WEBVTT 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:08.220 All right, everyone. Thank you for joining. Did 00:00:08.220 --> 00:00:12.179 you know the ESCO HVAC podcast? So today we're 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:14.500 spending some time with Chad Green from Hercules. 00:00:14.539 --> 00:00:16.579 How's it going? Good. So yourself? Doing great. 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:18.879 You know, we're hanging out at the Allied Air 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:23.059 DSR conference where all of the DSRs, all of 00:00:23.059 --> 00:00:25.039 the technical service advisors around the country 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:27.879 gather every year to learn about the new equipment, 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:32.079 new products, changes in refrigerants, A2L mitigation, 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:35.240 like everything that's changing. And so one of 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.479 the things that I think we really should be spending 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:38.759 a lot of time focusing on, because there's all 00:00:38.759 --> 00:00:40.500 these really cool things coming to the industry, 00:00:40.619 --> 00:00:45.399 but we don't always tell everyone what's cool. 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:47.960 It's like we've got a lot of recruiting to do. 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:50.359 We have an abundant amount of recruiting to do. 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:53.619 I'm a union member in Colorado. I've been in 00:00:53.619 --> 00:00:55.780 this my whole life. Awesome. My dad got me into 00:00:55.780 --> 00:00:58.700 it when I was a young man. My dad's been in it. 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:01.939 My grandpa's been in it. And my dad always told 00:01:01.939 --> 00:01:04.859 me, I knew it wasn't going to be smart. I wanted 00:01:04.859 --> 00:01:07.400 to race professional motocross for my full -time 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:10.299 job. That didn't end up very well. So my dad's 00:01:10.299 --> 00:01:12.180 like, you've got to get a job. You've got to 00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:15.680 get a real job, son. I liked being outdoors. 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:18.299 I liked playing with my hands. I didn't like 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:20.959 school. I didn't like book work. I was not good 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:24.319 on computers. I liked taking things apart. My 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:28.060 dad's like, pursue HVAC. You know, you got a 00:01:28.060 --> 00:01:30.439 job for life, my dad always said. Absolutely. 00:01:30.459 --> 00:01:32.420 No matter where you go in the world, everybody 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:35.340 needs to be heated, cooled, or their products, 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:39.000 refrigerated products, right? Yeah. I did it 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:40.879 as a summertime gig as a residential company 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:46.060 in Colorado, and I knew it fit my brain. And 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:50.739 right now they're saying in Colorado, the national 00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:53.700 average, I believe it is, is for every... five 00:01:53.700 --> 00:01:55.719 top journeymen that are leaving yeah we have 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:58.060 one and a half skilled trades person or one and 00:01:58.060 --> 00:02:00.439 a half person pursuing a trades after that i 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:03.000 just came back from the ua's international the 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:05.739 itp week training conference right and so they 00:02:05.739 --> 00:02:09.379 were saying next year 130 000 technicians short 00:02:09.379 --> 00:02:12.560 is what we're looking at that's crazy and 40 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:14.560 of our industry is going to retire in the next 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:17.000 10 years yeah i mean when you think about it 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:20.060 like when you look at our industry I see a lot 00:02:20.060 --> 00:02:22.340 of guys looking like us. Yes, sir. Getting kind 00:02:22.340 --> 00:02:25.479 of close, right? And in 10 years, I started thinking 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:27.680 about it. I was like, man, in 10 