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Industry insights: the pivotal role of an HVAC installer
100 years of HVAC installations
Radiator VVS is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year so it’s fair to say that they have a lot of experience under their belt. From about 30 branches spread across the country with a total of 500 employees, they offer installations and maintenance as well as repair services for a great variety of projects, ranging from private homes and residential buildings to schools, hospitals and office buildings. Over the years they have seen a lot of change and, like many businesses, have had to demonstrate flexibility in the way they operate.
Johan Gustafsson has been working in the HVAC business for over 25 years and has experienced first-hand how important a good relationship is with the various parties involved. “That applies to both the various in-house departments, ranging from our technical experts to our HVAC installers on site, and external parties such as wholesalers and suppliers. Everyone brings their own expertise to the job and if we manage to combine them intelligently, that benefits everyone. For example, Sweden is quite challenging from a logistics point of view but the wholesalers we work with are very good at logistics. At the same time we try to work directly with our suppliers as much as we can and maintain a good relationship.”
Purmo products are well-known across Sweden. Our customers as well as our own installers like them very much.
Interaction between suppliers and HVAC installers
When we ask Johan what he looks for in a supplier, the answer is multifaceted and again underlines the coherence of the various parties involved in an HVAC installation. The main factors he mentions, are:
- a good product: “Sometimes it can be very expensive in the long run to buy cheap. Even if it costs a little more, we prefer to buy the better product. We look for good products with a long warranty that are easy to install and use. For radiators we work exclusively with Purmo because we think you have good products. They are well-known across Sweden and our customers as well as our own installers like them very much.” In Sweden the Thermopanel radiator is particularly appreciated. Like for our other radiators and convectors, we offer 10 years of warranty for this panel radiator.
- a reliable brand: stability is also very important for installation companies such as Radiator VVS. Being a long-standing company themselves, they know the value of a brand that can deliver on its promises in all areas. “Our installers like to work with good brands because everyone knows them, they provide accessible products and offer extensive support.”
- all-round support: the support that Johan mentions is, on the one hand, after-sales support. “Everyone can sell something, but if something goes wrong with for example shipping or the installed product, that is when you see if you are dealing with a good supplier or not. We recently had a small problem with a leaking valve insert for example, but the Swedish Purmo team handled this very well. To have support you can count on if somethings happens and know the supplier will take responsibility if needed is very important for me.”
Another type of support that comes up in the conversation is technical support in terms of data sheets, calculation tools, installation manuals, etc. “This is very important for the installers as well as our in-house construction department that looks at products from a technical perspective. So before we work with a supplier, we check if they offer the required certificates, etc. This is really a prerequisite for us”, says Johan.
- good value for money: pricing, of course, always remains an important factor. An optimal use of resources benefits all parties. According to Johan, that certainly doesn’t automatically mean buying the cheapest product because that can prove to be more expensive in the long run. It’s more about realising maximum efficiency and effectiveness with every purchase. At Purmo we understand this very well. Quality comes first but we also have various mechanisms in place that ensure we can keep costs under control, allowing us to guarantee our customers good value for money.
Johan Gustafsson has been working in the HVAC business for over 25 years.
HVAC installations and sustainability
As a supplier who attaches great importance to sustainability, we are always to interested in how our customers see and experience this. HVAC installers have a particularly pivotal role here because they are the ones that ensure our sustainable products and solutions reach the end consumer. By providing clear information, we help installers to make informed choices so that in turn they can support their customers in the best possible way.
Johan confirms that sustainability is becoming more and more important for them but also for their customers. “We consider it, for example, with regard to the environmental impact of the products we buy but also in our procurement process by purchasing locally whenever possible. Everyone is aware of how important sustainability is. In practice we still see a lot of short-term thinking though, where the focus is still more on pricing and aesthetic design, but I am convinced that this will change in the future.”
At Purmo we are determined to make a difference together with our stakeholders, including HVAC installers. If you want to make things happen together, don’t hesitate to join us on the road to a more sustainable future.