ATLANTA — Marketair, a provider of HVACR installation and service accessories/tools, named Yakima, Washington-based Pacific NW Reps LLC its 2018 “Top Gun” Rep of the Year honor at the 2018 AHR Expo in Atlanta.

Lennie DeAngelo, principal, Pilgrim Sales in Marblehead, Massachusetts, took home second place and Ted Parker, group manager, Hugh M. Cunningham (HMC) Cos., Carrollton, Texas, earned third place.

Marketair’s Top Guns for best percentage increase were Jim Fitzgerald, partner, Chattanooga, Tenn., and Phil Thomas, partner, J&P HVAC Sales, Pell City, Alabama, (144-percent); HMC (84-percent), and Matthew Kehoe, president, Kehoe Co., Atglen, Pennsylvania (46-percent).

Pacific NW Reps’ most popular item was the RoughinBox RBX3, a molded polymer terminal with dedicated lineset ports that allows for quick and easy roughing in ductless mini splits and VRF wall-mounted evaporators. Ten percent more wholesale distributors carried the RoughinBox product line last year in Pacific NW Reps’ territory.

This was mainly due to redesigning it into a single universal SKU, which required a smaller inventory commitment for wholesalers, according to Scott Herberg, principal, Pacific NW Reps, who covers the rep firm’s Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington territories with Alex Stankovic, outside sales.

RBX3 increases are also related to booming Northwest mini-split sales generated by utility rebates facilitated by the Northwest Ductless Heat Pump Project, a Portland, Oregon-based initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. 

Herberg sees similar sales interest for Marketair’s newly introduced Brasotek, a cutting-edge, time-saving alternative to emery cloth for prepping copper lineset pipe and fittings prior to brazing.

“We’ve already gotten a lot of interest from wholesalers on Brasotek,” said Herberg.

“We are pleased to award Top Gun Rep of the Year to Pacific NW Reps for the second year in a row,” said Gerry Spanger, president, Marketair. “This company is setting a precedent for wholesale and contractor training that other rep firms can follow for our young company.” 

For more information, visit www.marketair.com.