• Contractingbusiness 1809 1110 Toolsoftrade
    1. Archive

    Tools of the Trade

    Nov. 1, 2010
    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.

    Conditioned Air,Naples, FL

    The Conditioned Air residential HVAC company began operations in 1962. It has since grown its employment base to 185 people. It achieved record revenues in the past year. To accommodate this growth, managers added 35 employees, and built a new headquarters facility. This expansion has occurred despite the general downturn in new construction, because chief executive officer, Theo Etzel, redirected his business efforts and diversified.

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    Conditioned Air's track home division installs systems in hundreds of new homes each year, and the company’s replacement department manages 500 to 700 projects annually. New construction in existing homes will add another 150 to 200 annual jobs.

    Carol Papesh, the company's chief financial officer, was named the 2010 ContractingBusiness.com HVACR Woman of the Year (see "Woman of the HVACR World", COO, and Carol Papesh, CFO.

    IN THE TRUCKS

    • Number and type of trucks/vans: 5 GMC Sierras; 35 Ford E-250 vans;14 Ford F-150 trucks; 38 Ford E250 vans; 8 Chevy Silverados; 4 Chevy Astro Vans; and many more.
    • Inventory on trucks/vans: Armaflex; relays; start kits; thermostats, humidistats; transformers; adhesives; oxygen R; nitrogen 40; acetylene MC.
    • Preferred tools and test instruments technicians carry: Nitrogen regulator; vacuum pump; recovery machine; micron gauge; leak detector; isolation gauge; hand tools; superheat sensor; electrical crimping tool; flaring tool; swaging tool; tubing bender tool; digital thermometer; volt/ohm meter with amp probe; megohmeter; variable speed motor tester; infrared thermometer.
    • Preferred field communications method: Verizon cellular phones and computers.
    • Preferred ladder type: Werner; Louisville; Little Giant.

    IN THE OFFICE

    • Preferred business management software: Sawin.
    • Preferred sales management software: Sawin.
    • Preferred load calculation software: Wrightsoft.
    • Preferred fleet tracking software: Enterprise rental.
    • Preferred computer/printer equipment: Dell HP.
    • Preferred photocopier equipment: Ricoh.
    • Business connection to the Internet via: T11 line.
    • Preferred uniform supplier: Rent from Cintas.
    • Credit Cards Accepted: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express.

    IN THE SHOP

    • Preferred heating equipment brands: Trane, Lennox, Rheem, Ruud, Carrier, Mitsubishi, LG, Daikin, Unico, Multi Aqua.
    • Preferred cooling equipment brands: Carrier, Trane, Mitsubishi.
    • Preferred accessory brands: Ultravation UV lights; No Vent valve caps; Thermaster high humidification alert system; Trane CleanEffects; Lennox Pure Air; Trane Perfect Fit; Space Guard.
    • Preferred zoning equipment: Honeywell Infinity.
    • Preferred distributor(s): Lennox; Trane; Tropic Supply; Gemaire.
    • Number of technicians currently certified and type of certification: 51 EPA 608 Type I, II, Universal; 18 have North American Technician Excellence (NATE) certification; two are county journeymen.