all of a sudden Dan himself popped up in the chat window so I asked him a couple of questions, which lead to a full on conversation.” KickCharge listened to what Lewis had to say, figured out where they were going as far as a company and what kind of image they wanted to project. After some back and forth, they presented Lewis with a design that won him over. “Dan has a good way of getting you to understand what you may not want to hear,” Lewis says. “With my previous logo, he asked what the story was with the compass. I told him it was because I was in the Navy and it reminds me of direction and ties into our name. “But then he said, ‘What’s that got to do with air conditioning,’” Lewis recalls. “I admit, I didn’t know.” Southern Air Pros new trucks feature a unique color scheme with a smiling sun — which, if you look closely, incorporates the compass points in its rays.

“ We’re trying to make people happy … when it’s hot, we want to make you cold and when it’s cold, we want to make you hot.” –Bill Lewis, Southern Air Pros

www.hvacrbusiness.com

Combi

RUNNER UP

1st Choice Air Comfort Howell, N.J. | 3 vehicles CHRISTOPHER RILEY, OWNER Chris Riley, owner of 1st Choice Air Comfort, understands the need for an HVACR company to set itself apart from the competition. “In New Jersey, we’ve only recently had licensing so there’s a need as a company to put forth an image of one that dots its I’s and crosses its T’s, so to speak,” Riley says. “We made a substantial investment in opening the company to ensure we could perform quality work and provide service that was above and beyond the other companies in the area.” To help promote this image, Riley knew they needed to come up with a brand that made the customer feel like they were in good hands. So like any diligent business owner, he did his research and found a

company that could help him portray that image: KickCharge Creative. “I had never heard of them before, and when we started talking with them, it just seemed that their idea of business, and our idea of business really aligned,” Riley says. “And we just fell in love with the work that they did.” Riley and his wife spent nearly a year developing their business model and brand, putting all the pieces in place before they opened the door. That included using his father-in-law’s classic car collection as inspiration for their fleet design. “We envisioned a 50s diner feel and when we mentioned that diner hot rod, waitresses on roller skates kind of vibe, that’s when the colors clicked and the formula came together for our brand,” Riley says. “We’re not your typical red, white and blue contractor van, so we really stand out.” continued on page 10

Gobi II

THE MULTI-FEATURE POWERHOUSE Universal Condensate Pump

Unsurpassed functionality in two new condensate pumps from REFCO. Everything you want in a single product to meet every field application.

Quiet mode Configure pump performance to AC unit capacity Diagnostic LED Ensures correct initial installation and assists in diagnostics USB connection View operational pump history Digital sensor Unique digital water level sensor Universal application 6,000 Btu/H up to 120,000 Btu/H (1.75kW to 35kW) Integrated replaceable 10 A fuse Factory-installed replaceable 5 × 20mm 10 A fuse

www.condensate-pumps.com

24/7 customer service: 800 848 4232

REFCO has all the products you need for your daily HVAC/R business.

www.refcoswiss.com www.hvacrbusiness.com

REFCO Manufacturing (US) Inc. 66 B Industry Avenue Springfield MA 01104 Phone: 413 739 4761 Fax: 413 733 9267 sales@refcoswiss.com

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

continued from page 9

RUNNER UP

Magnolia Heating & Cooling Riverside, Calif. | 17 vehicles ERIC & BRENDA SMITH, OWNERS As third generation owners of Magnolia Heating & Cooling, Eric and Brenda Smith knew it was time to update their image as a company and make all of their advertising consistent across the board. “Something fresh is always good,” Brenda Smith says. “We live in a world where we see the same things over and over again, and to make yourself stand out, sometimes you have to do something that’s pretty unique to get noticed.” The only way you can do that is by taking a chance. And the chance Magnolia

Heating & Cooling took was to hold an online contest with designers to come up with a new brand. “If you look up Riverside, you’ll see that the Raincross, which is a bell inside of our logo, is the symbol of Riverside,” Smith says. “When you drive down the streets of downtown, the bell is on all of the light posts. It’s just really a staple feature of our area, so we wanted that as part of our logo all along.” The results of that contest presented the Smiths with the colors and the logo they settled on for their rebrand. Then, with those colors and logo, they got to work designing their trucks. “We have a guy that we worked with that helped us come up with that design,” Smith says. “That was a trying time, between my husband and I, to come up with one that we both agreed on. We both really love the way it looks now, so it worked out well.”

RUNNER UP

Master Mechanical Services Miami | 17 vehicles TINA PINNA & JOANN PINNA, OWNERS For years, family company Master Mechanical Services used the same truck design — white or red vehicle with a small eagle logo and lettering designating their name and all their services. It did well enough, until co-owner Tina Pinna purchased a new vehicle for the fleet and decided she wanted something new. “When I contacted our lettering company, who had done our vinyl lettering for the past seven trucks, I told them I wanted something new,” Pinna says. “The first three designs they sent back had all the same information, but in a different layout.”

Pinna finally called the designer and told her she didn’t just want a different layout, she wanted something completely different. She gave the designer free-reign. “When she finally presented me with three new, completely unique designs, it was time to sell it to my family,” Pinna says. “We’re a family business and all decisions are made by the family … so it was important to get my father on board, since he started the company and had come up with the original design.” When the new designs came back, Pinna says they were actually on a family vacation. Relaxed and away from the business, she showed the designs to everyone and told them to pick one without telling the next person. Majority wins. “And we were pretty much all on board,” Pinna says. “There was no argument and I think it may have helped that we were on vacation so we were away from the stress of the business.”

