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NATE to Honor Five Top Techs

NATE is pleased to recognize the Five Top Techs from across the country: Thomas Bush from Jonesville, Va.; John Drye from West Lebanon, N.H.; Keith Kane from Omaha, Neb.; Robert Millen from Pratt, Kan.; and Thomas Neary from Rochester, N.Y. These technicians will be honored at Comfortech 2009 in Nashville, Tenn.

To be honored as a Top Tech, the technician must be a practicing technician in the field; must hold NATE's senior certification (Efficiency Analyst); and must hold at least four other NATE certifications.

"On behalf of NATE, we congratulate these five technicians who have worked hard to continually master their HVACR skills and who have helped to raise the level of professionalism in the industry," said Rex Boynton, president of NATE. "We encourage all technicians across the country to follow their lead and take steps to seek certification."

Thomas Bush
Rite Way Mechanical & Electrical Services
Jonesville, Va.

With approximately 40 years of HVAC experience, Thomas Bush holds five certifications plus Efficiency Analyst. Currently employed at Rite Way Mechanical & Electrical Services in Jonesville, Va., Tom's experience ranges from designing HVAC and mechanical systems to working for design-construct firms. His formal education includes studying Mechanical Engineering for three years after high school, as well as graduating Summa Cum Laude from the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration program at Mountain Empire Community College. He is also recognized as a master HVAC technician and master electrician in Virginia and as a Journeyman HVAC mechanic in Kentucky.

When asked about NATE, Tom said, "NATE is unique because it has been accepted industry-wide. I am certain this industry-wide acceptance is due at least in part because of the high standards, which NATE has established in the certification process. Technicians and contractors across the country have learned that the NATE tests are difficult but fair. NATE certification separates the professional technician from others in the industry and I recommend that all service and installation technicians take the NATE exams and become certified in their area of HVAC work."

John Drye
MJ Hayward Mechanical/Electrical
West Lebanon, N.H.

Holding five NATE certifications plus Efficiency Analyst, John Drye works at MJ Hayward Mechanical/Electrical in West Lebanon, N.H., where he has been in the commercial HVACR business for three and a half years. Prior to working for MJ Hayward, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps where he received his initial HVAC training and EPA certification. Still in the Marine Reserves, John works for the Marine for Life Program. 

John noted an extra benefit to being NATE certified stating, "Not only does the NATE Certification demonstrate that I am both knowledgeable in my field and take the time to do things right, but the Gas Furnaces test is also accepted by the NH State Fire Marshal's office when applying for the service technicians gas license (which I have)."

Keith Kane
Thermal Services Inc
Omaha, Neb.

Keith started at Thermal Services Inc., in Omaha, Neb., more than 23 years ago as an apprentice installer. His vast experience has taken him from installation to residential service to lead technician. Then he moved to commercial service where he works today. Kane currently holds four certifications plus Efficiency Analyst.

Having attended Iowa State University and Iowa Western Community College, as well as having taken several factory and vendor classes, and classes at Thermal Services, he values NATE as an avenue to learn and grow as a technician: "All of the studying and preparation for the NATE exams helped me to clarify what I knew and learn more in areas where I was weak," he said. "This helped me improve my ability to troubleshoot and repair equipment."

Robert Millen
Adams Electric
Pratt, Kan.

Robert Millen, from Adams Electric in Pratt, Kan., has been in the HVAC business since 1975. He spent 12 years working with ammonia at packing plants doing all aspects of refrigeration maintenance, another two years installing commercial refrigeration cases in grocery stores for Nash Finch Company and the rest doing commercial and residential service.
Millen holds six certifications plus Efficiency Analyst. He said, "NATE is important in showing just what you have to offer the customer in knowledge and experience. Customers have a standard in which to compare service technicians. To be NATE-certified when your competitors are not is one more feather in our caps and one more reason our customers can feel confident when they call us for a service call."

Thomas Neary
Isaac Heating & Air Conditioning
Rochester, NY

Thomas Neary is a member of the service department leadership team and the technical supervisor for the field staff at Isaac Heating & Air Conditioning in Rochester, NY. After graduating from SUNY Canton and Oswego with degrees in computer science, Tom decided he wanted to do something mechanical rather than electronic - to work with his hands. So, he began a 13-year career with a small HVAC company. He moved to Isaac 21 years ago. In addition to NATE, Neary is a member of Air Conditioning Refrigeration Educators.

Having earned nine NATE certifications, Tom says, "NATE certification is important to me because it helps to validate the four-plus years I have dedicated to Isaac University and the on-going training we do here at Isaac Heating & Air Conditioning. Probably the greatest reward of being NATE-certified allows me to distinguish myself as an HVAC professional. With the complexity of the systems that are coming out and the need for a more holistic approach to HVAC systems, I am better prepared."

