DALLAS - Fourteen students enrolled in Ferris State University’s (FSU’s) HVACR program were guests on Jan. 30, 2007 at a special event hosted by TAC, a leader in building automation, security systems, and energy solutions, at its Dallas headquarters. The students, from FSU’s campus in Big Rapids, Mich., were in Dallas to attend the International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo). TAC invited the group to meet TAC executives and department heads, learn about the company, and tour its facilities.

The FSU students were members of FSU ASHRAE, an organization formed to promote student involvement in the heating and cooling engineering profession. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is a leading industry professional organization and a sponsor of the AHR Expo.

While visiting TAC’s offices, Dean Meyer, TAC president, spoke to the students, as did Wes McDaniel, vice president of TAC Energy Solutions and Jeff Drees, vice president of Systems Integration Central. The executives discussed TAC’s company vision, goals, and employment opportunities, as well as TAC’s products and technology.

Coy Rottier, president of FSU ASHRAE, said the group appreciated the opportunity to learn about TAC and was impressed with the company. “It was refreshing to spend time with a company that values its employees as much or more than their products,” he said, noting that the honesty and integrity demonstrated in TAC’s business methods is “impressive and a valuable asset.”

“It was a great pleasure to meet with these talented young HVACR students,” said Meyer. “FSU is well known and highly respected in the HVACR industry, and TAC is fortunate to already employ several FSU graduates. We look forward to hiring more FSU alumni in the future, hopefully some from this group of students.”

FSU offers both associate and bachelor’s degrees in HVACR, and is one of only two schools in the country to offer a bachelor’s program in the field. The HVACR curriculum includes extensive hands-on laboratory instruction as well as lectures and is presented in FSU’s new $18 million HVACR educational center.

TAC is a leading provider of building automation solutions based on open integrated systems for building IT. TAC’s mission is to provide added value through building environment services for indoor climate, security, and use of energy, delivered with advanced technology to end users and property owners throughout the world.

Publication date:04/23/2007