After some back-and-forth via email,

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

www.hvacrbusiness.com

HONORABLE MENTION

AMTEK HVAC Bayville, N.J. | 4 vehicles DANA MELISI, OWNER Anthony and Dana Melisi started AMTEK HVAC together in 2007 when they were just dating and have worked together to grow it steadily over the past 12 years. But, in 2017, tragedy struck Anthony when he became paralyzed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks part of its peripheral nervous system. “I was paralyzed in the hospital and I went through ten days of ICU and 30 days

of rehab and then another eight months of outpatient rehab,” Melisi says. “That’s how Dana ended up taking over the company a few years ago. So she does all the operations.” Prior to his hospitalization, the Melisis had been following Service Nation Alliance and learning a lot from the membership. Once he was out of rehab and back working, they’d decided it was time to move forward with Service Nation Alliance and implement a lot of what they’d learned.

“We learned that rebranding wasn’t simply a new logo or a new truck, but a whole campaign letting everyone know that you’re a new company,” Melisi says. “Personally, I had to re-learn how to walk and feed myself … I was reborn; so our company too was reborn as a proud, woman-owned business.” AMTEK HVAC wanted to portray an old-school look that customers would recognize as providing old-time service, while also using the latest technology. The blue and orange colors remained, but

were intensified to be as bold and memorable as possible. “It’s all about keeping the design simple … tell your story and get it done,” Melisi says. “The most important thing to me that we’ve put on our vans when we rebranded is on the back door: it says ‘a woman owned business’ because when I got sick Dana really did own this business, she took it over with zero input from me, in hours notice.” continued on page 17

Introducing the MobileAPP! .

Bypass size calculator

EWC product selector

Every tech bulletin ever created

. .

Our Goal: To make your life... A little easier!

Live tech support only 2 clicks away! (available during normal business hours) Available for iOS and Android devices

Download Today! www.hvacrbusiness.com

Download Today! HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT AN ORAL HISTORY OF SPOT COOLING PART 2

PUBLISHER TERRY TANKER SAT DOWN WITH KEN SWANSON AND (THE LATE) GARTH TAGGE, TWO ENTREPRENEURS WHO STARTED AN INDUSTRY BY LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR SPOT COOLING. THIS IS PART TWO OF THEIR STORY. TO READ PART ONE, CHECK OUT THE MAY ISSUE OF HVACR BUSINESS. BY TERRY TANKER

n part one of our story, Ken Swanson and Garth Tagge spoke about the spot cooling industry’s origins and how they began to create demand for this technology by putting units on the sidelines of NFL football games. But they were just getting started.

If you maintain the ownership in place and share their vision and remove the obstacles and things holding them back, and let them spend their time realizing the vision, things work out for everyone.

FUN HOBBY TO BIG BUSINESS Tagge: Right after the Super Bowl, I left Nippondenso to work full time on Spot Coolers and I moved from California to Georgia. I called Ken and asked if we could meet in Florida to make sales calls. Ken was splitting time because he was still running the supply house in Illinois. We met for beers and brainstormed about what the next “big thing” was going to be. The TV show Miami Vice was the biggest thing on TV then … it was huge. That night we decided to find out where they were filming. We went to the warehouse to pick up a van with a unit in the back. After stopping at a phone booth and making a bunch of calls, we find out they’re at the Alexander Hotel in Miami Beach. We pull in and told the security guard we have a delivery for Miami Vice. We show him some papers and say, “Here’s the bill of lading.” He asks if we know where we’re going. We say yes we’ve been here before, and then the gates open up. Now we’re in this compound and a second security guard comes up and asks us what we’re doing. After telling him we have a delivery for Vice, he simply points to a building. We pull over and unload the unit and go in the side entrance. The unit

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

while, we’d get the big hit where a manufacturer would buy 25 or 30 units. In the mid to late 80’s things started to change. One day an AT&T sales rep came into the wholesale business and sits across from me and says, “There’s this thing called the Internet, and you should get a domain name.” I looked at her and said, “What are you talking about?” Needless to say we listened to her. We explained what we were doing and at some point during that conversation we said we wanted the name spotcooler.com. Soon after she called back and said that name is taken but you can have spot-coolers.com, so we took that. That was an interesting lesson. Ever since, I’ve wondered why I never bought the domain for my distribution business then – it was Chase Distribution. Can you imagine if I would have bought chase.com?

Carrier President Bob McDonough gives Ken Swanson The Lifetime Achievement Award for starting the Spot Cooling industry. takes three to four minutes to cool down, so we find an outlet and plug it in. Then, we walk down the hallway and find an open door … it’s the wardrobe room. We find two guys behind a desk and tell them we have a delivery … a portable air conditioner. They look confused. We tell them it’s set up down the hall and take them over and show it to them. It’s blowing really cold air by now. One guy says, they’re filming the greyhounds tonight and this might really work to keep the dogs cool. We leave the unit. A

month later, we called to get the unit back. They tell us, “No way. Don Johnson uses that when he sits in his sports car and he’s never giving it up.” We never saw it again. Swanson: In the late 1980s, we started advertising in the Thomas Register remember those things? They were like encyclopedias on steroids! We were still trying to sell into different markets. Manufacturing production lines were a target because that’s what the product was first developed for and, every once in a

MARKETING CREATES DEMAND Swanson: One Friday afternoon in Chicago, Zenith called and asked us for 25 of the one ton units, but they needed them by 8 p.m. that night. It turns out, Saturday morning they were having a vote to go union or stay non-union. Management wanted to show the employees they were giving them AC for their stations. The key for us was being able to deliver with tight time constraints. That reinforced our thinking that our product was ideally suited to address emergency demand 24/7 and we had to be able to deliver. In the beginning, it was free product demonstrations. We were simply trying to www.hvacrbusiness.com

determine if there was a market. The things we did with the NFL and Hollywood proved there was. Then, over time we needed to create larger demand within specific markets, dominate those markets, compete to be the leader and make money.

