ARLINGTON, Va. — The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) has named AirRite Air-Conditioning Co., Fort Worth, Texas, and K & M Shillingford Inc., Tulsa, Okla., its 2012 Contractors of the Year.

“Each year the best contractors in the country apply for this award and share their unique business practices and dedication to our industry’s success,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, ACCA president and CEO. “Our panel of judges always has a difficult task when they have to choose the recipient of these awards. This year, they have again selected two very deserving companies that exemplify the qualities that all the best companies share.”

AirRite Air-Conditioning Co. will be presented the Residential Contractor of the Year award on March 5 at the ACCA Conference’s opening general session. The association noted that AirRite has been a leader in the home performance contracting market for many years and its strong focus on employee training made the company stand out as the best of this year’s residential finalists.

“Being selected Residential Contractor of the Year is a great honor,” said Larry Taylor, president of AirRite. “We have an amazing team that serves and satisfies our customers each and every day. Without them we would simply be another contractor in the great sea of sameness in the marketplace; they make AirRite right. I also want to congratulate the other contractors that applied for this award for helping to raise the bar for all contractors.”

K & M Shillingford Inc. will be presented the Commercial Contractor of the Year award during the closing general session of the ACCA Conference on March 7. The association said the company is one of the oldest geothermal contracting companies in the United States and its tireless efforts to grow the market segment and make it more accessible to customers proved it was deserving of the honor.

“Receiving this award is like winning the Superbowl,” said Peter Shillingford, vice president of K & M Shillingford. “Every player strives for that moment and plays hard for years waiting for that recognition, that Superbowl ring. This is our ring.”

Jay Murphy, president of K & M Shillingford, added, “This award means everything! It is the pinnacle of our careers.”

The 44th annual ACCA Conference and Indoor Air Expo takes place March 5-8 in Las Vegas. For more information and to register, visit www.accaconference.com/register.

For more information about ACCA, visit www.acca.org.

Publication date: 02/27/2012