Nordyne, St. Louis, MO, has formed a strategic training partnership with member-owned Nexstar, Inc., White Bear Lake, MN. Nexstar delivers comprehensive systems, business training and support to independent home-service providers, including electricians, plumbers and HVAC professionals. Nexstar programs include business-building services and support, finance, marketing, recruiting, customer service and management. “The industry is changing, and it's critical that dealers have the information, tools, and training they need to differentiate themselves,” says Doug Jones, vice president of sales for Nordyne. "By partnering with Nexstar, we're teaming with an organization that shares this vision, and implements it superbly. As an industry, we're undergoing significant change, due to 13 SEER, R-410A, and the regionalization and adoption of different state codes,” Jones adds, in an exclusive interview with Contracting Business.
“Nexstar provides their dealer members with a very high code of ethical conduct, and they have an exceptional training methodology. Nexstar business training is considered by many to be among the best in the HVAC industry. They're very focused, and we believe that, in these unsettled times, whether you're a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer, you need to be improving. Nexstar offers dealers an excellent avenue by which to become better at what they do, and meet the challenges of the changing times.”
According to Dave Garvin, Nordyne technical service manager, the partnership idea was first discussed during last year's HVAC Comfortech.
“Jeff Leone of AirTemp Mechanical Services, West Hartford, CT, told us how excited he was to be a Nexstar member,” Garvin says. “Jeff was also planning to become a Maytag dealer, and he thought a Nexstar/Nordyne partnership would be a great idea. After seeing his enthusiasm for Nexstar, we decided we'd explore it.”
Jones says Nordyne next spoke with distributors and dealers who were familiar with Nexstar, and with Susan Tigner, Nexstar's strategic partner manager.
“Susan made a very compelling presentation to Nordyne about the benefits of being a Nexstar dealer, and we did some research to confirm the positive aspects of the partnership,” Jones says.
“We determined we had mutual interests, including dealers who are good business people, are comfortable with financing, are strong in terms of their ability to sell brands, and are committed to a high code of ethics.”
Tigner believes the partnership will benefit all participants.
“We viewed it as an opportunity to offer another high quality product for our Nexstar members to grow their businesses, and we felt we could offer quality dealers to Nordyne,” Tigner says.
“Our members have access to all of our program, schools, and systems. We'll be working with the Nordyne regional sales structure and brands to find the right match for our members with regards to products. We're always looking for new Nexstar members, and realize there may be some Nordyne dealers who would like to explore membership opportunities with us. It's our commitment to help them build their business, and build our members' businesses as well. We believe in delivering the same type of value to our customers.”
“Nexstar has its own business model and we're not going to integrate into their systems,” Jones says. “They'll continue to do what they do well, and Nordyne will continue to do what it does well. Together, we'll be stronger.”
For more information visit www.nexstar.com and www.nordyne.com. Nordyne dealers can also contact Dave Garvin at garvind@nordyne.com.