Continued growth was the opportunity for the buyer solving compliance issues and back off issues were our drivers on the sale — but only with the right partner.

When you are in the rental business, you are 24/7. You’re promoting the fact that when something fails, you’re there. This means you have to have the product and the ability to get it delivered to the customer. As we started to grow I don’t think we realized how important it was to have a great banker and insurance broker behind us, and we had both. We needed financing for all of those units and they needed to be insured. We worked with a couple of great guys who got us financed and insured. Logistically, the largest challenge was setting up a branch in Chicago and knowing it had to service the entire state of Illinois. The same with our office in Atlanta and Florida — you serviced the whole state from one location. When you promote 24/7, after-hours services, you have to deliver no matter where the call comes in from. Back then, we only had one employee per location. Tagge: Everyone who comes to work for us understands what kind of business we’re in … and we pay well. We understand it can be a tough job. But, you can also earn a great living. Swanson: Communication was also a challenge. Remember, cell phones weren’t on everyone’s hip like they are today. Our employees always had a roll of quarters with them. Eventually we got everyone pagers. I’ll never forget this one instance. I’m with Arden our guy in Florida. He was one of those guys with the rolled up Lucky Strikes in his t-shirt and would just work his ass off. He’d get in the van and just drive all day. I remember saying, “Arde, the units in Jacksonville are ready to be picked up and we have to deliver a unit over in Tampa and Disney needs a unit in Orlando too … so can we do that?” He says of course, he’s got those Lucky Strikes, a big cup of coffee and off he goes! Seven or 8 p.m. he calls, and says, “Okay, boss, all done.” At the time, I had no idea how big Florida was — he would leave from Boca make all those stops and he would be home that evening! www.hvacrbusiness.com

how much fun we had together. In the article we didn’t touch on the fact that Garth was a great salesman. He was charming, articulate and had a great memory. He could remember things you wouldn’t believe from year’s prior. And, he always took little notes in the Denso journals one of the assistants used to send to us. Names, dates, orders, sketches and he kept all of them. I have them in the office and page through and reminisce about all the fun we had. Several months ago I had given the final draft of this article to Pete Grasso, our editor, so he could schedule it for production. In mid-May, however, I told Pete I had a different ending to squeeze in before we went to press: Swanson retires. Thirteen years after selling the business and four years after we sat down for the initial discussion for this article, things have come to a conclusion. Ken decided it was time to retire.

Driver Jim Melley (left) and throttle man Garth Tagge

CUSTOMERS SPUR GROWTH Tagge: We did anything and everything to make the customer happy — and we still do. We had grown significantly each year and we’d have strategic meetings and discuss our future. One of the agenda items was outlining a plan to eventually sell the company. We thought it might take us years, not only to plan but also to implement. We began to routinely talk with accountants, financial planners and attorneys. We learned an enormous amount in the process because we met with several different types of groups that wanted to buy us. Private equity firms, large manufacturers and small companies looking to grow their portfolio. The equity groups were fascinating to listen to and they had complex purchasing models, but we listened and learned. Swanson: Contrary to what some may believe, we didn’t sell the business “for the money.” We were making plenty of money and growing 15 to 18 percent every year. We sold the business to offload the compliance issues from HR, OSHA, EPA, accounting, healthcare and more. Continued growth was the opportunity for the buyer solving compliance issues and back off issues were our drivers on the sale — but only with the right partner. First and foremost, we wanted a partner

that wouldn’t crush the entrepreneurial spirit out of a company such as ours. We wanted a partner that would maintain our vision. If you maintain the ownership in place and share their vision and remove the obstacles and things holding them back, and let them spend their time realizing the vision, things work out for everyone. Tagge: In the end, after we had evaluated many offers we thought the best fit for us was United Technologies and Carrier. We were both in our 50’s and neither one of us wanted to retire. We still had a lot to work for and we knew we could learn a lot from a Fortune 50 company. So, in June of 2006 we sold the business which brought us to the end of that chapter in Spot Coolers history.

“Garth and I thought we’d stay around five maybe 10 years after selling the business – it’s been 13 for me,” Swanson said. “I’ve had a great run and now it’s time to see what else is waiting for me out there !” u

Terry Tanker is publisher of HVACR Business. Email him at ttanker@hvacrbusiness.com.

EPILOGUE Sadly, in October of 2016 Garth Tagge was killed in a boating accident on the Potomac River along with his driver Jim Melley. They were avid racers who were trying to beat a record they had set in a 36foot Skater racing boat earlier that month at 194 miles an hour. Swanson: We were best friends, it was devastating to hear the news about the accident. But he absolutely loved racing. I’ve thought about him a lot the last three years, he was a great business partner and friend. Reading this story you can just tell

Garth Tagge’s extensive cache of handwritten business journals.

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

FINANCE

BY RUTH KING

Profits and Cash are Not the Same

ou’re confused about your profit and loss statement. The bottom line showed a profit month after month, yet you’re having problems paying your bills. In busier months, the profit and loss statement shows a loss. This doesn’t make sense to you.

Collect for profitable work quickly, pay the bills associated with that job and stay solvent.

Here’s a growth rule of thumb: A company needs 10 percent of its projected growth in cash to fund the growth. If the plan is to grow by $250,000 in a year, $25,000 in cash is needed to fund growth. The cash is used for increased inventory, increased accounts receivable (if the company is not a COD company), increased overhead expenses and potentially a vehicle or other fixed asset purchase.

