The battle has been fought and the winners declared in The NEWS’ 2011 eighth annual Dealer Design Awards program. Approximately 30 contractor judges examined the 127 product entries and the 39 gold, silver, and bronze winners have been added to the pantheon of Dealer Design champions.

Does it make a lot of sense for a commercial HVAC contractor, who specializes in rooftop unit service and replacement, to market his wares on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter? If you had suggested this to Jon Lazarus a few years ago, he might have wanted to find a straitjacket for you. But not now.

In a survey of more than 1,500 homeowners conducted by Emerson Climate Technologies Inc. late last year, a high percentage of consumers showed continued interest in potential energy savings as a major purchase criterion when replacing an existing HVAC system.

Attendees of The Unified Group’s Service Management Forum were given opportunities to take “The Leadership Journey.” The goal: to take leadership to another level. “You lead people and manage things,” pointed out Woody Woodall, W.L. Gary, Washington, D.C. “Everybody in the company has to be a leader.”

The Road to Success Lennox dealer meetings are part business seminar and part pep rally by design, said Jay Gidick, vice president of merchandising and national accounts. “We’re trying to make these meetings entertaining for dealers, and we think it’s working.”

As a contractor, it can be tough to branch out from what you know and already do best. But that’s exactly what Rich Imfeld and his father, Dick, have had to do for their company, IC Refrigeration. In this recessionary environment, Rich said, “You either adapt or die.”

Distributors who made it through 2009 can congratulate themselves on surviving one of the most difficult years that HVACR wholesale distribution has endured in a long time. And while business is not back to pre-recession levels, the outlook is definitely improving.

The economic conditions of the last few years have been tough for HVAC contractors. While some economic indicators point to a modest recovery underway, contractors may need a little more convincing, as evidenced by the Contractor Comfort Index (CCI), which decreased in the months of December and January before rising a bit in February.

Oregon State University’s (OSU’s) Energy Center is believed to be the first university-based cogeneration plant in the United States to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. Cogeneration plants are designed to concurrently produce both electricity and heat from the same fuel.

Prices for construction materials increased in January 2011 by 0.9 percent, and have risen by 4.9 percent from January 2010, according to the February 16 Producer Price Index. Iron and steel prices rose 4.7 percent in January and are up 16.4 percent between January 2010 and January 2011.