COLUMBUS, Ohio – With the vision to create a wider capability of strengthening wholesale distributors as the channel of choice for HVACR manufacturers and contractors, the Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) Board of Directors has approved development of a new division within HARDI for wholesale distribution in Mexico.
HARDI has appointed former RSM International Management Consultant Guitze Messina as the executive director to head this new Mexico division of HARDI. Sources from HARDI report Mesina brings a unique and crucial skill set to this venture, based on his valuable experience, that will allow HARDI to grow the value of wholesale distributors in the Mexican HVACR market.
“I have worked with the HVACR industry in Mexico, and from what I have seen I can tell you there is a substantial need for an organization like HARDI in that market and for the services it can provide,” says Messina. “I am proud to join the HARDI team and I am confident that we will be able to navigate the market successfully as HARDI embarks on this new venture.”
Research and planning have been part of an ongoing initiative by HARDI leadership over the past two years, and this new phase sets that plan in motion.
“This is such a meaningful step for HARDI,” says CEO Talbot Gee. “As HARDI grows, it is important that we take advantage of opportunities like this that help further HARDI’s core mission of keeping wholesale distribution the channel of choice for the industry. This new division will help accomplish that in the rapidly growing market of Mexico.”
The official launch of the new HARDI Mexico division will occur at HARDI’s Annual Conference in December at a special Mexico Market Summit event.
Tom Roberts, HARDI president and CEO of cfm Distributors, Inc., states, “HARDI has grown leaps and bounds in terms of quality and quantity of resources and services it provides to its members in the United States and Canada over the last decade. With the progress the organization has seen in that timeframe, expanding with a focus on the Mexican HVACR distribution market is the next logical step. With Gui on the front lines supported by the current association, this is an exciting new development that will grow to further improve resources and services provided to all HARDI members.”