A collection of honorees have been named in The NEWS’ 2012 ninth annual Dealer Design Awards program. Each gold, silver, and bronze winning product is featured in the pages of this issue and will be added to the pages of HVACR history as Dealer Design winners. Winning a DD — the coveted trophy that awards design excellence and innovation — is a privilege shared this year by 39 of the 81 overall Dealer Design entrants. Four others received honorable mentions as well. All of the 81 products were judged by contractors from diverse sectors of the HVACR industry.

This year’s winners were careful to specify the elements of their design that help make a contractor’s job easier and more efficient. The Dealer Design criteria pushes entrants to save contractors time and money while still offering technologically advanced equipment. This competition is a gathering of many different-sized manufacturers competing not on the quality of the paint or beauty of the product, but also on design features. Some entries are groundbreaking pioneers in the industry; others are inventive applications of industry tools. No matter the entry, one thing is clear — the winners of this competition have plenty to be proud of and The NEWS would like to congratulate them for their efforts and successes.

“The annual response we receive from vendors and contractors for the Dealer Design Awards program is amazing. This really is the only contest of its kind in the industry where only contractors make the decision about the award winners. The contractor judges enjoy participating because they can review some relatively new products in the market, thereby occasionally giving their own companies an advantage with some information that their competitors might not yet have,” said Kyle Gargaro, editor-in-chief of The NEWS. “I want to thank the manufacturers that entered their products and services.”