• Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
  • ENGINEERS
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
  • INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • CONTRACTORS
  • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
  • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
  • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • WATER TREATMENT
  • PMC COLUMNS
  • PMC COLUMNS
  • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
  • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
  • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
  • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
  • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
  • CONTINUING EDUCATION
  • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
  • FIRE PROTECTION
  • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
  • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
  • PME COLUMNS
  • PME COLUMNS
  • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
  • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
  • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
  • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
  • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
  • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
  • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
  • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
  • CODES
  • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
  • PROJECT PROFILES
  • COLUMNS
  • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • COLUMNS
  • Codes Corner
  • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
  • Guest Editorial
  • MEDIA
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
  • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
  • DIRECTORIES
  • EBOOKS
  • PM BOOKSTORE
  • CE CENTER
  • MARKET RESEARCH
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
  • EMAGAZINE
  • ARCHIVE ISSUES
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!

PM Profile: Lochinvar Stays Strong On Product Innovation

By Bob Miodonski
September 1, 2010
Company plans three product launches next year after four in 2010.

(Left to right) Executive Vice President Tom Vallett, President Bill Vallett Jr. and Executive Vice President Jeff Vallett stand in front of company founder Walter Vallett Sr.'s portrait in Lochinvar's headquarters in Lebanon, Tenn.


Plumbing & Mechanical in late July interviewed brothers Bill, Tom and Jeff Vallett, who are the third-generation owners of Lochinvar Corp. Their grandfather, Walter Vallett Sr., founded the company in Detroit, Mich. In 1969, Bill Vallett Sr. (2nd generation) moved the company to Nashville, Tenn., and began the development of high-efficiency water heaters, boilers and pool heaters.

Lochinvar’s world headquarters occupies 385,000 square feet in Lebanon, Tenn., and the company employs 400 people, 325 of whom work in the main facility.

PM: How can the hydronics industry take advantage of building owners’ interest in energy efficiency?

BV: The biggest opportunity is to have the industry sell on payback. The industry needs to provide building owners more data on return on investment upgrades. In many cases, building owners can see ROI in the range of three to five years.

PM: What can the hydronics industry do to raise its profile among consumers?

BV: The hydronics industry began an organization four years ago called the Hydronics Industry Alliance. I’m passionate about that. The mission of this organization is to educate consumers, contractors, builders and architects on the comfort and benefit of installing hydronic systems for home heating. We developed a Web site [www.myhomeheating.com] with specific tabs for homeowners, installers, builders and engineers. We also developed the Consumer Guide to Hydronic Home Heating. HIA now is looking to grow our awareness campaign by partnering with the Radiant Panel Association.

PM: Where do you see the greatest areas of growth for the hydronics industry and for Lochinvar?

BV: Rising energy costs have elevated consumers’ awareness level so there’s a groundswell of desire for residential condensing boilers. People have become quite savvy. They understand the value of sophisticated boiler technology and the benefits that energy efficiency offers to the operating expenditures for their homes.

JV: We’ve used “high efficiency” in our company tagline since the mid-1980s when even our ad agency questioned it. Lochinvar is growing despite the economy. Our growth comes from introducing new products and gaining market share.

PM: Why did Lochinvar decide to enter the solar thermal market?

BV: We recognize the need to develop a renewable energy strategy for our company. Commercial solar thermal represents the greatest opportunity to capitalize on this sector by offering our high-efficiency water-heating and hydronic-heating systems integrated with supplemental solar energy. We feel supplemental solar is the way to go because pure solar has too long of a payback.

JV: Our partnership with Austrian-based TiSUN GmbH will allow us to have expertise in solar applications to assist engineers with the design of their efficient space-heating and water-heating systems. Our focus is on commercial applications because there’s so much attention now on residential.

PM: What other changes in technology, materials, production or delivery can contractors look forward to from Lochinvar?

TV: We have a full pipeline of development projects that will allow Lochinvar to continue to have the latest technologies in heat transfer and integrated controls. We also continue to refine our production processes with lean manufacturing techniques to build quality products in the most efficient manner possible.

