National Comfort Institute members and guests were introduced to the 4-Dimensional Performance-Based Contracting Business Model at the group’s annual summit March 17-22 in Austin, Texas, which focuses on four areas of a contracting business — sales and marketing, service and maintenance, installation and renovation, and business management and leadership — to attain double-digit profits.

The first step is a self-evaluation designed to determine the starting line for each dimension within a contractor’s company. Those who attended the 2013 summit drilled down deeply into the four essential areas of their businesses, evaluating performance and identifying the strengths and weaknesses within each area.

Awards

NCI members were honored in the following Contractor of the Year categories for training excellence, outstanding achievement in testing, quality service, implementation of NCI best practices and efficiency standards.

• Contractor of the Year (small business category): Lakeside Service Co., Brighton, Mich. Accepting the award were John and Jason Boylan.

• Contractor of the Year (medium business category): KLM Heating and Air Conditioning, Louisville, Ky. Accepting the award was Tim Caudill.

• Contractor of the Year (large business category): Wightons.com, San Louis Obispo, Calif. Ron Mathias accepted the award.

 A highlight of the awards banquet was the presentation of the award named in honor of the late David Debien for his pioneering work in HVAC system design and installation. This year’s David Debien Technical Excellence Award was presented to Joe Millett of J. Millett & Sons, Brookfield, Mass.

The NCI National Training Excellence Award went to Masterworks Mechanical for its dedication to Performance-Based Contracting.

The Industry Partner of the Year Award went to Southern California Edison for its contributions and ongoing efforts in training and education for NCI members and certified contractors.

NCI Chairman and CEO Dominick Guarino presented Kathe and Larry Stewart of Precision Air Conditioning & Heating, Memphis, Tenn., with the 2013 NCI Chairman’s Award. The Stewarts were honored due to their staunch support of NCI’s mission, company-wide implementation of Performance-Based Contracting, and for their great contribution of ideas, energy and time.