PITTSBURGH - With an eye toward growing its service business, mechanical contractor R.M. Thornton has purchased a Linc Service franchise. The Capitol Heights, Md.-based company is now delivering Linc Service to customers in southern Maryland, northern Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Thornton is Linc’s second franchise location in the greater D.C. area - along with a Linc Services LLC location - and the sole Linc Service® contractor in Maryland. The company is now part of the 130+-member Linc Service Network spanning the United States, Canada, and Bermuda. Linc Service Contractors follow the disciplines of the Linc System® in delivering preventive maintenance, as well as HVAC service and bundled energy solutions, to the commercial market.

Known primarily for its construction work, Thornton realized it needed to strengthen its service capabilities when its customers began looking for someone to maintain the structures they were building. Faced with either hiring some experienced HVAC service personnel for its staff or joining the Linc Service Network, Thornton chose the latter. Thornton Principal Bob Shaw liked the operational expertise he saw after meeting with Linc executives prior to purchasing the franchise.

“I’m very impressed with how Linc invests in field operations and business systems, as well as the overall growth of the Network in the last three to four years,” Shaw said. “Everyone is on the same page, and a lot of people are buying in to the Linc System - with good reason.”

Shaw added that he sees a lot of growth potential for Thornton’s new offerings. He’s confident that Linc’s experience will be extremely valuable in helping the company to accelerate its service business. He believes Thornton can increase its annual run rate from $1.5 million to $5 million in the next three years - something that, he said, might take the company much longer without Linc’s guidance.

“We’re looking forward to contributing to the strength of Thornton’s sales process with a more structured, uniform approach,” said Scott Giacobbe, Linc Network president and CEO. “By helping the company’s employees be more proactive with regard to selling maintenance agreements, we’ll enable them to capitalize on their tremendous brand name. It’s our goal to facilitate their efforts to diversify from the construction business to the business of selling solutions.”

Linc Network LLC, headquartered in Pittsburgh and Atlanta, is the franchisor of the Linc System, a business format for operating a commercial HVAC service business. For more information, visit www.lincservice.com.

Publication date: 06/18/2007