BV: Product development is our life. The ROI on new product development is tremendous. We introduced four new products this year and plan three major product introductions in 2011, two commercial and one residential. We’ll continue to invest in research and development. If we cut it now, that will hurt us in 10 years.

PM: Is Lochinvar seeing signs of an economic recovery and, if so, in what market segments?

JV: Yes, we’ve seen increased activity in 2010, much of it related to federal stimulus money. Markets with higher activity include public housing, military bases, schools, churches and various government retrofit projects. The classic home building and commercial construction markets, however, are far from being adequate enough to classify as a recovery. People are still scared and worried that we’re borrowing from the future.

TV: Banks aren’t providing money to many projects. Until the banks come back, we’re not going to see a true economic recovery.

PM: In what new ways is Lochinvar connecting with plumbing and heating contractors?

JV: We’ve done Webinars and focus groups on our new controls. For installing contractors, we’ve developed our VIP Contractor Program, which is unique. Not only do contractors earn rewards for various levels of purchases, they also submit photos of their installations for our Product Showcase Contest, offer product enhancement suggestions to us and compete for the Nashville Experience. This is a factory trip to Lochinvar to meet with the executive team, tour the factory floor and mix in some fun with their hard work.

We also recently awarded the top installing SHIELD Commercial Condensing Water Heater installers with rewards for their efforts marketing our products and presented the top installer with a Power-Mate Stair Climbing Hand Truck.

PM: What do you see as Lochinvar’s greatest accomplishment or most distinguishing feature?

BV: Lochinvar’s greatest accomplishment is the fact that we’re a sales-and-marketing-based company that has committed to innovation and new product development for 25 years. Our most distinguishing feature is our people. We have a great team of people who buy into the company’s success. We continue to train and educate them to ensure that all employees can be effective in their responsibilities.

PM: If you had one message to give to plumbing and heating contractors, what would it be?

JV: Now is the time for contractors to invest in their future by spending time learning and training on the new products hitting the market. Consumers and end users are demanding these sophisticated products. Plumbing and heating contractors need to stay one step ahead of their customers if they expect to impress them and remain their providers for equipment and service. The world is changing quickly. The sophistication level of boilers, controls and systems is changing almost daily. Those who are willing to change will win.

Links

  • Follow PM on Twitter!

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Miodonski

Bob Miodonski is the former Group Publisher of BNP Media’s Plumbing Group, which consists of industry-leading print and digital magazines, websites and e-newsletters. Titles include: Supply HouseTimes, Plumbing & Mechanical, PM Engineer and Reeves Journal magazines; Bath & Kitchen Pro e-News; PVF e-News; Radiant &Hydronics e-news; and www.RadiantAndHydronics.com.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

IPEX celebrates grand opening of new Florida distribution center

IPEX celebrates grand opening of new Florida distribution center

AI can boost efficiency and profitability for plumbing, HVAC contractors

AI can boost efficiency and profitability for plumbing, HVAC contractors

NIBCO Press Solutions

NIBCO Press Solutions

Bell & Gossett Illustrates Path to Net-zero at AHR Expo

Bell & Gossett Illustrates Path to Net-zero at AHR Expo

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Figure 1 is a sketch of the flow problems of the current plumbing system.

Hydronic heating glitch solved: Why adding a circulator won't fix primary loop flow issue

The interior of a government building.

President Trump signs executive order promoting skilled trades and apprenticeships

Underfloor heating installation with drain sewer hole in bathroom close up on water floor heating.

Using hydronics to leverage time-of-use electrical rates

PM BEMIS June 25 Free Webinar: Optimizing Plumbing Solutions for Single-Family, Multi-Family & Public Spaces

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • PM Profile: 'Disruptive Innovation' Helps Milwaukee Electric Tool Offer Jobsite Solutions

    See More
  • NIBCO chairman Rex Martin

    PM Profile: NIBCO educates plumbing contractors on lead-free legislation

    See More
  • Leonard Valve Company

    PM Profile: Leonard Valve succeeds as family-owned business focused on niche market

    See More
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!