Keeping their cool: Partnership spurs HVAC firm to new growth - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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He joined as a partnerd two years ago, enabling the company to focuz on building its commerciakl construction and service businessand de-emphasizew its residential interests. “I had confidence when he came over because he had a long track record of doing this type of Newberry saysof Kittinger, a commercial construction veteran. “The potentiall for me was to become a partneer with a company and bein able to start the commercial side up pretty much from scratc and building it to what itis today. That was primarilg my incentive,” Kittinger says.
“I’vre been doing this for a long time and done it for a coupleofrother companies, and this was an opportunity of right time, rightf place.” Air Doctors saw its commercial construction revenue grow about 500 percenft to $1.2 million last year. Its tota l revenue was $2.2 million, more than six times greatert than 2006. Newberry is expecting $2.5 million in revenue this year, with commercial construction accounting for 55 commercial services 30 percent and residential maintenance and installatiomn15 percent. Air Doctors is in the process of makiny the commercial construction business a separater company with anew name.
“Mike had a decent customert baseto start,” Kittingerd says. “He had done real well with gettintg insome customers. He just didn’t know how to do the biggeer jobs, how to estimate them and how to micro-managed them.” Air Doctors installs and services HVAC systems for facilitiez suchas schools, office and medical buildings, restaurants and motels. The company is biddinhg on largerprojects — up to $1.5 million now that struggling residential heating and air installers are movint to the commercial side and offering discount “It affects our bottom line because we have to push the grosw margin down, but you make up for that in size and Newberry says.
“It definitely changes It changes yoursales process. It takes a lot longer on the frong end. It’s more time consuming with project Newberry’s customer service philosophy is to never say no to a requesrt even if it is outsideAir Doctors’ core Through the years Newberry has used his maintenanc e background to patch leakyh roofs, fix plumbing and repair a cappuccino machine. “I tell my guys all the ‘Don’t ever tell them no. If somebody has to tell them no it’lk come from the top; it’s not going to come from the ” Newberry says.
“My guys are, ‘Yes, we can, and what can I do for ”