Another Success Story: Big Savings for Both Rare and New HVAC Equipment
HVAC contractors all across the country have been experiencing problems with supply issues in recent years. And those setbacks are only continuing to increase. This has motivated business owners to search for a more reliable, affordable supplier outside of their local regions. That’s why Lonnie Mathews, the owner of New Standard Heating and Air, was so relieved to find Surplus City Liquidators.
Since buying his HVAC equipment from Surplus City online, he’s been able to secure much better margins. As a result, his company has been able to stay in the same price range as in previous years for their customers.
Buying from Surplus City is giving them an edge on their competition, and it’s become a major gamechanger for their company growth. The variety of inventory available through Surplus City is allowing New Standard Heating and Air to design some really unique solutions that no one else can offer!
MEET THE CUSTOMER: NEW STANDARD HEATING AND AIR
New Standard Heating and Air is based in Oklahoma, and owner, Lonnie Mathews, has been in the HVAC industry since 1998. He began work as a contractor, and he also has five years of experience working for one of the larger mechanical companies in the United States.
To Mathews, the challenge of finding new solutions is what keeps his work interesting. Most recently, he’s been researching the potential for ultra-efficient equipment. He’s found those systems to be expensive in the past, but shopping with Surplus City is opening new doors.
“I’ve been doing this a long time,” said Mathews. “I worked in a research and development company after I got out of tech school, and so I like being able to do my own research and buy online now. I really enjoy matching the equipment to make it more efficient.”
Working in Oklahoma also comes with its own set of challenges. The weather is constantly changing. It’s not even that strange for New Standard Heating and Air to have heater jobs in the morning and air conditioner service calls that same afternoon.
“I’ve seen 60 degree drops in Oklahoma,” said Mathews. “It can be 35 degrees one day and then 90. I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’ve lived in other places with four seasons. But we don’t have that here—we have summer and we have winter. And sometimes in summer there’s winter and in winter there’s summer.”
In order to meet the demands of customers year-round, it’s crucial to have quality equipment on-hand. Checking the inventory with Surplus City first means New Standard Heating and Air doesn’t have to compromise on quality. There are more choices and the inventory is always changing, so they’re really enjoying the results.
LOW EQUIPMENT PRICES AND THE COMMITMENT TO QUALITY
Mathews is committed to providing his customers with quality installation service with quality equipment, and all at fair price. He’s in a building-phase with the company and he’s eager to pass savings on to the customer to continue expanding his market. It’s a strategy that pays off both for the short-term and the long-term. Of course, it can only work out when you can keep your own costs low upfront.
“A lot of my local distributors in this area had some price increases over the past year,” said Mathews. “Some of them went up 30% in a year’s time, which made things real difficult for us. We could still compete because other contractors were having to pay the same. But in terms of value for the customer, it was real hard for us to justify an upgrade or change out.”
The low prices have undoubtedly made it easier for New Standard Heating and Air to recommend new equipment to their customers. It’s also helped them keep up with their on-demand work too. Stocking up on equipment helps keep their customers happy because the team is able to wrap up jobs faster.
“We’re maintaining the same prices from 3-4 years ago because we don’t have to pay an extreme or excessive amount,” said Mathews.
Whenever there’s a piece of equipment available through Surplus City that he needs, Mathews automatically gets it because he knows it’s going to be good quality.
THE BETTER, MORE RELIABLE SUPPLIER
It didn’t take long for Mathews to realize that Surplus City Liquidators has a different catalog from what he could find anywhere else. Moreover, he’s getting equipment that’s brand-new. The major manufacturers are simply offloading their surplus equipment to Surplus City. This means it’s all brand-new, but that it just wasn’t sold.
“One of my distributors had a new product line,” said Mathews. “And when I called to check about the variable high speed condenser, they didn’t even know what I was talking about.”
The company ended up sourcing the part for Mathews, but then they still didn’t have any matching indoor equipment for it yet.
“But when I got on Surplus City Liquidators, I got the proper air handler and everything else that was correct,” said Mathews. “That condenser actually came in at 21 SEER with some of the changes I made.”
He was able to save himself the trouble of having delays with his orders. Plus, he was able to immediately help his customers save money. It’s just better for business across the board. What’s more, he knows how to get creative with his orders.
GETTING THE JOB DONE WITH UNIQUE EQUIPMENT
Having access to equipment that he wouldn’t be able to buy anywhere else has helped Mathews beat other competitor prices. He’s already a trusted installer with his clients. Now that he has the opportunity to design unique fits by using some of the units that Surplus City offers, he has even more value to offer his customers.
“I’ve found equipment on the site that I didn’t even know existed or was manufactured,” said Mathews. “So I’m figuring out ways to save money for my customers on installation, like not having to hire an electrician to upgrade the electrical.”
For example, he’s sourced an interesting 1500-V air handler from Surplus City. This allowed him to make a changeout of a gas furnace without needing to have any electrical work done. That’s a win for everyone. It all started with browsing the Surplus City website. There’s always something new to find.
“I didn’t know if one was available,” he said. “I hadn’t seen or heard about them. But then I got on the site and found them. Surplus City has things that I can’t just go to ordinary distributors and get.”
Mathews is typically on the website usually daily, and he estimates that 60-70% of his equipment comes from Surplus City. Because their inventory is so unique, he’s beginning to do more changeouts with different types of energy sources. That’s made work more fun for him, and even better in terms of savings for his clients and his own company growth.
MOVING THE COMPANY FORWARD—AND STICKING WITH SURPLUS CITY
Lonnie Mathews is enjoying the nature of his work more and more because it’s giving him the opportunity to take on new challenges, save his customers money, and take on certain jobs that other contractors may not be able to do. The company is in growth-mode and Mathews is looking to continue hiring new employees. But he’s not ready to step out of the way yet.
“We’ve made some pretty good progress,” said Mathews. “Recently, my oldest son came onboard and we’ve taken off more from there. But I’ll always be around.”
Part of that is because he’s excited about this combination of units that he has in the works. Without shopping at Surplus City, though, it wouldn’t be possible to explore his new ideas.
Along the way, he’ll be pursuing a smaller percentage of the customer market and gaining higher margins. He’s been watching the trends with the rising energy prices for both electricity and gas, and he knows a lot of people are looking to save on their energy bills. Even the natural gas price has quadrupled in the past few years. Customers are looking for high-efficiency heating and cooling solutions—and New Standard Heating and Air plans to deliver exactly that!
Surplus City Liquidators is constantly receiving new inventory! Place your order today for local pickup or nation-wide shipping. If you have any questions about the HVAC equipment currently in stock, please don’t hesitate to call the team at (800) 428-4339.