And, this year your CPA called you at tax time and said you owed the IRS a huge tax bill? Your P&L say your company was profitable, but where’s the cash? Here’s the answer: Profits are just that — profits. It means your revenues were greater than your expenses. A loss is where expenses are greater than revenue. Neither means you have cash. Profits are a P&L item; cash is a balance sheet item. The two are very different. Before I give a detailed explanation on how the cash comes into the business from a financial reporting perspective, make sure your company is operating on an accrual basis rather than a cash basis (see below for the explanation). So, how does the company get cash from profits? Here is the detailed explanation: a revenue/sale (P&L) turns into an accounts receivable (balance sheet) when the company bills for the work performed. Then the company must collect for the work (balance sheet). If the company operates on a COD basis, accounts receivable instantly turns into cash (balance sheet). When the company gets its vendor invoices, they are entered as an expense (P&L) and this creates an accounts payable (balance sheet). Then the company pays its accounts payable (balance sheet) and hopefully there is cash left (balance sheet). Most contractors experience months where their company showed a loss yet there is still cash in the bank. The opposite is also true: There are times where their company shows a profit and they are having problems scraping enough cash

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

5. Purchasing too much inventory, giving employees total access to the warehouse and allowing them to keep too much on their trucks. The company is betting its hard earned cash that it can sell what it’s bought.

together to pay payroll. Warning: Even though the company’s P&L shows a profit month after month, it can grow out of business. This happens when the company runs out of cash and doesn’t have a line of credit or maintenance agreement savings to cover temporary cash shortages. Here are five ways profitable companies go broke: 1. Doing profitable work and collecting for it months later or never collecting for it … after the company paid employees and suppliers. 2. Not having timely, accurate financial statements so owners can make sure service, replacement and new construction jobs are sold at a profitable price. 3. Using the cash method instead of the accrual method of accounting. Cash method means a company records a sale when the check comes in the door for that sale. The company records an expense

when the check is sent for payment of that expense. There are no accounts receivable or accounts payable. Accrual method means a company records a sale when your company sends the customer a bill even if the customer has not paid yet. The company records an expense when the invoice is received from a vendor, even if the bill has not been paid. There are accounts receivable and accounts payable. Cash method of accounting almost always shows a profit, whether or not service work or replacement jobs are profitable since companies generally don’t pay bills until they have cash to pay them.

Profits don’t pay the bills, however, profitable jobs are necessary to pay the bills. Collect for profitable work quickly, pay the bills associated with that job and stay solvent. u

Ruth King has more than 25 years of experience in the HVACR industry and has worked with contractors, distributors and manufacturers to help grow their companies and become more profitable. Contact Ruth at ruthking@hvacchannel.tv or call 770-729-0258.

Or, in really busy months the P&L shows a loss because cash is plentiful to pay the invoices that have been piling up. 4. Performing profitable work and the client files bankruptcy during the middle of a project leaving your company with hundreds of thousands of dollars in receivables that are uncollectable. www.hvacrbusiness.com

MARKETING

BY JOY GENDUSA

Marketing Strategies to Grow Your HVACR Business

rowing your HVACR business doesn’t have to be difficult — as long as you’re investing your marketing dollars in methods proven to generate leads and customers. Want to know which ones they are? Here are a few successful strategies to guide you:

PAY-PER-CLICK GOOGLE ADS Google’s Display Network — accessed through their platform called “Adwords” — reaches 90 percent of internet users with ads that promote your business. See example below. Google’s Display Network includes millions of websites on the internet, which means your ads can be shown on websites

Think direct mail is dead? Check out these stats:

As long as you invest your marketing dollars in methods proven to generate leads and customers, growing isn’t difficult. end up wandering off ? Of course you have, it happens all the time. Now, have you ever noticed that, afterwards, you started seeing ads from that same business appearing on other websites? If so, you’ve experienced a little thing called retargeting. Retargeting can increase the number of people who actually become leads (like filling out your contact form) by 70 percent. These ads, however, can take some skill

• 81 percent of Americans check their mail every day

another huge social media platform, so be sure to double up on your exposure and run your ads on both. Keep them coordinated, so that people know they’re seeing your business when they see your ads. Here’s an example of how both could look below.

• 70 percent are more likely to remember your business from your direct mail • 60 percent will likely visit your business’s website from your direct mail piece continued on page 16

Facebook is notorious for constantly changing, so I recommend hiring someone to help you with them to save you time and money.

USE THE METHOD PROSPECTS PREFER It may come as a surprise that “oldschool” direct mail is preferred by consumers today — by 70 percent of them, in fact.

like ESPN, Entrepreneur.com, Best Buy and other major sites, and you only pay when someone clicks on those ads (hence “pay per click”).

to master (lest your budget evaporate quickly on unqualified leads), so I recommend you hire someone to manage your Google ads for you.

You can also target the people more narrowly based on demographics that are ideal for your business.

MARKET YOUR SERVICES ON FACEBOOK

These ads can also be used for follow up. Have you ever been browsing online for something, and then you lose interest and

www.hvacrbusiness.com

With 68 percent of Americans using Facebook, plus 66 percent of monthly users using it every single day, it’s extremely likely your prospects are on this social media giant. Facebook now owns Instagram,

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

continued from page 15

Here’s how to coordinate all of these marketing strategies into one cohesive campaign that will amplify your reach, leads and revenue. First, design a direct mail piece with one or two special offers. Here’s an example on the right. Multiple special offers work great for the HVACR industry because prospects are likely to hang onto a postcard that gives them several ways to save money on their home — regardless of when their AC or heating unit needs help. Next step: design digital ads to MATCH your postcard. This multi-channel, offline-online marketing strategy puts your HVACR marketing in front of prospects in all the places they spend their time: • At home (with direct mail) • On endless internet websites (with Google ads) • And on social media (top 2: Facebook and Instagram)

If managing all this marketing seems like way too much work, we created a marketing program that bundles your postcard mailings with your Google/Facebook/ Instagram advertising for you. We call it Everywhere Small Business, and it comes with a completely automated tracking dashboard. u

As long as you invest your marketing dollars in methods proven to generate leads and customers, growing isn’t difficult.

