Keeping their cool: Partnership spurs HVAC firm to new growth - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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He joined as a partner two years ago, enabling the company to focus on building its commercial construction and service businessxand de-emphasize its residential interests. “I had confidencse when he came over becausew he had a long track recorde of doing this typeof stuff,” Newberry says of Kittinger, a commerciao construction veteran. “The potential for me was to becom e a partner with a company and being able to startt the commercial side up pretty much from scratchg and building it to what itis today. That was primarilhy my incentive,” Kittinger says.
“I’ver been doing this for a long time and done it for a coupleogfother companies, and this was an opportunit of right time, righrt place.” Air Doctors saw its commerciao construction revenue grow about 500 percent to $1.2 million last year. Its total revenues was $2.2 million, more than six time greater than 2006. Newberry is expectin g $2.5 million in revenue this with commercial construction accountingv for55 percent, commercial services 30 percent and residential maintenance and installation 15 Air Doctors is in the process of making the commerciao construction business a separate company with a new “Mike had a decent customer base to start,” Kittingefr says.
“He had done real well with getting insome customers. He just didn’t know how to do the biggerr jobs, how to estimate them and how to micro-manage Air Doctors installs and services HVAC systems for facilitiee suchas schools, office and medical buildings, churches, restaurantas and motels. The company is bidding on largerprojects — up to $1.5 millionb — now that struggling residential heating and air installers are movinb to the commercial side and offering discount prices. “I affects our bottom line because we have to push the grosmargin down, but you make up for that in size and Newberry says. “It definitely changes everything.
It changes your sales process. It takes a lot longe r on the front end. It’s more time consuming with projectg management.” Newberry’s customer service philosophy is to neverf say no to a reques even if it is outside Air core services. Through the years Newberry has used his maintenancre background to patchleakt roofs, fix plumbing and repaidr a cappuccino machine. “I tell my guys all the ‘Don’t ever tell them no. If somebodu has to tell them no it’ll come from the top; it’se not going to come from the ” Newberry says.
“My guys are, we can, and what can I do for ”