Billed as the world’s largest privately owned HVAC distributor with 63 locations in California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Florida, the two owners of U.S. Airconditioning Distributors not only rocked the distribution world, but may have created a domino effect that is still being played out. “We are really great at distribution and service, and York is really great at the product development side of things,” said John Staples, president. “We’re really pumped up about the change.”

The change was one of tremendous magnitude in the distribution channel of this industry. If this had been a California earthquake it would have registered an 8.3 on the Richter Scale. It was a major shift as the largest independent distributor of Carrier brands in the country switched a major portion of its loyalties to the York/Johnson Control brands on Sept. 24, 2007.

U.S. Airconditioning now sells the York brands in Southern California, Arizona, Utah, Southern Nevada, Idaho, and Florida. The company still maintains distribution of the Bryant, Heil, and Totaline brands in Northern California and Northern Nevada.

“We took on the York brand in Florida about a year ago and found the company builds a really good, quality product. The innovations they have come out with in just the last six months show us their commitment to industry-leading, state-of-the-art products,” said Staples.

John Scarsi, vice president said, “We’ve had a lot of experience with many brands. We think that we will grow our business even more with York, which is a different approach than we were faced with at Carrier. We believe Carrier was more interested in company-owned distribution. York is definitely committed to independent distribution.”

U.S. Airconditioning has a corporate facility and warehouse in the City of Industry, Calif., and warehouse hubs in El Cajon and Riverside, Calif., Salt Lake City, Boise, Idaho, and Phoenix. Sales for the company are split 65 percent commercial and 35 percent residential.

Staples said, “The push for higher SEER and AFUE ratings on equipment, especially in the California market, are continuing to push sales. “A lot of people don’t realize that York has the broadest R-410A green refrigerant offering (up to 40 tons) of R-410A equipment. Alternative refrigerants have been one of our company’s strengths and will continue to be so,” said Scarsi.

U.S. Airconditioning definitely rocked the distribution world with the change of brands, but also sets a leading example on other fronts. The 850-kW solar panels at the City of Industry facility are one of the top three largest producers of solar energy in California, keeping utility bills to a minimum for the company. The facility also has its own natural gas compression station to fill up its 24 natural gas trucks each night as they come back for restocking. The central office sits on 15.3 acres of land, has 250,000 square feet of warehouse space, and a five-acre outside yard for additional inventory.

“By the end of 2008, we’ll have 71 branches. The nice thing about working with York is that we are able to expand, whereas the Carrier relationship was limiting our growth,” said Staples.

Scarsi added, “We plan on doing a lot of marketing to help establish the York brands - including Luxaire, Coleman, and Guardian - throughout the Western United States.”

John Staples and John Scarsi: two newsmakers for 2007 with some big plans for 2008.

- Mike Murphy

The Facts:

Names: John Staples and John Scarsi

Titles: President and Vice President

Company: U.S. Airconditioning Distributors

Location: City of Industry, Calif.

Notable Quotes: “We are really great at distribution and service, and York is really great at the product development side of things,” said Staples.

“We plan on doing a lot of marketing to help establish the York brands - including Luxaire, Coleman, and Guardian - throughout the Western United States,” said Scarsi.

Publication date: 12/24/2007