February 1, 2012
Cover Story
Ripe For Success
The Tri-Cities area of Columbia Valley includes the cities of Pasco, Richland and Kennewick and is known for its cold, snowy winters and long, hot summers. That kind of climate not only makes it a near-perfect place to grow grapes, but it also makes it a perfect place to have an air conditioning and heating business. Mike Campbell, founder of Campbell & Company, thought exactly that 29 years ago when he decided to start an HVAC business in a small garage in Pasco. ...
Articles
Performance Pay: Make Your Company a Great Place for Great People
Performance pay is an important tool that will help you attract and keep top performers. It rewards outstanding personnel for their technical, communication, and organizational skills....
‘Better Than Free’ Energy Alternatives
TUDI Mechanical, Inc. is taking the lead in bringing innovative energy solutions to commercial HVAC customers in Pittsburgh, PA and Tampa, FL....
Training Wheels
The transformation of the commercial refrigeration industry continues. Here, ContractingBusiness.com and Supermarket News magazines continue a series of articles based on our Second Annual Refrigeration Roundtable discussions, by refrigeration contractors and supermarket executives. Part 2: Technician Training & Recruitment...
Tools of the Trade
Each month, Contracting Business picks a leading contractor and takes a look at the products, tools, and services that he or she has chosen to help make their company successful....
Columns
Global Warming: Science Versus Politics
As a kid growing up in the American Midwest, one of my favorite pastimes was stargazing. To this day I have a fascination for constellations, telescopes, and the science behind them. It also fascinates me how politics has always complicated the quest to understand the cosmos in general and our planet in particular. Part of THAT fascination is with the many people involved in the struggle for knowledge....
How to Sell Service Appointments – Part 1
Getting a higher closing rate requires commitment; an unwillingness to let people get off the phone without booking an appointment. Once that phone is hung up without booking a call, that customer is lost forever. Set it as a personal commitment that no one who calls will get off the phone without booking an appointment. ...
Getting to the "C-level" Decision-makers
Almost invariably, when I didn’t get the ink on the paper, I didn’t have all of the right decision makers present. ...
Comfort FAQ
Q: What is happening relative to extended warranty sales, and customers’ perception of quality?...
2 More Challenges & Opportunities For 2012
December's Last Word focused on "Four Challenges and Opportunities for 2012". Here are two more key challenges and opportunities to think about...
News
AHRI, NATE Announce Restructure
and Administrative Services Agreement
The actions announced today by AHRI and NATE are designed to ensure NATE’s growth and progress as a technician certification organization....
NATE Achieves Prestigious ANSI Accreditation
North American Technician Excellence (NATE) announces that it has officially been recognized as an ANSI-accredited certification body. ...
From the Field
Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) has announced the names of the most recent recipents of RSES Cerfificate Member (CM) status. ...
Lake Mechanical's Evelyn Smith
a Hall of Famer
Evelyn H. Smith has been part of the Lake Mechanical Contractors leadership team for 50 years....
AtmosAir Solutions Debuts in Dallas-Ft. Worth
AtmosAir Solutions markets and installs bi-polar ionization air purification devices....
Arkema's Forane Website Includes Expanded R22 Retroftting Coverage
Arkema’s North American Forane® refrigerants website has expanded its information about R-22 retrofitting in response to users’ needs to better understand the many options open to them. ...
Trane's New Website: Helpful and Easy to Navigate
A new website "reinvention" from an HVAC leader includes straightforward messaging and special features....
Business Bits
The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), recently had its day in court, and won. ...
Refrigeration Briefs
The Design Services Network of Emerson Climate Technologies reported that it’s available to assist in the design, development and testing for hydrocarbon refrigerants recently approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP). ...
