Johnson Controls recently honored distributors representing its York®, Coleman® and Luxaire® brands with service awards during the 2009 Unitary Products Technical Conference held Oct. 5-8 in Norman, OK.

As 185 attendees, including 134 different distributors, looked on, Roger Thoes of Johnson Supply, Carrollton, TX, received the company’s Service Manager of the Year award. Other award winners were:

York Distinguished Service Award Winners:

• Glenn Wolverton – York New Jersey Branch
• Scott Muir – York Toronto Branch
• Paul Willmus – Ferguson Enterprises Inc.
• Rod Bourassa – Indiana Supply

Roger Thoes (second from right) of Johnson Supply, Carrollton, TX, accepts the 2009 Johnson Controls—Unitary Products Service Manager of the Year Award. Joining him are Johnson Controls—Unitary Products employees (from left to right) Dave Negrey, director, technical services and application engineering; Scott Nelmark, manager, training services; Mark Freund, manager, residential field service; and Steve Maddox, vice president, engineering, Unitary Products.

Coleman Distinguished Service Award Winner

• Charles Humphreys – Equipment Supply and Distribution Inc.

Luxaire Distinguished Service Award Winners

• Don Ginan – ABCO Refrigeration Supply Corp.
• Jim Beltz – Calverley Supply Co. Inc.

“Each of these individuals has distinguished themselves in the areas of application and technical support, consumer relations and technical training,” says Dave Negrey, director, technical services and application engineering, Johnson Controls-Unitary Products.

“We wanted to recognize their accomplishments and publicly commend them for the exceptional service they provide on a daily basis and the contributions they have made to our success during the past year.”

The four-day conference provided attendees with an overview of technical training, including an announcement that the technical training department is going green. “This means manuals and printed material will now be printed on-demand, and the online resources available to distributors and dealers will expand to include additional residential and commercial products,” says Scott Nelmark, manager, Training Services, Johnson Controls-Unitary Products.He added that video content is also available for iPod viewing.

During an overview of residential products, conference presenters announced the 2010 launch of two new products – a whole home dehumidifier and a ventilation control damper. Other items on the agenda included an update on the R-22 phaseout, several product updates, a presentation on the Western Enterprises HVAC VN Series nitrogen purging system, and a discussion of airside and refrigeration system dynamics.

Attendees also toured the Johnson Controls Norman, OK assembly plant and heard an address by Rod Rushing, vice president and general manager – Unitary Products, on the company’s new quality initiative for both residential and commercial products.