years, yeah, 00:02:27.819 --> 00:02:30.759 I would be getting into that point of getting 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:33.740 real serious about it. And so now we've got to 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:38.439 really be thinking about how do we show all of 00:02:38.439 --> 00:02:41.919 this great industry, this cool stuff that we 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:46.159 get to see. how do we show the new recruits how 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.879 do we show the the young men and young women 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:51.719 the boys and girls that tinker with their own 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:55.439 bicycles or skateboards or computers like how 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:58.460 do we show them that you know what you might 00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:01.460 not be looking at or even the parents right you 00:03:01.460 --> 00:03:02.900 need to start the parents because you know your 00:03:02.900 --> 00:03:05.360 parents are always uh you know go outside and 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:06.780 get out of my hair kind of parents right like 00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:08.389 yeah they want to get your kids to go outside 00:03:08.389 --> 00:03:10.710 and do stuff, but maybe these parents need to 00:03:10.710 --> 00:03:12.389 start taking their kids to career dates, right? 00:03:12.590 --> 00:03:14.930 Show them the opportunities of all these different 00:03:14.930 --> 00:03:16.830 avenues instead of just hearing the same thing 00:03:16.830 --> 00:03:19.509 at school. Yeah. Be a computer person, become 00:03:19.509 --> 00:03:22.310 a doctor, you know, go to big time colleges and 00:03:22.310 --> 00:03:24.069 have thousands of thousands of dollars in debt, 00:03:24.150 --> 00:03:26.849 hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. And, 00:03:26.949 --> 00:03:29.129 and maybe not even pursue your career path afterwards. 00:03:29.229 --> 00:03:31.530 Right. You know, my sister loved my sister to 00:03:31.530 --> 00:03:33.229 death. She went to equine science degree. Yeah. 00:03:33.289 --> 00:03:35.889 She has a full on degree. She went to Germany 00:03:35.889 --> 00:03:38.520 for it. She doesn't work there. She doesn't do 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:41.039 anything with it. She's in the rodeo side of 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:42.860 the industry, though. She puts on rodeos. At 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:49.599 least stayed in the field. I try my hardest when 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.560 I'm at family events or friends and family events 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.039 or wherever I may be to talk to people and educate 00:03:55.039 --> 00:03:57.219 them when they're just trying to have a small 00:03:57.219 --> 00:04:00.650 talk with people and their kids. I actually got 00:04:00.650 --> 00:04:03.949 two people signed up for the local union in Colorado 00:04:03.949 --> 00:04:06.449 this year. Oh, really? Who are friends of the 00:04:06.449 --> 00:04:08.590 family. Yeah. So their kids finally just graduated 00:04:08.590 --> 00:04:11.509 high school. Yep. Got that diploma. I got them 00:04:11.509 --> 00:04:13.949 in contact with people at UA. And they know nothing 00:04:13.949 --> 00:04:15.729 about mechanics. They know nothing about HVAC. 00:04:15.849 --> 00:04:17.610 They know nothing about welding. Right. But now 00:04:17.610 --> 00:04:19.269 they're enlisted in the union. And I'm not saying 00:04:19.269 --> 00:04:21.699 everybody has to go union. Yeah. But they did 00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:24.660 get in the union and now they're pursuing a path. 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:26.579 One wants to become a master welder and the other 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:29.019 one wants to become a HVAC service tech. Yeah, 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:32.319 it's crazy when we start like opening up and 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:35.120 actually talking to people about our jobs. I 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:37.620 know for myself, like most of my friends and 00:04:37.620 --> 00:04:40.579 family know that I'm in HVAC, right? Almost every 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:42.600 single one of them calls me when the residential 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:45.459 furnace breaks, right? None of them ever asked 00:04:45.459 --> 00:04:48.170 me about. the grocery store that they buy their 00:04:48.170 --> 00:04:50.230 produce in that I used to keep running. Nobody 00:04:50.230 --> 00:04:52.829 talks about the data centers. Nobody talks about, 00:04:52.850 --> 00:04:56.029 you know, the chillers. And so most people don't 00:04:56.029 --> 00:04:59.089 even understand what HVAC actually is. And for 00:04:59.089 --> 00:05:01.129 me, I think that's one of the big things for 00:05:01.129 --> 00:05:06.470 doing recruitment is like telling our friends 00:05:06.470 --> 00:05:09.430 and family, hey, if you have anyone that has 00:05:09.430 --> 00:05:12.769 any questions about HVAC or any of the trades, 00:05:12.970 --> 00:05:15.509 I'd love to at least have that conversation. 