The latest report from HARDI shows that average sales for HARDI distributor members increased by 8.2 percent in December 2015, but annualized growth for all of 2015 registered a bit lower at 5.7 percent. This compares to the 6.1 percent gain in 2014, the second consecutive year of slower growth since a 7.3 percent increase was reported in 2013.
Sales of HVAC equipment were somewhat flat in 2015, according to AHRI, which reported year-to-date combined U.S. shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps decreased by 0.6 percent, and shipments of gas warm air furnaces increased 2.9 percent.
Have you impressed upon your technicians the need to routinely service mod-con boiler systems? Have you reviewed the maintenance records for systems installed by your firm? Are there any holes in the records? Are you and your customers at risk? It never hurts to check.
ACCA has arranged for some of the best contractors in the country to share their top-secret techniques for business success at ACCA 2016. This year’s program features 35 classes in seven different tracks, including building performance, business operations, commercial contracting, innovation and leadership, radiant and hydronics, residential contracting, and quality assurance.
While ACCA and its members had a successful year, there were a number of challenges the industry faced as a whole. Some of the biggest were keeping up with the regulatory proposals and bills in Congress.
Qualified HVAC technicians are desirable commodities, so when HVAC contracting owners get their hands on good techs, they’re willing to go to great lengths to keep them in their uniforms.
Steve Lauten, president and CEO of Total Air and Heat Co. in Plano, Texas, started working in his father’s residential HVAC business as a teenager. During high school and college, he gained employment with a commercial contractor, spending 13 years working with one large mechanical contractor before joining the family business in 1987.
The mechanical systems contractor offers large-scale and specialty mechanical construction project management, engineering and design-build services, mechanical system service, controls technology, off-site construction, 24/7 servicing, modular fabrication, and virtual building systems (VBS).
Technology is an important aspect of any business that desires long-term existence. The implementation of technology allows both the contractor and supplier to be mobile, connected, more intelligent, and flexible.
HARDI's Annual Conference in December, the organization’s Emerging Leaders program sought to strengthen the HVACR industry by developing the talent of its up-and-coming distributors, manufacturers, and vendors.