Editor’s Note: If you want to see some postcard designs that work for other HVACR businesses and request free samples, visit postcardmania.com/hvacr.

Joy Gendusa is an entrepreneur, business owner, author, keynote speaker and philanthropist. With only a phone, a computer and postcards (no funding of any kind), Joy grew her company, PostcardMania, from a small startup into an industry leader that generated over $50 million in 2018 and currently employs 245 people in Clearwater, Fla. You can request free postcard samples from Joy’s company, PostcardMania, or connect with Joy by emailing Joy.Gendusa@PostcardMania.com.

Dynatemp Refrigerants Is Your One-Stop Shop for R22 Alternatives. Featuring R22 Alternatives R-422B and R-422D! We also carry: R-421A, R427A, RS-44b, RS-45, R421B

For more information call: (800) 791-9232 or visit our website: dynatempintl.com/r22alt/ Scan To Find A Distributor Near You!

TWITTER:

@dynatempintl

INSTAGRAM:

Dynatemp Refrigerants

HVACR ad_9.25x3.75.indd 1

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

LINKEDIN: Dynatemp Refrigerants Company

FACEBOOK: Dynatemp Refrigerants Company

5/22/19 3:08 PM

www.hvacrbusiness.com

continued from page 11

HONORABLE MENTION

Bermuda Air Conditioning St. Louis | 7 vehicles RICH & MICHELLE HENDERSON, OWNERS Like many HVACR companies, Bermuda Air Conditioning is a second-generation owned business. Rich Henderson and his brother bought the company started by their father about 25 years ago and, when Rich’s brother decided to retire five years ago, he bought him out. “Once I bought him out, we really turned the company around and have been growing ever since,” Henderson says. “Then, when it came time to replace a couple of our old trucks, I thought we should do something different.” The name Bermuda Air Conditioning

originated from the street they’re located on in St. Louis — Bermuda Road. But Henderson always liked the idea of “Island Comfort” as a way to put the customer at ease. “I think most people would think that being on an island is nice and comfy,” Henderson says. “I worked with a local graphics company, VMG, who do a lot of

signs and lettering and wraps.” After reviewing a few different designs, Henderson decided on the calming beach and palm trees backdrop for his van. And, at the suggestion of VMG, dropped a lot of the typical information and multiple phone numbers he was used to cluttering up his trucks.

they only have five, 10 seconds … then it’s gone, you know?” Henderson says. “You’re going the other way, or you’re going down traffic, or that kind of thing. You want to just put as little information as you can, let people get the idea and then it’s a more lasting impression.”

“People have to be able to look at it, and

continued on page 18

NEW Testo 440 Air Velocity & IAQ Meter The testo 440 combines the benefits of a compact and handheld device with intuitive menus and a comprehensive selection of both Bluetooth and wired measurement probes.

20 testo 4 d oo Flow H able! vail Also A

For more info visit www.testo.com

www.hvacrbusiness.com

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

continued from page 17

HONORABLE MENTION

Herring Heating and Air Conditioning Mt. Olive, N.C. | 14 vehicles KEVIN HERRING, OWNER When Herring Heating and AC, Inc. was founded in 1970, Billy Herring wanted a patriotic color scheme of red, white and blue to represent the company. Billy’s son Kevin now owns the company and decided it was time to honor his memory by updating, but not altering his original vision. “It was actually my wife’s idea,” Herring says. “She’d been on me for quite some time … whenever she’d see another wrapped vehicle on the highway, she’d say, ‘That’s great advertising!’” So, two years ago, Herring finally pulled the trigger on designing his company’s rolling billboards. “Once it was decided that we needed to update the look of our fleet vehicles,

several of the employees came up with a design and then the concept was polished and finalized by our team salesman, Skip Tucker,” Herring says. “We then sent the concept design off to the graphic designers who came up with a layout that we approved as a team.” The logo didn’t really change, but the

way it’s presented on the new wrap really makes an impact and the trucks have an entirely new look. “It’s almost a complete makeover from what we’ve always had, but in a positive way,” Herring says. “My dad created the logo in the mid-90s and even when he retired in 2006, he’d see the trucks on the road every day. He passed away a year and

a half ago, but I know he’d love that this new design is getting some recognition.” u

Pete Grasso is the editor of HVACR Business magazine. To download an entry form for the 2020 Tops in Trucks Fleet Design Contest, visit hvacrbusiness.com/topsintrucks.

ESSENTIAL INSTRUMENTS, OUTSTANDING SERVICE.

Download Free App “UEi HUB”

Smart Refrigerant Complete Kit *1: HUB6 800-547-5740

info@ueitest.com

www.ueitest.com

HVACr Business_Feb_half AD.indd 1

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

12/27/18 10:16 AM

www.hvacrbusiness.com

PRODUCT FOCUS »

DEWAIR CORP.

