geothermal | spotlight
The company advertises its geothermal systems at trade shows, local home shows, and on its website. The company is also looking into new markets, specifically domestic hot water solar systems. Utility rebates and tax incentives also make solar attractive to customers. The solar component is currently under five percent of the company’s business, but Mark Schneider would like to see that number grow. “It’s a niche offering we have,” he said. “We’d like to make solar more main stream.” The company has about 50 employees and continuous training, especially in the area of geothermal is important, Mark Schneider said. In addition to continuous training, the company goes out of its way to show its appreciation of its staff. “We retain good staff by treating them fairly and recognizing what they’re doing. We try to make it a family environment,” he said. The company gets many of its new hires from Western Technical College in LaCrosse, Wis. “We start them in the business and do on-site training. We teach them how to conduct themselves by the philosophy we
run our business,” he said. The company’s philosophy is what sets them apart from their competitors, he added. “The service we provide is top notch. Our professionalism and attention to detail comes with every service and installation,” he said. “We bring a lot of attributes to the table.” March Schneider said the industry has bottomed out during the past few years and he sees it springing back slowly. The biggest area of growth will be geothermal, furnace, and air conditioning replacement markets, he said. “The residential and commercial work will come back, but it will take a few years to get back to normalcy,” Schneider said. As far as the future of the company goes, Mark Schneider just hopes for modest growth. The company has no plans on spreading geographically. “We’d just like more customers to take care of,” he said. That combined with retaining the “quality staff and employees that work for us” is all Mark Schneider and his brother Rick desire for the future. A fourth trip to the state championships for Rick Schneider’s high school basketball team that he coaches, wouldn’t be bad either, he said with a chuckle. CLT Spring 2010 Construction Leaders Today 129