TORONTO, ON, Canada — Sandcastle Energy Systems recently announced the formation of a national alliance of independent Canadian mechanical contractors, with the goal of helping them provide control solutions for their customers’ building environments.

“Contractors have been asking us how to sell controls and we felt it was time to form this alliance,” said Laurence Markham, president of Sandcastle. “This [alliance] will allow contractors to attract new national and regional accounts.

“These are independent contractors, union, non-union, Carrier, Lennox dealers, etc., who belong to this alliance and share in the benefits of job leads and job experiences.”

Sandcastle will target national accounts to provide them with information on building automation, energy-saving devices, and indoor air quality (IAQ). It has teamed up with TCS/Basys Controls, a manufacturer of building automation controls, and Saftronic, a manufacturer of variable-frequency drives, to educate contractors on products and technologies.

“We would like to have two or three contractors in each province for a total of 20,” Markham said. “We even have interest from the United States, and we might eventually join up with some U.S. contractors.”

Uniformity

“A national standard will be developed in the area of customer support, installation procedures, and standards, so customers can be assured of quality work and support across the country,” he said.

Markham said he was impressed by the cooperation of the first members, who agreed not to compete with each other for national accounts.

He also sees this as an opportunity to emerge into a new age of technician training and service. “The technician of the future will have his tool pouch and a laptop under his arm.”