For more information about NATE, visit www.natex.org.

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Bob Wilkos said he has probably sold every leading brand of HVACR equipment except one during his career in the trade. But he has always made it a point to sell his company as the brand and not the product he sells. Wilkos, business leader for Peaden Air Conditioning & Heating, Panama City, Fla., uses the fact that he has NATE-certified technicians in the selling process. Peaden began as a one-man shop repairing room air conditioners and was eventually built up into a $7 million business.

The NATE Advantage recently caught up with Wilkos to talk to him about NATE certification and the business in general.

Q: How many technicians do you have and how many are NATE certified?
A: We have 11 service techs and nine are NATE certified. We have six install techs (lead installers only) and five are NATE certified.

Q: Is there an incentive at your company for techs to become NATE certified?
A: Yes an automatic $1/hour wage increase with NATE certification.

Q: Do your customers know about NATE certification? If not, how do you make them aware?
A: Many do - more so now than when we first started promoting NATE. We have integrated and promoted NATE certification for many years into our marketing plan, which consists of TV, radio, billboards, print, Website, Yellow Pages vehicles, banners, and more. We are, and have been, a market leader as well as a savvy marketer so we took it upon ourselves to market NATE like the auto industry did their ASE certification. If we're the only ones that understand the value, then the value to the consumer is nil. Every NATE-certified technician has a NATE decal on his vehicle, which is personalized with his name and the statement that he is a NATE-certified technician.

Q:  What has been the customers' response to the knowledge that your techs are NATE certified?
A: It was not immediate, but the local consumers now have a better idea that a NATE-certified tech is better in many ways than a non-certified tech.

Q: What are the big differences from a NATE-certified technician and a tech that is not certified?
A: From a tech perspective, they are better skilled, possess a higher technical confidence as well as trade pride. From a consumer perspective, they are more comfortable with a certified tech diagnosing their comfort problem and tend to agree with technical diagnosis rather than doubt and seek second opinion. From a company perspective, our callback ratio has been less than 1 percent for years and usually averages out at .0075 percent, which we believe is better than industry average.

Q: How is Peaden Air Conditioning handling the recent economic downturn? What advice can you give to other contractors?
A: In 2008, we posted a record revenue year ($7 million- plus) - profitability too - and, in 2009 to date, we are ahead of the 08 revenue pace. As a service/retrofit contractor, the key to success in any economy is the continued growth of service agreements. We are fortunate that many have subscribed to our philosophy that maintenance is important and have over 11,000 service agreements in a county with 70,000 households. Our percentage of active agreements to total households may be one of the strongest in the country and it has fueled our growth, success, and profitability. With regards to service agreements, our management team spends more time studying our service agreement results than our monthly P&L statement because we believe the agreements is essential to drive the revenue. 

Q: What is your opinion on the proposed health care legislation and do you think it will help or hurt the HVAC contractor?
A: To be determined. Answering this question is like trying to shoot at a moving target. At last look of the proposed House plan, we would have to rethink our health care strategy and any increase in our health insurance costs would be passed along to consumers.

Q: What new and exciting things are happening at Peaden Air Conditioning?
A: Peaden will celebrate 40 years of business in October and our growth in the past 10 years has been significant. This growth has been achieved due to many good decisions made throughout this time period such as NATE certification of our field personnel, our marketing and advertising program, private-labeling of HVAC systems and other products, contributions of time, money, and effort to the community and industry organizations and projects, and much more. We opened our first branch office earlier this year and are presently contemplating the second one at this time. As part of a business plan, we have added new services such as plumbing, comfort diagnostics, and insulation to name a few.

This edition's Tale From the Road comes from Greg Lauer, the service manager at Spangler and Boyer Mechanical Inc.:

"We had a request to price a new unit replacement in a very upscale development for a current customer. The old unit was a 20-plus year old Borg Warner oil low boy with some issues and the rest of the units in the home were gas so we were pricing a gas replacement.

I have established a very good relationship with these people over the years. We are on a first name basis and while I was there this time, I paid attention to the granddaughter that the owners wife was holding on her hip playing peek-a-boo when the wife said, "Greg I have to tell you I was so worried last night, I was in the closet (huge storage area off of master bedroom with the oil furnace in it) and smelled gas so I shut it down."
It took all I had not to laugh because there is no gas near the oil furnace. I told her all would be fine as she did not need heat that night and the new unit would be installed the next day. The story does not end there; once the new unit was installed a month or two later we got a call that the gas bill was high. Our technician had to explain that the gas bill was higher because the new furnace was gas but he bets her oil bill will be less. He was right, she was happy, and we get a chuckle when we relive the story.

To submit your story for a future installment of Tales from the Road, e-mail kylegargaro@achrnews.com and put "Tales from the Road" in the subject line.