Page 24 - Climate Control News Magazine October 2018

HVACR Leadership Awards
Contractor of the Year Award
THIS YEAR THE CONTRACTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD WAS ONE OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE CATEGORIES IN THE AWARDS PROGRAM. SPONSORED BY MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES AIR CONDITIONING AUSTRALIA, THERE ARE FIVE FINALISTS. THEY ARE:
tween a main contractor and subcontractors when entering into a contract.
Armed with a $4,000 loan from his parents and an old Rodeo ute that didn’t even have air conditioning or a radio, and Sutton Refrigeration director, Robert Sutton, was on his way. After completing his apprenticeship Sutton and his wife decided to set up their own business in 2011. Back then the business did most of the refrigera- tion and air conditioning work in the Robinvale/ Euston area in regional Victoria. This included up to 15 coolroom projects a year ranging from a stand alone unit to multistage racks.
A year ago Sutton teamed up with another re- frigeration contractor to service the Mildura re- gion as well. So in addition to owning Sutton Re- frigeration, he has a 50% stake in Congress and Sutton. A big focus for Sutton right now is energy efficiency and natural refrigerants to help cus- tomers reduce running costs. “Our business phi- losophy is simple. When our customers need us we are there. We also endeavour to do the job right the first time. Nothing is ever a problem and we do our best to be very competitive price wise on every job without any quality compromises.” Not sur- prisingly, there is plenty of repeat business.
It’s hard to believe that Simmonds Heating and Cooling director, Mark Simmonds, is only 33 years old. On the very day Mark Simmonds completed his apprenticeship he set up his own business.
He began by working out of his mother’s back shed and today has a showroom on one of Adelaide’s busiest roads. Simmonds began his business with one vehicle but today has 11 ve- hicles supporting a huge service division and a team of installers.
His installation team has just completed up- grading HVAC systems for a large school in the western suburbs of Adelaide as well as 50 apart- ments in North Adelaide.
Simmonds hard work was recognised in 2017 when he won the rising star award at Actron Air’s dealer awards. This year he qualified for Mitsubishi Electric’s dealer awards for sales ex- ceeding $350,000. To successfully manage his business today Simmonds employs a sales man- ager, an office manager and more than 10 techni- cians and apprentices. Colleagues claim Sim- monds is well known for his kindness, which is one of the reasons why he has such a loyal cus- tomer base. For example, he is known to give huge discounts to the elderly during heatwaves.
Mission Air Technologies director, Alex Wenz, is a true technician. Wenz set up his own business in 2008 and his focus has always been on quality workmanship. In fact his biggest irritation is go- ing to a site for the first time and discovering a
The winners presentation is always a big day for finalists.
COOLPHASE PTY LTD general manager, Ricky Gatti, believes that apprentices and training are the key to the sustainability of the refrigeration industry. Coolphase has15 ap- prentices across the refrigeration and electri- cal trades. This is in addition to an executive team of six that manage different segments of the company. As supermarket specialists Cool- phase is proud of its major refit projects such as a full store replacement of all refrigeration equipment at Woolworths in Cannon Hill, Queensland. As well as the full scale refurbish- ment, Coolphase replaced synthetic gas to Co2, setting up a subcritical cascade system. The 30-year-old company has always been community minded sponsoring local sports teams, donating air conditioners to local schools, fundraising and sponsoring the ap- prentice of the year award at the local TAFE.
O’Connor Services managing director, An- drew O’Connor, is committed to industry lead- ing innovation in design, coordination, con- struction and commissioning of complex mechanical services projects. In fact the com- pany is well known for its commitment to BIM and ability to model with an incredibly high level of detail. A recent high profile project is the Uni SA, Cancer Research Institute on North Terrace, Adelaide. It is the university’s flagship building and an iconic landmark for Adelaide. O’Connor began the company in 1999 with a focus on innovative excellence combining disciplined processes with a crea- tive outlook.
It’s fair to say that O’Connor is a pioneer when it comes to contracting. He is the founder and driving force behind Specialist Contractors SA, which aims to improve the imbalance be-
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