(Naples, FL)—Conditioned Air’s Chief Financial Officer, Carol Papesh, has been named Woman of the Year by Contracting Business Magazine for her outstanding achievements over a lifelong career in construction and HVAC.

 “Beyond the basic expertise in all areas of construction and cost accounting, I rely on Carol’s judgment and forthright opinion in making management and leadership decisions,” Theodore Etzel, CEO of Conditioned Air says. “Carol is someone I can count on to challenge a decision during the process with insight, and responsible and practical questions.”

She brings over 35 years of experience in construction accounting to her position at Conditioned Air. Throughout her time in the HVAC industry, she has successfully grown and adapted to the changing needs of the industry. In her role as Chief Financial Officer, Papesh helped lead a four month company-wide computer system conversion. The system streamlined processes for both the technicians and the administrative staff, effectively improving customer service for the firm’s nearly 1,000 new installations and 18,000 residential and commercial maintenance units under contract per year.

Additionally, Papesh has been a member of the Mechanical Contractors Association, National Association of Women in Construction, Women in HVACR and recently joined Construction Financial. She will be a featured speaker at the Women in HVACR Annual Meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center. Visit http://bit.ly/WHVACRmeeting for additional information.

 NAPLES, FL (September 27, 2010) -The Economic Development Council of Collier County (EDC) recognized Theo Etzel, CEO and Owner of Conditioned Air Corporation with a Business Expansion Award, presented to a company that expanded its operations in 2010, investing capital and creating jobs in Collier County. Businesses of all sizes compete in this category. 

Etzel was one of ten winners at the 2010 Excellence in Industry Awards ceremony held Tuesday at the Hilton Naples. A sell-out audience of 250 people gathered to congratulate the winners and enjoy a multi-media presentation, emceed by WINK News Anchor Lois Thome and chaired by Trish Biebricher, EDC Board member and Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Moorings Park. 

Etzel credited business coaching for his company’s success. He said it allows him to avoid tunnel vision and offers a broad perspective to helping him see issues (both opportunities and threats) from a different perspective. Working with the business coach has helped effectively build the Conditioned Air team as well as develop the programs that sustain the business in Southwest Florida. 

 ”I appreciate the EDC acknowledging a company like ours–air conditioning is that necessary evil if you live in Florida,” said Etzel. “Today, everything is computerized, not mechanical, and our technicians are the eyes and ears of our company. I remind them that if the customer knew what the problem was with their air conditioners, we would simply be a part supplier. We have changed our business model to add team building and to concentrate on customer service. In order for our technicians to best serve the customers, those of us in the office need to service them.” 

Conditioned Air solves people’s comfort problems by offering creative solutions for indoor comfort through the provision of HVACR service to residential and commercial clients in Southwest Florida, including new construction, production housing, replacement/retrofit, demand/emergency services, and scheduled service/maintenance. 

The company began operations in 1962 and has since grown its employment base to 185 people and achieved record revenues in the past year. To accommodate this growth, they added 35 employees and the company recently built a new headquarters facility. This expansion has occurred despite the general downturn in new construction because Etzel redirected his business efforts and diversified. 

Etzel also credits his success by his personal leadership efforts. He is a big believer in choosing team members who enhance the areas of his life and in that sense, is a team-building coach for the business. A strong advocate for the philosophy that even coaches need coaching to expand their capabilities and capacity to lead, Etzel says it is a leader’s responsibility to continue to grow, to serve the best interests of the employees and the community.

Naples, FL—The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) has announced that Conditioned Air Corp. of Naples, Fla., is the residential winner of the association’s 2010 Contractors of the Year program. The winner was announced at the opening general session of ACCA’s 42nd Annual Conference and Indoor Air Expo, held this week in Tampa, Fla.

“Conditioned Air transcends the HVACR industry and functions as a true business, with a disciplined approach to decision making and company-wide buy-in to its value proposition,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, ACCA President & CEO.

Led by Theo Etzel, CEO and president, and his management team, Conditioned Air has grown its annual revenue by about $15 million since he took the reins in 1995. With disciplined decision making and open-book management, Conditioned Air is able to swiftly adjust to changing market conditions. The company’s growth is the result of having a solid, conservative business plan in place, and then empowering employees to make decisions to drive that plan.

“At the heart of our mission statement is honesty, integrity, respect and exceeding our customers’ expectations. Each and every employee lives these values each and every day, which is why I am so proud of them,” said Theo Etzel, CEO and president of Conditioned Air.

A full profile of Conditioned Air will be presented in Contractor Excellence magazine later this summer. To read more about the other residential finalists, as well as the three finalists in the commercial category, please click here.

The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), the nationwide association of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) contractors, has announced the finalists for the association’s 2010 Contractors of the Year.

“Contractors from across the country of varying size and with many different business models threw their hats into the ring in our re-designed Contractors of the Year program,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, ACCA President & CEO. “These six finalists represent some of the most unique business approaches in the industry, and our panel of past chairmen who are judging have a solid group of finalists from which they can select the winners.”

The winners in each category—one residential and one commercial—will be announced at the 2010 ACCA Conference, scheduled for March 7-9 in Tampa, Fla. The finalists in the two categories are:

2010 Contractors of the Year—Residential 

A Good Neighbor Heating & Cooling (Middlebury, Indiana)—A small company that has survived and thrived despite serving an area with the highest unemployment rate in the country and a large Amish population that requires no modern comfort facilities. And when the local newspaper went out of business, the company started its own newspaper to create a marketing machine that serves a broader community purpose. 

Service Legends (Des Moines, Iowa)—It may look like a typical HVAC company on the outside, but inside you’ll find some atypical approaches to building a properly-incentivized team. Service Legends lets the employees develop the company’s systems, resulting in a sophisticated approach to performance-based pay and the type of continuing education that has service techs (yes, you read right) standing up in front of the company to give book reports.

Conditioned Air Corp. (Naples, Florida)—A company that grew its annual sales by a total of $15 million when it decided to stop being an HVAC company and start being a true business that happens to offer HVAC services. With disciplined decision making and open-book management, Conditioned Air is able to swiftly adjust to changing market conditions. The company’s growth is the result of having a solid, conservative business plan in place, and then empowering employees to make decisions to drive that plan.