EVAPCO

EXTECH

The RH-Cube 18 is the industry’s first split-system mechanical dehumidifier using a compact, energy-efficient counter-flow heat exchanger for dedicated humidity control. The RH-Cube 18 reduces air conditioning energy costs up to 55-percent and increases indoor air quality (IAQ) for restaurants, hotels, schools, healthcare clinics, athletic facilities, offices, grow-ops, factories, museums, warehouses, residences and many other applications with small to medium spaces requiring humidity control.

The new Advanced Technology ACC (Air Cooled Condenser) combines a new modular construction scheme with the enhanced thermal performance of EVAPCO’s patented nuCore Heat Exchanger.

IRWIN

The MM750W is a CAT-IV True RMS digital multimeter that HVACR professionals can use to view electrical and temperature readings and datalog remotely using the ExView W-Series app on smartphones and tablets.

The new VISE-GRIP Pliers Wrench features smooth jaws that provide damage-free installation and IRWIN’s new patented GrooveLock ratcheting up mechanism for easy adjustment in confined spaces.

The Advanced Technology ACC’s induced-draft design — where the fan is located above the heat exchanger — provides several advantages: lower overall unit height, reduced potential for recirculation, and less risk of fan vibration caused by high winds.

The innovative new meter uses a Bluetooth module for wireless connectivity to iOS and Android devices. The MM750W transmits real-time data for monitoring, trending, reporting and analysis. For HVACR installation and maintenance work, technicians can monitor and datalog readings at a safe distance from energized equipment, moving components and other hazardous locations (up to 10m/33ft).

Ideal for plumbing applications, the smooth, anti-marring jaws minimize harm to chrome and plated fixtures during installation. While traditional adjustable wrenches are difficult to access/adjust in confined spaces, the GrooveLock ratcheting up mechanism allows for fast and easy adjustment in tight working areas.

>> dewaircorp.com

>> evapco-blct.com

>> irwin.com

>> extech.com

KLEIN TOOLS

MILWAUKEE TOOL

The IR07 is a pocket-sized meter designed to provide air, liquid and surface temperature measurements. Klein Tools continuously introduces new jobsite solutions to the Test and Measurement line, helping tradespeople across all jobsites measure common parameters.

The new PLUS-LOK SDS-Plus Extensions can be used for extended reach and deep hole drilling and are universal with all SDS-Plus rotary hammers and accessories, including drill bits, chisels, core bits and rebar cutters.

The Dual IR/Probe Thermometer measures temperatures ranging from -40 to 572F. It’s infrared thermometer (DS ratio 8:1) measures surface temperature, while the temperature probe measures air, liquid and surface temperatures. Its target laser for IR temperature doubles as a laser pointer. The IR07 also calculates differential temperature for both IR and probe temperatures.

When drilling holes for concrete anchors, it’s not uncommon to encounter obstructions, such as previously installed pipe, which can create a tight fit for the rotary hammer. In these situations, users have had to create their own solutions to get more reach. Each extension also outlasts several drill bits and is built to withstand aggressive applications such as side loading or drilling through rebar in concrete.

>> kleintools.com/new-products

>> milwaukeetool.com

www.hvacrbusiness.com

THERMAL DYNAMICS

TRANE / MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC

The Cutmaster 58 handheld air plasma cutting system, a reintroduction of the Cutmaster 52, is now available and has been upgraded to include the industry-leading SL60 QD 1Torch as standard. It can pierce 5/8 in. mild steel, stainless or aluminum metal and has a maximum sever capacity of 1-1/4 in. (view cutting capability video).

The new Trane / Mitsubishi Electric N-Generation CITY MULTI VRF and Nv Series Ductless products are now available to design and order from your local Trane Commercial Sales office, and will ship starting in July 2019.

The Cutmaster 58 offers a purge mode for clearing the gas line and setting gas pressure, as well as three process modes: standard cutting mode, trigger latch mode (which allows the operator to release the trigger to prevent hand fatigue during longer cuts) and expanded metal mode.

These new ductless and VRF solutions, manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric, feature a two-pipe design with highly flexible and easily installed components, which can reduce total costs while offering a compact footprint and significant control. >> trane.com/ductless

>> esab.com

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

SPONSORED CONTENT »

HVACR Contractors Provide Home Comfort for Veterans “The most rewarding part was seeing the gratitude in the faces of Major Middleton and his family,” – Gregg Bowman, Owner of The AC Guys of Tampa

aron Cornelius was permanently blinded by an improvised explosive device (IED). Matt Moyers suffered severe back trauma that makes it difficult to walk. Cody Willett survived a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) explosion. These three veterans are just a few of the military service members whose homes and comfort have been renovated by “Military Makeover with Montel” on Lifetime TV. This special television series enlists conscientious home improvement professionals such as designers, contractors, landscapers and HVACR companies to transform the homes and lives of military families across the country. Talk show legend and military advocate Montel Williams, a veteran of both the Marine Corps and the Navy, leads the “Makeover” team’s mission. The locations of the “Military Makeover” homes vary, but local, upstanding, independent Goodman HVACR dealers donate their time and expertise to the show by installing upgraded HVACR systems and Clean ComfortTM indoor air quality products.

(left to right): Gregg Bowman, Daniel Ficca, Art Edmonds, Daniel Harrison, Benjamin Decker

The best way for HVACR dealers to help veterans and active duty military is to provide maintenance and service discounts. SEER Goodman heat pump system. We also installed a Clean Comfort media air filtration system and ultraviolet air purifier to help keep the air in Middleton’s home clean.” With the installation expertise of The AC Guys of Tampa, the Middleton’s new Goodman HVACR system will help keep utility bills low while providing consistent, year-round indoor comfort. Goodman, a “Military Makeover” founding sponsor, has been teaming up with the Lifetime TV series since 2016 to help transform the home comfort of the show’s selected military members.

