Industry News

Insulated Workwear Leader Delivers Updated Safety Workwear for National Safety Month

RefrigiWear, the largest supplier of insulated work apparel for the cold chain and outdoor construction industries, announces additional high-visibility colors for one of its most popular lightweight work jackets in advance of National Safety Month. The HiVis Diamond Quilted Jacket is now available and ready to ship in both high-visibility lime and high-visibility orange colors.

“This lightweight jacket is a recent addition to our popular EnduraQuilt™ Collection and is preferred by people working outdoors in the milder conditions of spring and fall,” explains Mitch Harden, Vice President of Sales for RefrigiWear’s B2B Outdoor division.

“We originally designed this jacket in high-visibility orange for people working in rail transportation. But requests for the same jacket in high-visibility lime came pouring in from people working in other areas where yellow is the preferred safety color, as well as from people working in other sectors, such as residential construction and state DOT organizations,” explains Harden.

Both the high-visibility orange and the new high-visibility lime versions of the jacket are designed to meet ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 – Type R, Class 3 and CSA Z96 – Class 2, Level 2 standards with double-rows of silver reflective tape around the waist and arms, as well as an X pattern on the back.

The durable, industrial-strength outershell is both wind-tight and water-repellent, so it’s ideal for protecting people working in the unpredictable weather of late spring, especially across the northern US and in higher elevations. The jacket is also lightly insulated and comfort-rated for temperatures as low as 30°F, delivering comfortable protection from the springtime chill for those working during the overnight hours.

For more information, or to outfit your rail operators, road crews or construction teams with the new HiVis Diamond Quilted Jacket, please visit pro.refrigiwear.com or call 800-645-3744.

Leading provider of Denver home services continues massive growth with expansion of services

High 5 Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, a family-owned and operated home service company serving residents in the greater Denver metropolitan area, announced today the expansion of services as the leading plumbing company in the area will begin offering HVAC services on April 29.

High 5 Plumbing, Heating & Cooling will begin offering HVAC.

“High 5 has been offering quality plumbing and drain services for more than a decade, and we’re always looking for ways to add value for our customers and our community,” said Levi Torres, co-owner of High 5. “We brought in experienced HVAC technicians to help lead this division, and we’re excited to roll it out. Our new service manager, Isaac Jonsgaard, has been offering expert HVAC services to the area for several years now, and he’s the perfect person to lead this new endeavor.”

The new service offerings come after a year of explosive growth for the home service provider. In September 2023, High 5 moved into a new facility in Golden, Colorado, which will feature a 1,500-square-foot training room. Earlier in the year, High 5 landed on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing businesses in America for the second year in a row. The company was also ranked as one of the fastest growing businesses in Denver by the Denver Business Journal and a top family-owned business by ColoradoBiz Magazine.

“Since opening High 5, we’ve had lofty goals and even bigger dreams,” said co-owner Cassi Torres. “And we keep achieving them. We’ve seen amazing growth since opening our doors in 2012, and we know there are even greater things ahead. The sky’s the limit.”

To learn more about High 5 Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, visit https://high5plumbing.com/.

New Facility Will Offer Training Across Family of Brands for Contractors and Plumbers Throughout the Region

Rheem has opened a 6,200 square-ft Innovation Learning Center (ILC) at its facility in Lawnside, NJ. Connected to the IBC headquarters and distribution center, the new state-of-the art ILC features Rheem’s largest “HOT” (Hands On Training) Room in the U.S., a product showroom and a classroom designed to provide an interactive learning experience for more than 30 in-person participants at one time.

The ILC will offer training on all air and water, residential and commercial products across the Rheem family of brands. Customized, comprehensive training will be available for a full line-up of equipment, from tank-type, tankless and point-of-use electric water heaters as well as commercial boilers and volume water heaters.

“The HOT room will offer the largest hands-on instruction in the Rheem Water Division, enabling us to provide in-depth training for contractors and plumbers to help us excel in an evolving market,” said Tom Wujcik, VP of Sales, U.S. Water Heating, Rheem. “As our industry shifts to decarbonization, contractors and plumbers will require a new set of skills, making this investment all the more important.”

The ILC will serve as an immersive environment with the latest audio-visual technology, as well as tools and utility connections to allow for demonstration installations and diagnostic training. Contractors and plumbers will have opportunities to earn Continuing Education Credits and develop related skill sets.

Rheem will host training for more than 50,000 participants at its seven ILCs throughout the U.S. in 2024.

Newest Platform Update Brings Enhanced Business Reporting Functionality

Successware, a field service management software company for the home service industry, has just released an enhanced reporting and analytics tool in its latest platform update. Over 45 reports in the new Successware platform are now built using industry leader Microsoft® Power BI, giving users a new level of insight into the health of their business. Additionally, these reports are built directly into the software, so there is no need for additional spending on reporting tools.

“By leveraging Power BI, reports and analytics within Successware now have more power, flexibility and performance, as well as an intuitive user experience,” said Paul Carmody, President of Successware. “We are redefining the way home service contractors engage with their data, giving them more dynamic and efficient reports and elevating the experience for every member of the team from technicians to sales.”

With enhanced business reporting functionality, Successware users can:

• Save Time: Run reports more quickly with essential data filters that are convenient and easy to use
• Make Changes: Adjust reporting parameters and extract meaningful insights on the fly with an intuitive configuration panel
• Share Results: Seamlessly export reports in a variety of formats to share critical information with key stakeholders

All current Successware reports will leverage Power BI capabilities in the new platform by the second quarter of 2024.