Many contractors have responded to the issue of formicary corrosion - an issue well-known to have existed for decades, but one that seems to be on the rise in recent years. It appears that progress being made toward a solution may be too slow. A contractor can go out of business trying to stay afloat waiting for the right answer to surface.

For those of you who love the Yellow Pages®, or make your living helping people design ads and copy for the kind of big, thick books that usually end up at the end of my driveway, soaking wet before I get to them, I suggest you read a brief article that was posted to our LinkedIn Group - The NEWS Network.

David Allen of McKinstry, a Seattle-based construction, engineering, and facility services firm, borrowed from the 17-step process written by Marty Neumier in his book Zag during a presentation he made at the 2011 Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) Annual Convention.

In addition to numerous education opportunities that filled the agenda at the Mechanical Contractors Association of America’s (MCAA’s) 122nd Annual Convention, social networking and big-name keynote speakers kept meeting rooms full, even though tropical breezes and the ocean beckoned just a few hundred yards away.

I was in the Houston area visiting with a few people and the discussion all came down to this - finding more people for the industry to continue to prosper. That sounded like a familiar strain, and made me realize that nearly everywhere I go, and with nearly everyone I talk to, the same topic always comes up - attracting young people into this industry.

Vince Lombardi gets credited with saying a lot of things that he never actually said. He may not have first uttered the words, but, that whole thing about getting going when the going gets tough is close enough, and a great example is the typical day in the life of an HVACR professional.

During the winter months, Dan Hagenhoff, regional manager for Goodman Sales and Distribution, typically hosts numerous dealer meetings. This year got off to a bang as regional staff and personnel from the Goodman Global Group corporate offices were on hand to introduce new Goodman and Amana brand products, sales support programs, and to meet, greet, retain, and recruit HVAC dealers.

MechanicalXchange^SM is a cooperative effort between HVAC mechanical contractors and industry vendors, including equipment manufacturers, software companies, controls companies, and other business services. The NEWS has been involved with the event since it began in 2005.

What better place than the Mechanical Contractors Association of America’s (MCAA) Annual Convention in Maui to discover that those less fortunately skilled in the finer art of mechanical aptitude (such as myself) can still serve a useful purpose in life. More precisely, the revelation actually occurred on the return trip.

When the New England Patriots violated NFL rules by videotaping in-game hand signals of New York Jets coaches, the proverbial you-know-what hit the fan for league commissioner Roger Goodell. It led to a policy called “Integrity of the Game and Fair Competition.” I wonder if something like that could prove valuable in the HVAC industry.