00:05:16.389 --> 00:05:19.889 absolutely i always try to you know i coach my 00:05:19.889 --> 00:05:22.149 kids youth hockey team so i'm having conversations 00:05:22.149 --> 00:05:23.990 with the kids on the ice they're you know there's 00:05:23.990 --> 00:05:26.149 14 year olds now right they're like what do you 00:05:26.149 --> 00:05:27.810 do how do you like it how'd you get involved 00:05:27.810 --> 00:05:30.129 you know and yeah just educate them and talk 00:05:30.129 --> 00:05:32.110 to them and a lot of people like well i want 00:05:32.110 --> 00:05:34.709 to do computer stuff i'm like these computers 00:05:34.709 --> 00:05:38.560 are 50 to 60 % of our work now while working 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:40.000 on an HVAC equipment, especially if you start 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:43.060 playing with these big chillers or big air chillers. 00:05:44.019 --> 00:05:46.540 It's all done off this computer. If somebody 00:05:46.540 --> 00:05:49.459 wants to pursue a computer path but doesn't want 00:05:49.459 --> 00:05:52.100 to go to the full IT market. You want a secure 00:05:52.100 --> 00:05:55.060 IT job? I can show you where one's at. Absolutely 00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:57.519 correct. Let me tell you what, the first time 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:00.339 I ever plugged a computer in on an old train 00:06:00.339 --> 00:06:03.649 air chiller. I don't know, that was probably 00:06:03.649 --> 00:06:05.389 in 2012. I had to go out in the middle of Nebraska 00:06:05.389 --> 00:06:08.430 on a data center, and long and behold, there's 00:06:08.430 --> 00:06:11.110 an old train air chiller out there, and I had 00:06:11.110 --> 00:06:13.050 to plug a computer into it to make it work. Exactly. 00:06:13.170 --> 00:06:17.189 So there's a lot of avenues other than just banging 00:06:17.189 --> 00:06:18.889 some sheet metal together, hanging it, right, 00:06:18.990 --> 00:06:21.769 or new construction type stuff. There's just 00:06:21.769 --> 00:06:24.850 so many avenues. You can be a software CAD designer 00:06:24.850 --> 00:06:27.629 in the HVAC industry or the electrical side of 00:06:27.629 --> 00:06:31.639 it or whatever it may be, but it's... I guess 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:33.740 as an industry, we've got to figure out how to 00:06:33.740 --> 00:06:40.220 get more people involved in this industry. What's 00:06:40.220 --> 00:06:43.480 the word I'm looking for? Gosh, I don't know. 00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:48.019 Maybe as a parent, try to just advocate for trades 00:06:48.019 --> 00:06:50.759 to be put back into school. It's huge. We have 00:06:50.759 --> 00:06:55.300 to start getting some type of hands -on. Physical 00:06:55.300 --> 00:06:58.160 style classes where we're going to really suffer 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:01.399 in the long term. Yeah. My son's a freshman this 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:03.100 year. We had to pick between three high schools 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:05.680 for him to go to school. And unfortunately, the 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:07.899 school that was the furthest away, which would 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:10.720 have been 20 minutes each direction for us, they 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:14.970 had automotive and shop class. Oh, okay. He can't 00:07:14.970 --> 00:07:16.529 walk that school because there's a couple of 00:07:16.529 --> 00:07:17.930 major highways he has to cross to get there. 00:07:18.029 --> 00:07:20.750 So we ended up going with the local school really 00:07:20.750 --> 00:07:22.410 close, only a couple minutes away, but they have 00:07:22.410 --> 00:07:24.250 Lincoln Tech associated with it. Yeah, absolutely. 