Champions of Specialty Refrigeration

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Through a combination of MSCA nationally, the UA locally, the SP Group, and its peer group review team —in place for more than 30 years — that they have a plan to give employees what they need for their individual development and the development of the company.

On the "green" side of things, both Brian Hughes and Brian Glynn are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Accredited Professionals.

The company's integrity is seen and appreciated by industry distributors, who realize the importance of doing the right thing, all the time. One of those distributors is ABCO Refrigeration Supply Corp., Long Island City, NY. Hughes Environmental Engineering has been an active customer and valued channel partner of ABCO Refrigeration Supply Corp. for almost 60 years.

"The Hughes organization is as passionate about running a great business as it is about its engineering and mechanical capabilities," says Michael Senter, ABCO chief executive officer. Senter adds that Hughes Environmental Engineering's commitment to excellence on each and every project or service call is the single characteristic that makes Hughes an outstanding contractor.

"This combination provides the Hughes organization with the resources to train and educate its team members on a regular basis, as well as to plan for the leadership of the organization not only today, but also for many years to come," Senter says. "Frank Hughes often says, with a shy, but knowing, smile, 'I'm a peddler, but I also am an astute bookkeeper.' This combination of commitment to excellence in the field and in the office provides the solid foundation for excellence not only under Frank'’s current leadership, but also under the leadership of his son, Brian, whose commitment to excellence is both his heritage and his passion."

The Service Annuity
Hughes Environmental Engineering is very adept at converting refrigeration installation projects into service contracts.

"We look for customers who are dependent on high quality service, whether it's a production need or precise air conditions," Frank Hughes explains. "We make a point of soliciting service, and expect every new job to become a service client for the next 20 years."

Hughes says service builds and strengthens the bridge to strong partnerships. "Service is what retains the customer. It's not something you can count on to expand your business 20% each year. In fact, the bigger you get, the lower your growth rate will be. At the end of the day, the service business is an annuity."

New service business for both HVAC and refrigeration is the responsibility of the Hughes service sales team — Susan Lord, Robert Tiemers, and Annie Divine. Their process involves identifying needs and finding a program to extend equipment life and reduce energy use and operating costs. Above all, they look for prospects who are dissatisfied with their current service provider, or who have had a positive experience with the Hughes company and somehow lost contact.

"We usually conduct a 20-question survey related to existing service practices. Key questions are those that reveal problems with service that will generate more questions or reveal other concerns, Lord says. "Persistence and perseverance are keys to our success."

"We find out fairly quickly if there's an opportunity. If they're happy with their current contractor, all we can hope to do is leave a good impression, and leave on a positive note. Hopefully they'll remember us," Tiemers adds.

Then Comes Service Excellence
Bill Glynn says Service Manager Jeff Tyahla is probably the best troubleshooter he's ever seen, and is great at tracking down solutions. After a service contract is signed, Tyahla and his team of 45 technicians devote every minute of their day to ensuring all service is performed on time, as promised. His key duties are coordinating service as it relates to assigning technicians, troubleshooting, and customer interaction. To him, success comes from doing the job efficiently, and never giving up till a problem is solved, and thanking the team for great work.

"I want to be supportive of the people out there. I appreciate what they do, and treat them —and customers — the way I'd want to be treated. If we make a mistake, we correct it. We never try to hide from it," Tyahla says. He also serves as the main contact for the company's five "Team Leaders," who are the company's most experienced field technicians. If they have a question that needs a fast answer, Jeff takes the call and tracks down the solution. It's a critical part of helping technicians navigate a vast amount of equipment information.

"A refrigeration technician needs to understand refrigerant flow as well or better than an air conditioning technician," he says. "For example, we do a lot of low temp blast freezers and hot gas defrost, or spiral blast freezers at -20F. We work on pharmaceutical refrigeration systems with cascade or compound machines. Therefore, you have to be a little bit sharper when you get into these complex systems."

Balancing Customer Needs with Company Growth
Customers are Hughes Environmental Engineering's top priority, even before experimenting with new ideas.

"Sometimes we dream about doing new things, like possibly adding to our service offerings. But it all comes back to doing what we do best — taking care of the needs of our customers. We're kind of good at it, so we'll stick with it for now," Brian says. "We try to stay on the cutting edge without being on the bleeding edge. We don't try new things just because they're new. We stay plugged in with refrigeration and HVAC industry resources and associations, primarily to bring best practices back to the mother ship."

He says he looks forward to further improvements in the industry's employment base, as technical and management talent moves toward careers in HVACR.

"I'm excited about the huge numbers of talented people interested in our industry," he says. "It's no secret that the automotive and financial sectors in particular have taken a huge employment hit, but many of those people are willing to bring their talents to our sector. Let's welcome them. There's some great talent headed our way. Technically, the dramatic changes in refrigerant protocols are reshaping the low-temperature design and service business, and we’re just getting started."