ORLANDO, Fla. — At the 2015 Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) Annual Conference, North American Technician Excellence (NATE) recognized nine HARDI member companies for their outstanding efforts to promote NATE technician certification in the HVACR industry.

In addition to the Top Single Location Certifier and Most Improved Certifier honors, NATE announced awards recognizing NATE certifier organizations in the HARDI North American chapters/regions. The 2015 awardees, listed below, will receive large banner signs, which they can display in their locations to recognize their accomplishments, while also driving interest in NATE technician certification among their customers. In addition, each will receive a cash prize to be used to celebrate with their staff.

• 2015 NATE Single Location Top Certifier: Mingledorff’s of Norcross, Georgia, was recognized for certifying more NATE technicians than any other HARDI member at a single location.

• 2015 NATE Most Improved Certifier: G.W. Berkheimer Co. of Portage, Indiana, was recognized as the HARDI member with the greatest increase in the number of NATE technician certifications from the past year. 

Regional Awards:

• 2015 NATE Top Mid-Atlantic Region Certifier: HVAC Distributors, Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.

• 2015 NATE Top Great Lakes Region Certifier: Refrigeration Sales Corp., Valley View, Ohio.

• 2015 NATE Top Central Region Certifier: Temperature Equipment Corp., Lansing, Illinois.

• 2015 NATE Top Southeastern Region Certifier: Value Added Distributors, Midlothian, Virginia.

• 2015 NATE Top Southwestern Region Certifier: Standard Supply, Fort Worth, Texas.

• 2015 NATE Top Northeastern Region Certifier: S.G. Torrice Co., Wilmington, Massachusetts.

• 2015 NATE Top Western Region Certifier: Johnstone Supply, Salt Lake City.

“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.”

He continued, “We are proud to partner with over 200 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.