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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - It is the calm after the storm. When hvacr consolidators stormed the Indianapolis market five years ago, there was uneasiness and uncertainty among local independents. Would the Wall Street "bullies" steal customers? Steal employees? Alter the level of service?
A lot of those questions have been answered over the past three years since The News last visited this thriving Midwestern community. The atmosphere of uncertainty and distrust seems to have subsided, and contractors are focusing their attention on customer service -- the staple of the hvacr trade.
But there have been some significant changes to the consolidators, who prefer to be called "operating companies" now. It seems that the acquisition stage, so strongly linked to the word "consolidation," has faded away. The local service centers of each Wall Street corporation are now concentrating on building from within, only seeking tuck-in companies if the fit is right.
Some of the names have changed, too. Airtron/GroupMAC is now Airtron/Encompass. Service Experts is now owned by Lennox, though it continues to use the Service Experts nomenclature only. American Residential Services (ARS) was purchased by ServiceMaster and is now part of Rescue Rooter/ARS. (This branch was profiled in the September 3 issue of The News.) And Comfort Systems USA is now part of the Indy landscape, having opened its service center just after The News visited this Midwest community three years ago.
GOOD THING GOING
When one mentions "Indianapolis residential new construction," the first company that comes to mind is Airtron/Encompass. It's almost the same thing as playing the word association game Airtron is synonymous with residential new construction.
If one were to study the history of other Encompass business units, one would find that the general market coverage includes design-build construction, electrical technologies, mechanical services and cleaning systems, commercial-industrial-institutional customers; and only a small percentage of residential work.
But in a market where residential starts are up 20% and Airtron has a solid reputation as the industry leader in the new construction trade, Encompass has a good thing going - and acknowledges it.
"Our backlog of work is the highest it's ever been," said Eric Woerner, Airtron Indianapolis vice president. "With interest rates going down under 8%, the market keeps going crazy."
Seventy percent...