Growth Through Implementation

Over the years they’ve worked hard on implementing High-Performance Contracting into their company. The team has been able to triple its historic annual gross revenue. Part of the reason: being able to introduce new services including:

• Expanding their new construction market area into a ski town 45 miles from Craig
• Creating a test of heat exchanger integrity using combustion analyzers to identify breaches. This has increased their replacement business by 75%. Updike says that all replacements resulting from technician ‘red tags’ are brought back to the shop, disassembled, and the breech photographed to assure valid identification
• Conducting a combustion analysis on every heating, water heater service, and replacement call
• Installing an NCI Carbon Monoxide monitor on every furnace/boiler replacement
• Entering the water treatment business ‘ installation and service
• Including duct rehabilitation into pricing for every furnace replacement quote
• Creating an annual residential maintenance agreement program.

Maintenance agreement sales is new for Masterworks. Previously they only performed commercial maintenance using their service technicians instead of using a dedicated maintenance technician.

A Never-Ending Cycle

Updike likes to tell this story about when he graduated from tech school and was so excited about being able to get into the trades and start fixing things. He says his instructor was a retired-Navy refrigeration tech wh

Braeden Barnes cutting sheet metal in the fabrication shop.

o told him that success isn’t based on what work you do, how well you do it, or who knows it. He said, ‘We won’t be able to tell if you are successful until you have had a little time to show us that you continue learning. If you don’t spend the time to continue learning every day, you will never be successful in this trade.

‘That shook me to my core,’ Updike says. ‘It is what led me to question everything and eventually got me involved with NCI and their combustion training. In my opinion, the High-Performance approach, as defined by NCI, is where this entire trade is heading.

‘It is a never-ending cycle and that is a good thing. It means, as you learn new facts and methods, you can go back to your customers and admit you know more now and can help them make their homes and business even more comfortable and energy efficient. You can do it with confidence.’

Vic also says part of the performance culture is to help others interested in implementing it into their companies.

‘We invite anyone struggling with their implementation process or wanting a guy-on-the-ground view on how to drive your culture to Combustion Testing to contact us anytime. Our methods were not invented by us, they came to us from discussions with other NCI members and coaches. They are tweaked to fit our market and culture to make us more effective and efficient. And we are willing to share how we did and are doing it.’

As Masterworks enters their 31st year in business, High-Performance HVAC Today magazine congratulates Vic and his team on their accomplishments and willingness to help others. This the ‘why’ of our decision to re-focus our March 2019 Contractor Spotlight on them.