Recent monetary donations to Feeding America and Meals on Wheels will help provide children, seniors and other Americans with reliable access to nutritious meals. Rooted in the company’s heightened desire to do more, Saniflo USA, a division of Group SFA, has donated to Feeding America to provide 6000 meals to families in need. One dollar Read more
Industry News
Recent monetary donations to Feeding America and Meals on Wheels will help provide children, seniors and other Americans with reliable access to nutritious meals.
Rooted in the company’s heightened desire to do more, Saniflo USA, a division of Group SFA, has donated to Feeding America to provide 6000 meals to families in need. One dollar helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks. The company also donated to Meals on Wheels providing 100 meals to those in need.
“We believe in the power of food to nourish communities across the United States,” says Regis Saragosti, CEO of SFA Saniflo North America. “With millions of Americans without access to nutritious meals, we must help however we can.”
Meals on Wheels America, a leadership organization supporting more than 5,000 community-based programs across the United States, is dedicated to addressing senior isolation and hunger. Their network serves virtually every community in the country. Along with more than two million staff and volunteers, it delivers nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that enable America’s seniors to live nourished lives with independence and dignity.
Located in Huntsville, Alabama, this warehouse will house high-volume STERLING Vikrell bathing and showering fixtures to meet growing U.S. demand Kohler Co., a global leader in kitchen and bath products, opened a state-of-the-art warehouse in Huntsville, Alabama, to support growing customer demand for its high-volume STERLING Vikrell bath and shower fixtures. This greenfield build comprises Read more
Located in Huntsville, Alabama, this warehouse will house high-volume STERLING Vikrell bathing and showering fixtures to meet growing U.S. demand
Kohler Co., a global leader in kitchen and bath products, opened a state-of-the-art warehouse in Huntsville, Alabama, to support growing customer demand for its high-volume STERLING Vikrell bath and shower fixtures.
This greenfield build comprises a total of 546,000 square feet and is located near Kohler’s existing manufacturing plant, which produces STERLING Vikrell products that are popular among the nation’s top single-family homebuilders, home improvement retailers, and a vast number of multi-family developers, plumbers, and remodelers.
Kohler Co. cut the ribbon at its state-of-the-art warehouse in Huntsville, Alabama, to support growing customer demand for the company’s high-volume STERLING Vikrell bath and shower fixtures. The distribution warehouse comprises 546,000 square feet and is located near Kohler’s existing manufacturing plant, which produces STERLING Vikrell products that are popular among the nation’s top single-family homebuilders, home improvement retailers, and a vast number of multi-family developers, plumbers, and remodelers.
“In the past, our business has been constrained by a lack of warehouse storage, which challenged us in providing the level of consistent quick delivery our customers expect,” said Norb Schmidt, Senior Vice President-Kitchen & Bath Operations. “The new warehouse and enhanced stocking strategy will greatly reduce lead times and improve delivery efficiency. We are pleased to expand our presence in Huntsville and Madison County and contribute to the local economy.”
On Tuesday, May 10, Kohler Co. leaders celebrated the warehouse completion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on-site, which included company CEO David Kohler, and Senior Vice President-HR, Stewardship & Sustainability Laura Kohler, along with Kohler associates, local officials and Burns & McDonnell, the design-build contractor for the project.
The ceremony was attended by Kohler leaders and associates, as well as local officials. Kohler Co. CEO David Kohler (center) is shown cutting the ribbon, and was joined by (left to right) Dale Strong, Chairman-Madison County Commission; Tommy Battle, Mayor-Huntsville; Ginger King, VP, HR-Kohler Kitchen & Bath; Norb Schmidt, SVP-Kohler Kitchen & Bath Operations; Laura Kohler, SVP-Kohler Co. HR, Stewardship & Sustainability; David Kohler; Tom Adler, CFO-Kohler Co.; Shawn Oldenhoff, President-Kohler Kitchen & Bath North America; Paul Finley, Mayor-Madison; and Mike Fenske, President & GM-Global Facilities, Burns & McDonnell.
The Huntsville warehouse opening comes on the heels of Kohler announcing in February, the construction of a second Vikrell production facility and distribution center in Casa Grande, Arizona, which is set to be operational by August 2023 to support the company’s growing customer base in the western U.S.
The industry’s leading business training and coaching experts announce an ongoing development program designed to give business owners a foundation for empowering and inspiring their teams Business Development Resources (BDR), the training and business coaching authority for home services industry professionals, announces a unique opportunity for service industry business owners, managers, and team leaders to develop Read more
The industry’s leading business training and coaching experts announce an ongoing development program designed to give business owners a foundation for empowering and inspiring their teams
BDR’s Leadership Excellence Academy offers a unique opportunity for service industry professionals to develop key skills for empowering and inspiring their teams and generating enhanced results.
Business Development Resources (BDR), the training and business coaching authority for home services industry professionals, announces a unique opportunity for service industry business owners, managers, and team leaders to develop key skills for generating enhanced results by effectively influencing and mentoring team members.
BDR’s Leadership Excellence Academy: Foundations, an ongoing development program, launches in October with bi-monthly training sessions held the second Tuesday of every other month through August 2023.
“Leadership is the foundation of success in our industry, and anyone can become a leader,” said Bruce Wiseman, president and owner of BDR. “You don’t have to have a particular personality type to be a leader. All it takes is a commitment to your business and a vision for success. Our Leadership Excellence Academy is an investment in success. It’s designed to help contractors and distributors establish and implement a plan to empower and inspire their teams to reach higher levels of success.”
