Coffey’s Corner
January 18, 2019
Hello to 2019 — and to all of YOU!
A new year, a new format for employee communication, and a new opportunity to keep transforming CoolSys into the industry’s dominant provider of HVAC/R services in the U.S.A.!
As we said goodbye to 2018, revenues were rolling through the $385-million mark. By the time you read this, I suspect we will have already closed, or are about to close, on our next acquisition that will catapult us into the $400s. Our annual growth rate as a company has increased dramatically over the last three years, from a historic rate of around 10 percent from 2001 -through 2015, to a whopping 25 percent from 2016 through 2018. Expect that growth to continue and even accelerate in 2019.
So, what’s in store for 2019 and beyond? Here are my forecasts for what lies ahead:
- In timing with the New Year, a completely transformed sales effort kicked into high gear. We are welcoming a new VP of Sales to CoolSys, David Hendrix, who will report to Mike Ochoa and lead the new sales program that took almost nine months to plan. I’m excited about this initiative and expect great things to happen as a result.
- By mid-year, I expect CoolSys will be saying goodbye to The Audax Group – our current lead institutional shareholder — and be welcoming a new private equity group in their place. Audax has been an excellent steward to the employees of the company, allowing us to make significant investments over the last three years to transform our business operations. With our next shareholder, we can anticipate dramatic growth from revenues of $400 million to $1 billion. Buckle your chin straps – it’s going to be a fun ride!
- Over the next three-to-four years, CoolSys will be investing more than $15M into a sweeping overhaul of our technology platforms. Our goal is to transform the way everyone works to minimize duplicate data entry and to automate wherever possible. I have often said that we need people in the field to spend their time building and fixing things – not filling out paperwork, chasing parts, getting approvals, and driving all over Hell’s half acre. Likewise, at HQ and in the back office, we need systems that just work and don’t require a zillion workarounds to function. Stay tuned for more on this technology investment a bit later in my annual address to employees.
- Our CoolSys National Training Center should be open for business by Q3. Although we ran into some construction delays (due to circumstances beyond our control), we are excited about the upcoming opening and will keep you informed on the progress of project.
- A renewed focus on worker SAFETY! Within the past two years, we have had more than 100 employees injured on the job, that’s 100 TOO MANY! Look for our new Safety Pledge to be coming at you soon! SAFETY is EVERYONE’S BUSINESS!
Okay, folks – I’m out of words for this inaugural edition of Coffey’s Electronic Corner! Let me end by saying THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO! You are the life’s blood of CoolSys!