Town Hall Recap
Before I dig into this month’s edition of CoolTimes, I want to pause in the spirit of Thanksgiving and recognize how thankful I am for the hard work and efforts of all CoolSys employees who do such a fantastic job representing our brand to our customers across the U.S.
This edition comes right on the heels of our first-ever Town Hall Meeting. More than 782 of you out there in the CoolSys Nation joined in for our virtual event. In case you missed it, grab some popcorn and check out the video that captured all of our antics. Howard Stern eat your heart out – DJ Adam throws it down!
A special shout out to Jessica Smith for driving the starship behind the scenes and to Chris Schulken, our new COO, and Tim Clemente from Safety, for stopping in to say “hi” and share a few words.
Here’s a quick recap of what went down:
- The COVID Impact:
- There’s no doubt about it, COVID-19 ruined 2020. And our business was impacted too — but fortunately not as bad as some companies. Our construction and install projects have stalled a bit and sales are closing slower than usual, but we see a bright spot with a record number of bids in the pipeline, a sales team that’s kicking butt and our service business remains strong. We need to work hard to keep projects on budget.
- With COVID cases spiking, we want to make sure everyone is staying safe by continuing to wear masks and social distancing. Our work is critical to our nation’s infrastructure and we want you all to stay healthy.
- A Culture of Safety:
- There’s no gentle way to say it: We stink at safety, but that’s about to change. Tim and his team are working on new safety programs that will leverage technology to touch every technician on a daily basis. We have more details about what’s in the works in an article in this issue.
- A Vision for the Future
- We’ve got big plans around this joint. We are “growing places” with 30 to 40 more acquisitions planned in the next five years. Our vision is to reach an enterprise value that exceeds $2.2 billion — with a “b” — in five years.
- To get there, we have to work smarter, not harder. We’ll invest heavily in technology so that we are all playing in the same sandbox when it comes to systems. We have a search underway for a new Chief Information Officer (CIO) to lead our technology initiatives. Our goal is to streamline and automate our systems so technology can help you in your job.
- Plus, we are continuing the process of rebranding our operating companies as CoolSys, so that we don’t need a cheat sheet to know we are all playing on the same team. In January, Legacy, BAS, Agape and Arjae will be changing their names to CoolSys and more will follow in their footsteps in 2021. Originally, we were really aggressive with our branding plans, but we had to pump the breaks until we worked out some system and third-party billing issues.
- CoolSys Cares
- You may have seen the news of CoolSys Cares in last month’s CoolTimes. It’s an actual charity to help CoolSys employees in need. It exists to help you. In the month of December, we have a fun event coming up. Keep your eyes open. Read on to learn more.
Thank you again to all those who were able to join us live. As you know, we could not get to all of your great questions and want to make sure to answer them as thoroughly as possible. So, stay tuned for a special announcement, including answers to questions we provided live and answers to those we didn’t have time to get to.
Specifically, Eser Alkac from Richmond Refrigeration asked when will he get to drive the Ferrari. Well, sir, next time you are rolling through So Cal or Dallas, drop me a line. I’ll see if we can make that happen! I should add that I’m a car guy and my stable of toys is constantly changing. In addition to fast cars, I also like big trucks. My current – a 2019 Ford F250 with Roush Off-Road Package. I call it my Zombie Escape Vehicle! Cars, trucks, and airplanes – my three sins!
Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season. Thanks for all that you do to make us the coolest name in refrigeration and HVAC.