“This was an opportunity to give back to someone who gave so much to serve our country,” said Gregg Bowman, owner of The AC Guys of Tampa Bay.

“’Military Makeover’ would not be possible without the assistance of companies like Goodman,” said Scott Moss, executive vice president, programming for BrandStar, the company that produces the Lifetime TV series. “The Goodman indoor comfort products help provide a solid foundation from where families can start to mend the physical and emotional scars sustained from military service and sacrifice.”

Bowman, whose son serves in the U.S. Air Force, provided a professional crew to overhaul the HVACR system for “Military Makeover with Montel” recipient, Marine Corps Major Aaron Middleton.

As part of the “Military Makeover with Montel” sponsorship, Goodman Distribution, Inc. donates the highefficiency heating and cooling systems and Clean Comfort filtration products.

“Everything old was removed, and a completely new HVACR system was installed from the ground up,” Bowman said. “We installed all new ductwork, a 3-zone control system, as well as a two-stage, 16

“I am so proud of our participation in ‘Military Makeover with Montel,’” said John Summerlin, president of the Southeast division of Goodman Distribution, Inc. “As the exclusive

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

HVACR provider to the show, it gives us a chance to make an immediate and longlasting impact on these military families. Our high-efficiency systems and indoor air quality products are designed to create a comfortable home environment, which is exactly what these service members and their families deserve.” It’s one thing to talk about supporting our military and veterans; it’s another thing to do it! Emerald Heating and Cooling of Depew, N.Y. was the most recent independent Goodman dealer to donate their time and expertise to “Military Makeover with Montel.” “Our military affords us the opportunity to live our lives and work freely on a daily basis,” said Joe Toolen, field supervisor for Emerald Heating and Cooling. “Our recent ‘Military Makeover with Montel’ participation allowed us to show that our military’s efforts do not go unnoticed.” When a local heating and cooling contractor steps onto the set of ‘Military Makeover with Montel’ on Lifetime TV to install a Goodman brand heating and cooling system, they are truly supporting our troops and making a difference. Yet, not every HVACR dealer has the opportunity to participate in a nationally broadcasted home renovation series for military families. Our military servicemen and women are sworn to uphold the Constitution that guarantees our freedom, making the ultimate sacrifice when we need them most.

But who serves them when they need our help? “The best way for HVACR dealers to help veterans and active duty military is to provide maintenance and service discounts,” Toolen said. “Hopefully, that helps prevent system failures and the stress that can often accompany a heating or cooling system loss.” Bowman added that since participating in the show, his company instituted discounts for veterans and active duty military members. “In addition to these discounts, we also now offer free preventative maintenance visits for any active military who are deployed. This will allow us to help take care of their HVACR systems while they are away,” Bowman said. Goodman has also instituted additional ways to support the troops. The company made it a priority to offer hope and a helping hand to our veterans — right here on the home front. “We actively seek out veterans for various jobs by attending veteran-focused recruiting events,” said Kriti Pittman, vice president of human resources for Goodman Manufacturing. “They possess courage, pride, determination, selflessness, dedication to duty and integrity — all the qualities needed to serve a cause larger than one’s self.” u To learn more about veteran recruiting efforts or Goodman’s participation in “Military Makeover with Montel,” visit Goodman’s Supporting Veterans webpage at, goodmanmfg.com/about/ supporting-veterans.

www.hvacrbusiness.com

PROUD SPONSOR OF



Goodman is a proud sponsor of Lifetime Channel’s television series Military Makeover® that helps create better homes for our American veterans. Goodman donates high-efficiency HVAC products for these veterans and their families. Local Goodman® brand dealers also donate their time to install these upgraded systems providing support to veterans in their local community. This TV series salutes those that have risked their lives, offering hope and a helping hand right here on the home front.

www.goodmanmfg.com

20QUESTIONS

>> with BILL LEWIS

We sat down with Bill Lewis, owner of Southern Air Pros in Woodstock, Ga. Lewis, who is a 2019 Tops in Trucks Fleet Design Contest winner, discussed finding his path in the industry, coaching his team and finding a clear direction for his winning truck design. 1. Can you tell us about your background? I was an advanced electronics technician in the Navy, and then I got out and tried to find my place. I ended up helping part-time with a local, single, one-man-in-a-truck guy, and I really enjoyed the troubleshooting side of it. So that’s how I got started in the business. I rode with him for about five years. And then I went to one of the major players and started doing commercial work.

8. What other resources have you found helpful? I found a great mentor who had a commercial and residential company. He’s since sold off his residential side, so there’s no real competition. He and his wife have sat down with my wife and myself, and we’ve had some pretty good dinners, and talked about some of the things that they went through, and helped us stay on the right track.

2. When did you start your own company? We incorporated in 2014, but we didn’t actually start anything until our first full summer in 2016.

9. What do you view as the most important aspect of your job? Building a culture and making sure everybody understands that it’s not just a job. It’s not just a paycheck. We do a lot of community involvement. Our driving force is: Do the right thing. If it’s painful, if it’s costly but if it’s the right thing, that’s what we do.

