Over 1,700 companies have reserved more than 414,500 square feet of exhibit space at McCormick Place for the 2012 Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration (AHR) Expo on Jan. 23 to 25, making it the largest HVACR exposition of all time.

In Indianapolis at the recent 30th annual reunion of the Dwyer Group, which operates several franchises in the service industries, Aire Serv Heating & Air Conditioning franchisees heard ideas of how to overcome the fear of change and steer their businesses into new directions.

Direct Energy, parent company of Clockwork Home Services, has reached an agreement to acquire Home Warranty of America (HWA), a leading supplier of whole home protection plans across the United States.

When the U.S. government offered up to $1,500 in tax credits for higher efficiency appliances, HVAC contractors got their foot in the doors of consumers who might not normally have considered buying high-end. Since the tax credits were reduced in 2011, the same selling opportunities have dried up too — or have they?

This article is the third of three in a series about home performance contracting. In this final article of the series, we examine those criteria that require critical investigation in the selection of a home performance contracting partner.

Manufacturers appear to be very optimistic about the economic outlook for the HVACR industry. According to a recent survey of more than 1,000 AHR Expo exhibitors, nearly three-fourths (72 percent) of the total respondents expect a better year (59 percent) or a much better year (13 percent) in 2012 compared to 2011.

During good economic times, it isn’t unusual to see a lot of time and money spent on meetings, training, employee benefits, and marketing. But when business is slow and things have to be trimmed back or eliminated, it is usually these same items that disappear from the operating budget.

One thing that is true about virtually all HVAC contractors — we all think we know what to do and how to do everything that needs to be done in our business better than anyone else.

MechanicalXchange is an exclusive, invitation-only executive summit co-sponsored by The NEWS. The 2011 event was attended by more than 100 hand-selected people representing 23 mechanical contracting firms and 24 vendors. The purpose of the event is to bring buyers and sellers together.