00:07:24.490 --> 00:07:27.449 So that was a bonus, right? I bet you. But maybe 00:07:27.449 --> 00:07:29.730 parents need to start researching the schools 00:07:29.730 --> 00:07:32.269 that kids go to to try to figure out, hey, maybe 00:07:32.269 --> 00:07:35.470 my kid might be interested in doing arts and 00:07:35.470 --> 00:07:38.209 crafts or woodworking or metalworking or automotive 00:07:38.209 --> 00:07:40.649 or something like that. Just because you're an 00:07:40.649 --> 00:07:41.750 automotive doesn't mean you're a grease mechanic. 00:07:42.050 --> 00:07:44.139 Nope. I mean, those automotive guys, engineering, 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:46.620 right. There's so many things, so many things. 00:07:46.779 --> 00:07:50.560 Um, and we just, as a parent, I feel like I let 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:52.699 my kid down because I didn't advocate for that 00:07:52.699 --> 00:07:54.480 kind of stuff to stay in school. Right. I'm only 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:57.860 44. So I didn't know that then. Right. Um, um, 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:00.720 but now I do know it. So now I'm trying to do, 00:08:00.759 --> 00:08:02.779 I still part of the union, Colorado. We do vocational 00:08:02.779 --> 00:08:04.240 trainings. We go to around the schools in Denver 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:07.300 metropolitan area. Yeah. Um, they still promote 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:09.300 that stuff to the schools and nice it in the 00:08:09.300 --> 00:08:10.720 high schools and just trying to get those guys 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:13.470 to. open up their eyes and see what's out there 00:08:13.470 --> 00:08:16.370 other than just four walls and a computer screen 00:08:16.370 --> 00:08:18.629 in front of them yeah and that's the word that 00:08:18.629 --> 00:08:21.370 we really we need to be able to get out right 00:08:21.370 --> 00:08:24.250 we just we need to be able to help people understand 00:08:24.250 --> 00:08:27.529 that there are some really amazing careers out 00:08:27.529 --> 00:08:31.910 here waiting for people to fill yeah and you 00:08:31.910 --> 00:08:35.230 know it's simply a matter of having that conversation 00:08:36.029 --> 00:08:39.029 being willing to like tell our stories. I mean, 00:08:39.070 --> 00:08:41.389 that's really the beauty of like a podcast, things 00:08:41.389 --> 00:08:44.090 like we're doing, right? We get to tell a story. 00:08:44.149 --> 00:08:47.350 Hopefully somebody will listen. Hopefully you 00:08:47.350 --> 00:08:50.210 right now are listening and it's resonating with 00:08:50.210 --> 00:08:54.629 you because it really is up to all of us to recruit. 00:08:54.809 --> 00:08:58.950 Yes, it is. We have to fill our boots. Yep, we 00:08:58.950 --> 00:09:01.389 do. We have to spread the word. We have to spread 00:09:01.389 --> 00:09:04.070 the talent. We have to just enlighten people. 00:09:04.750 --> 00:09:07.450 and other avenues than just you know doing the 00:09:07.450 --> 00:09:09.330 career path of a blue collar or a white collar 00:09:09.330 --> 00:09:11.070 kind of job right you know you don't need to 00:09:11.070 --> 00:09:14.110 follow the you know the path of going to school 00:09:14.110 --> 00:09:17.509 or college maybe whatever it may be um i mean 00:09:17.509 --> 00:09:19.590 i make pretty decent money doing what i do i 00:09:19.590 --> 00:09:21.950 work very hard to get where i'm at yeah um i 00:09:21.950 --> 00:09:24.769 put in a lot a lot of hours uh seven days a week 00:09:24.769 --> 00:09:28.149 just a lot of family home time um but at 30 years 00:09:28.149 --> 00:09:32.929 old i had a house right i had multiple toys i 00:09:32.929 --> 00:09:35.950 had hvac paid for hvac paid for it all and i 00:09:35.950 --> 00:09:38.250 got it from being debt free from college because 00:09:38.250 --> 00:09:40.210 my employer paid for me to go to school right 00:09:40.210 --> 00:09:43.250 and most of your large employers even being non 00:09:43.250 --> 00:09:46.429 -union they do run their own you know educational 00:09:46.429 --> 00:09:49.529 programs they pay for because as a qualified 00:09:49.529 --> 00:09:52.370 person i do that employer benefit because i can 00:09:52.370 --> 00:09:54.129 go to that job they're trusting me and i can 00:09:54.129 --> 00:09:56.870 get the job done good name for the company happy 00:09:56.870 --> 00:10:00.250 customer On down the road. Yeah. Yeah. I've seen 00:10:00.250 --> 00:10:02.970 many successful programs around the country that 00:10:02.970 --> 00:10:05.929 work on that principle. I was working with one 00:10:05.929 --> 00:10:08.830 in Ohio where their high school. Right. They 00:10:08.830 --> 00:10:11.269 have exploratory program your freshman year. 00:10:11.409 --> 00:10:13.990 You see all sorts of different hands on style 00:10:13.990 --> 00:10:17.129 careers. And then by your sophomore year, you 00:10:17.129 --> 00:10:20.590 pick it. But by the time you