MILWAUKEE RHEEM TEAM FIRST DEALER GROUP TO ACHIEVE NATE CERTIFICATION

July 1, 2003
Marking an HVACR industry first, every principal technician of the Rheem Team dealer network serving the greater Milwaukee market has earned North American

Marking an HVACR industry first, every principal technician of the Rheem Team dealer network serving the greater Milwaukee market has earned North American Technician Excellence (NATE) certification. According to NATE, the Milwaukee Rheem Team is the only HVACR dealer group in the country in which every dealer member employs technicians who are NATE certified. “This is a significant achievement for the Rheem Team program and underscores our commitment to providing home owners and small businesses with the highest-quality service support,” says Gary Wehunt, marketing programs manager for Rheem Air Conditioning Division. “At its core, the Rheem Team strives to provide outstanding customer service through highly dedicated and knowledgeable HVAC dealers. NATE certification perfectly complements our mission. We applaud the Milwaukee Rheem Team dealers’ commitment to professionalism and customer care, and we stand with them and NATE in our mutual desire to elevate our industry to the highest standards possible.” “By having technicians who are NATE-certified, these dedicated Rheem Team dealers have raised the bar for all other industry dealer networks in Milwaukee and throughout the country,” adds Carl Smith, director of marketing and public relations for NATE. “What’s more, this achievement provides another layer of assurance for Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin area homeowners that when they select one of these dealers with NATE-certified technicians to service their system, they are choosing a dealer that is not only dedicated to superior customer service, but employs technicians who are fully competent to work on their home comfort system.” The Milwaukee Rheem Team dealers join an elite group: of the approximately 400,000 HVAC technicians in the U.S., only 15,000 are NATE certified. About 68% of the technicians who take the NATE certification tests pass. NATE certification is valid for five years. Principal service technicians from each of the seven Milwaukee Rheem Team dealerships passed the NATE Air Conditioning Excellence test, which consists of a core and specialty exam. The exams test a technician’s knowledge on such issues as the fundamentals of electricity, heat transfer, safety and HVAC system components and diagnostics. The seven dealerships that comprise the Milwaukee Rheem Team dealer group are: Comfort Systems of Racine Inc. (Racine); Custom Aire Inc. (West Bend); Dykeman Family Corp. (Milwaukee); Hartlaub Plumbing & Heating, Inc. (Wauwatosa); Magnum Service Inc. (Milwaukee); Al Misurelli & Son Inc. (Kenosha); and Tom’s Dependable Heating & Cooling Inc. (Milwaukee). Design Air, Wisconsin’s Rheem distributor, played an important partnership role with Rheem Team by providing the test participants with training and education materials, hosting practice and review sessions and proctoring the NATE test. The Rheem Team also benefited from having previously taken courses and attending seminars from Design Air’s on-going training program, which is available to all of its business partners. Founded in 1995, Rheem Team is a North American network of heating, ventilating and air conditioning contractors committed to high business standards and outstanding customer service. All Rheem Team dealers and their employees undergo extensive Customer Care® training and adhere to strict customer service standards. Rheem Team dealers recommend Rheem products to their customers but are able to service all HVAC manufacturing brands. For more information, visit www.rheemteam.com. For more information about NATE, contact C. Smith at 703/276-7247, ext. 361.