ARLINGTON, Va. — At the 2014 Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) Annual Conference in San Antonio, North American Technician Excellence (NATE) recognized 10 HARDI member companies for their outstanding efforts to promote NATE technician certification in the HVACR industry.

Last year, NATE announced new awards recognizing NATE certifier organizations in the HARDI North American chapters/regions to join the Top Single Location Certifier, Most Improved Certifier, and Rising Star Certifier honors. The national award winners are:

• Top Single Location Certifier: Johnstone Supply in Denver was recognized for certifying more NATE technicians than any other HARDI member at a single location.

• Most Improved Certifier: HVAC Distributors in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, was recognized as the HARDI member with the greatest increase in the number of NATE technician certifications from the past year.

• Rising Star Certifier: Norman S. Wright of Phoenix was recognized as the HARDI member with the greatest number of NATE technician certifications in its first year as a NATE testing organization.

The regional award winners are:

• Top Mid-Atlantic Region Certifier: Virginia Air Distributors, Midlothian, Virginia

• Top Great Lakes Region Certifier: Refrigeration Sales Inc., Valley View, Ohio

• Top Central Region Certifier: Temperature Equipment Corp., Lansing, Illinois

• Top Southeastern Region Certifier: Mingledorff’s Inc. Norcross, Georgia

• Top Southwestern Region Certifier: Robert Madden Industries, Amarillo, Texas

• Top Northeastern Region Certifier: S. G. Torrice Co., Wilmington, Massachusetts

• Top Western Region Certifier: AIREFCO Inc., Tulatin, Oregon

“NATE is pleased to continue to partner with HARDI to present the NATE Certifier Awards at this year’s conference,” said John Lanier, NATE COO. “These HARDI members host NATE certification testing because they understand the value NATE certifications provide in improving the level of knowledge, training, and service in the HVACR industry. We are proud to recognize their efforts.”

Lanier added, “We are proud to partner with over 100 HARDI members across North America to continue to support the industry with qualified NATE-certified technicians. Distributors who offer NATE testing tend to have contractors that are better selling customers, have fewer warranty costs, and require less technical service and support than contractors without NATE-certified technicians. We hope this increased recognition will support more distributors to join us in our efforts.”

For more information about NATE, visit www.natex.org.

For more information on HARDI, visit www.hardinet.org.

Publication date: 12/8/2014

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