Foundations is Year One of the Leadership Excellence Academy journey and consists of six four-hour training workshops that target key elements of leadership. Each session provides strategies and best practices on how to apply each one in the workplace, including:
- Determine your leadership level (Oct. 4)
- Determine your leadership style and capacity (Dec. 13)
- How to become an influencer (Feb. 14, 2023)
- Go from communicating to connecting (April 11, 2023)
- Empowering your team to success (June 13, 2023)
- Leading people: managing the process (Aug. 9, 2023)
In addition to the six bimonthly workshops, Leadership Excellence Academy: Foundations offers targeted podcasts to help participants prepare for and review each session along with self-paced online courses available between the live online workshops.
“Learning leadership principles is something available for anyone,” Wiseman said. “Ultimately leadership is about setting an example, living up to your values, and building a strong, positive culture your team wants to be part of. Leadership itself isn’t always easy, but the proper training and experience prepare you to successfully face challenges and take your company to the next level.”
To register or learn more about BDR’s Leadership Excellence Academy, visit https://www.bdrco.com/leadership-excellence-academy/.
The Most Comprehensive Cross Reference, Parts and Equipment Database Tool for HVAC Bluon, Inc., the rapidly growing company focused on upgrading the HVAC industry, today announced the launch of BluonSearch, the most comprehensive parts and equipment cross-reference database in HVAC. BluonSearch represents a giant leap forward in enabling HVAC distributors to quickly determine their customers’ Read more
The Most Comprehensive Cross Reference, Parts and Equipment Database Tool for HVAC
Bluon, Inc., the rapidly growing company focused on upgrading the HVAC industry, today announced the launch of BluonSearch, the most comprehensive parts and equipment cross-reference database in HVAC. BluonSearch represents a giant leap forward in enabling HVAC distributors to quickly determine their customers’ needs and satisfy them using their local inventory – all through a highly intuitive, brand-agnostic tool providing instant access to over 300,000 unique model numbers and 3 million unique parts, with over 40 million listed cross-references.
Distributors lose a staggering portion of potential part orders – estimated at up to 50% – by not having an easy-to-use, comprehensive database enabling them to determine what part, or equivalent part, their customer actually needs. BluonSearch solves what is a shockingly pervasive problem in the HVAC industry, costing local distributors billions in lost potential revenue, and technicians countless hours of lost time.
BluonSearch is the rebirth of XREF, acquired by Bluon in 2021, that provided basic access to replacement parts and cross-reference information for HVAC distributors nationwide. Bluon and its unique team of technicians and database engineers spent nine months pouring over the immense database adding specifications and new connections and most importantly, ensuring data accuracy. The result is BluonSearch, an entirely new, updated database that allows even the most novice employees to instantly add decades of experience to their daily interactions with customers.
“We are excited to provide our customers with a much-needed, comprehensive equipment and cross-reference tool,” said Adam Curry, vice president of software at Bluon. “It turns out that the world of HVAC parts and equipment is kind of a mess. The industry is large but fragmented, so we’ve had hundreds of manufacturers produce millions of parts, but no one has created a truly brand-agnostic map for navigating it all. This lack of a simple search tool is a hidden tax on the industry, costing billions in missed sales and lost productivity. BluonSearch is a huge leap forward for HVAC distributors and their customers.”
Apple Valley, Minn. — Uponor North America (Uponor) held a ceremonial “pipe-cutting event” to mark the opening of its $5.5 million, 25,000-square-foot expansion to the Hutchinson, Minn., facility. This new space will increase the company’s PEX-a pipe extrusion production capacity by more than 10 percent, while growing highly skilled jobs in Hutchinson in the coming Read more
Apple Valley, Minn. — Uponor North America (Uponor) held a ceremonial “pipe-cutting event” to mark the opening of its $5.5 million, 25,000-square-foot expansion to the Hutchinson, Minn., facility. This new space will increase the company’s PEX-a pipe extrusion production capacity by more than 10 percent, while growing highly skilled jobs in Hutchinson in the coming years.
Michael Rauterkus, president and CEO, Uponor Group, (center) joins business leaders as he cuts the ceremonial PEX-a pipe to mark the opening of the company’s $5.5 million, 25,000 sq. ft. expansion in Hutchinson, Minn.
The expansion project broke ground in July 2021 with PCL Construction as the general contractor, Tekton Engineers as the structural engineer, Focal Point Partners as the electrical subcontractor, and Legend Companies as the mechanical subcontractor. The renovated space will allow Uponor to move forward with a major investment in next-generation extrusion technology.
Michael Rauterkus, president and CEO, Uponor Group, took part in the event. This was his first trip to visit Uponor facilities across North America since joining the company in August 2021. He toured the Hutchinson production facility, met with team members, and helped cut the ceremonial pipe.
“Today was a special day for Uponor North America,” Rauterkus said during the event. “Seeing this investment become a reality and knowing what is possible from a manufacturing potential, I am certain Uponor will continue to make positive impacts on the Hutchinson area. I am eager to see what happens next with this team.”
“This expansion reinforces our commitment to Hutchinson and the team members who help us deliver for our customers. I want to thank our construction partners for their efforts in designing and building this space, as well as our global partners across Uponor who saw the potential in what our Hutchinson team could achieve with this major investment,” said Jon Sillerud, vice president, Operations, Uponor North America.