Plumbing & Mechanical Contractor

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Service contractors are busy people. Already struggling to find workers amidst an ongoing labor shortage, plumbing and HVAC contractors saw demand soar during the pandemic as most people transitioned to a work-from-home environment.

Stanley Black & Decker recently released its Makers Index, a study that revealed many of the reasons young people aren’t currently considering jobs in the trades, which has left many businesses struggling to find good workers at various skill levels.

At one point, solar thermal systems were limited as to the temperature they could safely reach. Then High-Temperature Solar Thermal (HTST) Technology was invented. High temperate solar thermal can be used to generate steam.

Customers can be a fickle lot. You do your best for them, but they move on in spite of your fair pricing and Johnny-on-the-spot response times.

My shop teacher was a wiry man who loved hand tools. We spent a week making a buzzer base. He taught us how to saw, sand and varnish. He introduced me to a Brace & Bit hand drill and went on and on about how this was better than an electric drill. “Can you feel the wood? It’s alive!” he said, and I could.

Nearly all closed-loop hydronic heating and cooling systems are supposed to be filled with water or a mixture of water and antifreeze. The only intentional air in the system is that contained in the expansion tank.

Plumbing & Mechanical asked several plumbing manufacturers to explain what American manufacturing means to them today. Watch this video to see what they had to say.

“Wes is part of our leadership team here. His dedication to Henco Plumbing, his customers and the field plumbers is what made me leave a 30 year career to come onboard at Henco Plumbing Services. 

After learning the trades during two tours in the Navy Seabees, Guy M. Cooper Sr. decided to start his own business — Guy M. Cooper Plumbing & Heating was founded in 1930. While the mechanical contracting firm has a long, storied history of providing high quality work and high quality jobs for all its employees, the third-generation owners Gary Cooper and Glenn Cooper decided it was time for a rebrand in 2021.

Every industry in the United States is currently feeling the constraints of the labor shortage. Employers continue to struggle to bring in new workers and keep existing ones. Job openings far outnumber individuals looking for work — in March, there were 11.5 million jobs to fill, and not enough workers to fill them, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary.