On any given job site, an HVAC contractor can use up to 20 to 30 different manufacturers’ products to complete a single installation. But what if respective manufacturers could work together to optimize their impact for the benefit of the contractor and the industry?
Such is the framework behind the newly formed HVACR Manufacturers Association (HMA) — an association run by manufacturers for manufacturers launched last week at the AHR Expo in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Our association will serve as a forum for member companies to share best practices, address common challenges, analyze market trends and to bring value to HVACR manufacturers in our industry,” explains Chuck Eddy, Vice President of Sales at Southwire and HMA’s President of the Board of Directors. “We realized that through networking and sharing ideas we could help each other. And we can expand this to the larger HVACR community.”
There is strength in numbers, Eddy says, and the HMA is putting out a national call for like-minded manufacturers to join its ranks.
“There are nine board members. We’ve been talking about this for a while with other people and just waiting for the right time to launch it,” he says. “We launched at AHR because this is where there are 2,000-plus HVACR manufacturers.”
By having various manufacturers work more closely together, the HMA's ultimate goal is to improve overall HVACR installation.
“Currently, we all are siloed in whatever it is, wire, equipment, sealants, filters,” explains Billy Prewitt, Marketing Manager at Hardcast and founding Board Member of HMA. “Contractors have to take products that are made by different companies and use them in solutions that were engineered at a higher level. The ability for those manufacturer’s to think through this system approach as a whole will be very beneficial to the industry.”
HMA’s first priority is to engage manufacturers and start a conversation together, Prewitt says.
HMA is registered in Texas as a 501 C (6) organization. For more information about membership in the HVACR Manufacturers Association, call 972-233-9107 or visit hma-hvacr.org.