get into your junior 00:10:20.590 --> 00:10:24.909 year, you're working with either the UA or a 00:10:24.909 --> 00:10:28.539 local contractor. And you're going to have a 00:10:28.539 --> 00:10:31.360 career like headed out, like you're going to 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:34.360 have a debt free career either direction you 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:36.000 go. And I'm like, man, if we could just start 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:39.779 duplicating that more often and connecting our 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:42.879 contractors and our distributors and the schools 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:45.399 and helping get that word out, I think we'll 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:48.759 all be successful in the long run. I think it's 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:50.759 an effort that needs to be put in for sure. I 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:53.659 do, too. And in order to see if it's success 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:55.500 is you got to put that first step forward, though. 00:10:55.789 --> 00:10:59.490 So that's awesome that Ohio does that. That's 00:10:59.490 --> 00:11:01.669 really impressive. One particular school blew 00:11:01.669 --> 00:11:04.870 my mind. They actually sent three of their – 00:11:04.870 --> 00:11:08.750 was it three or four? One, two, three. It might 00:11:08.750 --> 00:11:11.330 have been four of their students, high school 00:11:11.330 --> 00:11:14.470 students, to our conference this year. I'm like, 00:11:14.509 --> 00:11:16.929 man, I got it. So props to Stebbins High School 00:11:16.929 --> 00:11:18.710 out there, anyone in Ohio. Keep it going, Stebbins. 00:11:18.750 --> 00:11:22.889 That's right. Yeah, so they had high school seniors 00:11:22.889 --> 00:11:26.730 that had already been doing internships, As juniors 00:11:26.730 --> 00:11:30.269 and as seniors in high school, one was already 00:11:30.269 --> 00:11:33.370 in his union sheet metal apprenticeship program. 00:11:33.570 --> 00:11:36.389 So that's a thing. So like with HVAC excellence 00:11:36.389 --> 00:11:38.289 accredited programs that's using our employment 00:11:38.289 --> 00:11:41.049 ready certifications, there's a bundle of those 00:11:41.049 --> 00:11:47.029 that are accepted as the UA. So the UA will accept. 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:49.120 those certifications going into the program. 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:51.840 So these high school students were going through 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:54.919 their HVAC curriculum. They were doing their 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:57.320 employment ready certifications. And so they 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:00.379 were already in their first year apprenticeship 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:04.120 program as a senior in high school and already 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:08.860 doing work as a first year union apprentice before 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:10.879 they even got out of high school. And then they 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:13.220 had two guys that were non -union and one that 00:12:13.220 --> 00:12:15.639 was a commercial refrigeration. Wow. I'm like, 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:19.500 where are all of these like what this is like 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:22.179 the perfect model it is and they work with their 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:24.379 local community college so they've got students 00:12:24.379 --> 00:12:26.940 going as soon as they come out they're going 00:12:26.940 --> 00:12:29.899 somewhere yeah and they have these like amazing 00:12:29.899 --> 00:12:33.059 career paths and so we just have to spread the 00:12:33.059 --> 00:12:35.980 word of we do we we can all do this but it's 00:12:35.980 --> 00:12:38.980 going to take everyone yeah if someone you know 00:12:39.230 --> 00:12:41.710 If you have that friend or that family member 00:12:41.710 --> 00:12:44.470 that's got a son or daughter and they're just 00:12:44.470 --> 00:12:47.590 not 100 % sure what they want to do, it's worth 00:12:47.590 --> 00:12:50.269 saying I could tell you something that you could 00:12:50.269 --> 00:12:53.730 do that would actually make you a lot of money. 