In This Podcast:

Stephen Yurek

Stephen Yurek, president and CEO of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), talks about the mood of the HVACR industry in 2014, what legislative and regulatory issues the industry faces in the year ahead, and how listeners can get involved in protecting the industry’s interests. Posted on Feb. 14.

Q: At the 2014 AHR Expo, attendees were expressing optimism. Tell us about AHRI members; are they feeling good about the year ahead?

A: Yes. Everybody is feeling pretty good. 2013 was a good year for the industry, and we saw growth in different segments. Everyone is feeling very positive. The AHR Expo featured the largest attendance on record. The latest attendance numbers we received stated that just under 62,000 people attended — even with the snow and other weather-related obstacles. The industry itself has a positive outlook for 2014, in the residential and commercial spaces.

Q: How’s 2014 going so far?

A: It’s a little bit early, as we don’t have any numbers yet and won’t until the end of the first quarter, but, based on the enthusiasm at the show, everyone is very positive. We’ve been hearing great things about orders and I think the cold weather has definitely been helping with the need for heating equipment. The biggest thing has been, has the snow caused a hinderance, and have contractors been able to get to job sites? Overall, everyone has been very positive, and the weather has been very cooperative.

Stephen Yurek
President and CEO, AHRI
www.ahrinet.org

Publication date: 4/7/2014 

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