3. What’s your business mix? We started off doing residential and commercial, because I could do both and I like commercial. We’ve kind of phased out the commercial side of it and only do residential now. It is service, maintenance and replacement. So that’s our niche. We do try and focus within about 10 miles of the shop. 4. How would you describe your management style? I’m more of a team player. Anybody we hire, we hire them based on their attitudes and then we train them up from there. It’s pretty much a two-way street. If one of the guys catches me shortcutting, they’re welcome to speak up and say, “Hey, that’s not how you taught me to do it.” So that’s the style. I don’t do a lot of micromanaging, but I spend a lot of time training up front. 5. How do you motivate your team? It’s more of an encouragement, like a coach-type style of motivation. We do have some small spiffs that we offer, but primarily it’s more that coaching style motivation. For example, we’re doing an event this weekend, and everybody that’s showing up is volunteering, so they’ve all bought into the program. If they do something worthwhile, they’ll get something out of it. 6. Can you give us an example? One of my guys wanted to go to the Lennox factory training in Dallas for a month, and he figured out how to do it on his dime. So when he came back, I bought him a whole new set of tools. I do a lot of little stuff like that to let them know when they do well, that there’s something on the backside, but I don’t promise anything. I don’t do the carrot/stick thing. 7. What was the learning curve to owning a business? The learning curve was, honestly, challenging, to say the least. I knew the technical side of stuff that needed to be done. When I created all my forms and field procedures, that part was fairly easy, but when it got into the actual running the office, that was the side that was a challenge. So I started doing a lot of reading. I would get up and read every morning, and I still do now.

HVACR BUSINESS JUNE 2019

10. What are your plans for growth in the future as a company? There’s money growth, there’s personnel growth and there’s territory growth. Honestly, our main focus is we want to own our back yard. The idea is to have, essentially, two strong teams, each having a technician and a install crew so that they feed each other and, once again, going back to that whole team concept where you’ve got one individual directing a couple of teams and each team works together. 11. What do you see as the most exciting things going on in the industry? The most significant growth I see is home automation, and the exciting thing is seeing the technology of our trade catching up to it. I’m also super-excited about the inverter type technology, and that probably has a lot to do with being an advanced electronics technician. It excites me. When I first saw it, I was like, “This is the greatest thing that we should have been doing years ago.” 12. What made you decide to redesign your fleet? My original design was a burgundy van with a compass on it, and just Southern Air Pros, and we used the southern point on the compass and tied it together. But it wasn’t getting anybody’s attention ... It’s a rolling billboard and nobody was seeing it. So we reached out to KickCharge Creative for a new design.

13. What was it like to work with KickCharge? Dan Antonelli’s ability to get in your head and figure out what you want is pretty amazing, and his team is great to work with. His commitment is mind boggling, but just working with him was as easy as it could be and he has a good way of getting you to understand what you may not want to hear. 14. Can you give us an example? With my previous logo, he was like, “What’s the story with the compass?” And I told him I was in the Navy, and it reminds me of direction, and it ties into our name. And he goes, “Okay, what’s that got to do with air conditioning?” It really made me think, because I didn’t know. 15. What kind of research did you do? As far as the color scheme, KickCharge did all the research on that. They requested that I send them my competition so that they could consider the logos and color schemes that were prevalent in our area, so that there weren’t any overlaps. 16. What kind of feedback have you gotten? It’s a good, positive energy, not a hard sales pitch or anything like that. And that’s the feedback that we’re getting from our customers. It makes you feel good when you see it. It doesn’t feel like somebody’s trying to come in and sell you a bunch of stuff. It makes you feel like you’re dealing with a fun, positive group of people. 17. How has this new design paid off? It’s a force multiplier, because it does stick in people’s mind. And because our vehicles are different, even though there’s not a lot of them, they’re different, it gives us the image that we’re trying to grow … we’re not a mom-and-pop shop. We’re major players in this area, and that’s where we’re going. 18. What’s your favorite aspect of the design? It’s a cross between the colors and the smiling sun. The colors are unique and different as far as our industry goes. And the emotional relationship to different colors, once I researched the colors I felt good about that. But also that smiley sun face, it’s who we are. We’re trying to make people happy, and when it’s hot, we want to make you cold, and when it’s cold, we want to make you hot. 19. What else do you like about the logo? The rays of the sunshine kind of look like the compass points. I asked Dan to leave the compass in at some level and that’s how he incorporated it. That was one thing I said, “I have to have it, just because it does remind me we have a direction and it keeps us on track.” 20. Do you track leads based off customers who see your trucks? Yes, but I don’t have a clear percentage. That being said, I keep a mental lock on that. We just make note when a customer mentions it. www.hvacrbusiness.com

SPOT COOLERS

SUMMER

Get the competitive advantage when it comes to portable cooling. We’re the “go to guys” when when you need supplemental cooling for people or sensitive equipment! We’ve been solving cooling problems with trained service providers and exceptional equipment since 1985. Call us. We know our business.

Portable Air Conditioning and Heating

RENTALS AND SALES

800.367.8675

www.spot-coolers.com

MovinCool, SpotCool, Office Pro and Climate Pro are registered trademarks of DENSO Corporation.

ENTER OUR 2020 FLEET DESIGN CONTEST TODAY!

FLE ST ET DE E T N O SIGN C

hvacrbusiness.com/topsintrucks

“ And that’s why I wear dark pants to jobs now. ”

YOU HAVE ENOUGH THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT. UNRELIABLE PRODUCTS SHOULDN’T BE ONE OF THEM.

For generations American Standard has made some of the most-awarded and well-engineered heating and air conditioning products available. From our dealer-focused product innovations, to our large network of distributors—we focus on you, so you can be on guard for any surprises that might spring up.

Find a distributor in your area at AmericanStandardAirDealers.com

YOU HAVE ENOUGH THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT. UNRELIABLE PRODUCTS SHOULDN’T BE ONE OF THEM. For generations American Standard has made some of the most-awarded and well-engineered heating and air conditioning products available. From our dealer-focused product innovations, to our large network of distributors—we focus on you, so you can keep an eye on everything else.

Find a distributor in your area at

AmericanStandardAirDealers.com