00:12:53.789 --> 00:12:55.769 A lot of money. And then leave it there. Yep. 00:12:55.889 --> 00:12:57.990 Yeah. Leave the carrot. Right. Yeah. Let them 00:12:57.990 --> 00:13:00.470 come back and bite on it. Absolutely. And I guess 00:13:00.470 --> 00:13:02.549 that was kind of really the avenue that I went 00:13:02.549 --> 00:13:05.019 with it. I got an early taste out of it. You 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:07.279 know, 16 years old, working in just a summertime 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:09.480 gig for a small mom -and -pop shop in Castle 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:11.460 Rock, Colorado, banging some sheet metal together 00:13:11.460 --> 00:13:13.919 on new track homes. And I was like, I worked 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.059 like 15 hours this week, and this is my paycheck? 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:20.340 Yeah. There's something to this. Yeah. Yeah. 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:23.779 And it just kept going and kept going. And, of 00:13:23.779 --> 00:13:25.960 course, I chased the dollar. Yeah. I did the 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:27.960 residential thing for a couple years, got tired 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:30.039 of crawl spaces, went to the union, joined the 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:34.149 commercial industrial side of it. I got through 00:13:34.149 --> 00:13:36.090 school within five years, had my journeyman's 00:13:36.090 --> 00:13:39.049 license, leveled up really, really quick. So 00:13:39.049 --> 00:13:41.169 I became a level three master journeyman. I got 00:13:41.169 --> 00:13:42.649 my welding certifications and everything like 00:13:42.649 --> 00:13:45.370 that. Probably about seven years I got that all 00:13:45.370 --> 00:13:46.590 accomplished because you only go to school a 00:13:46.590 --> 00:13:50.769 couple nights a week, right? And I was making 00:13:50.769 --> 00:13:54.330 very good money, very good money. So it's done 00:13:54.330 --> 00:13:57.730 well for me and my family. I mean, we don't have 00:13:57.730 --> 00:14:01.129 the big fancy house at the end of the street, 00:14:01.190 --> 00:14:03.789 the big fancy cars. You live well. I live well. 00:14:03.789 --> 00:14:06.230 I got a roof over my house. Yeah. And I love 00:14:06.230 --> 00:14:08.809 what I do. I do. Um, I get to travel right now. 00:14:08.929 --> 00:14:11.070 Um, cause I've worked my way up in the industry. 00:14:11.129 --> 00:14:13.909 Yeah. You know, factories lead help too. They 00:14:13.909 --> 00:14:15.529 need technical people at the factory levels. 00:14:15.570 --> 00:14:19.169 You know, it's, it's been fun. It's been a lot 00:14:19.169 --> 00:14:22.210 of fun. Um, I just got to figure we as an industry 00:14:22.210 --> 00:14:24.889 nation nationwide need to figure out how to get 00:14:24.889 --> 00:14:28.350 more people involved in it. So I don't know how 00:14:28.350 --> 00:14:31.009 that goes down. I'm trying to figure it out and 00:14:31.009 --> 00:14:34.269 help out where I can. Local union in Colorado, 00:14:34.350 --> 00:14:37.149 I do vocational education visits to a couple 00:14:37.149 --> 00:14:42.029 high schools there. Yeah. Keep on plugging. Yeah, 00:14:42.210 --> 00:14:43.990 that's exactly right. Just keep on plugging. 00:14:44.110 --> 00:14:48.250 Sure. Hopefully we'll get some people back in 00:14:48.250 --> 00:14:50.490 the door. So tell me about your tech support 00:14:50.490 --> 00:14:53.710 and training. what do you guys do in the world 00:14:53.710 --> 00:14:55.929 of education so right now at hercules industries 00:14:55.929 --> 00:14:58.830 uh we have our little technical lab uh we have 00:14:58.830 --> 00:15:02.450 live running equipment in there um we basically 00:15:02.450 --> 00:15:05.450 train our contractors who buy our product yeah 00:15:05.450 --> 00:15:08.690 um and all the material i learned here at the 00:15:08.690 --> 00:15:10.549 factories meet trainings all the information 00:15:10.549 --> 00:15:13.389 i get from here is what we use for our trainings 00:15:13.389 --> 00:15:16.129 back at our office so we're basically just given 00:15:16.590 --> 00:15:18.769 word of factory information right to the contractors 00:15:18.769 --> 00:15:23.509 um teaching them how to read the manual fabulous 00:15:23.509 --> 00:15:28.929 manual yes and then you know the the the troublesome 00:15:28.929 --> 00:15:31.269 calls that come in how to work through them and 00:15:31.269 --> 00:15:33.929 and stuff like that we do job site visits um 00:15:33.929 --> 00:15:36.789 we do tech phone calls so you have a toll -free 00:15:36.789 --> 00:15:39.789 tech line at hercules that pro We provide support 00:15:39.789 --> 00:15:42.190 for our products. We have seven techs across 00:15:42.190 --> 00:15:45.750 our footprint. Nice. So we do a lot. I'll go 00:15:45.750 --> 00:15:48.490 to job sites, help people fix problems if something 00:15:48.490 --> 00:15:51.509 just can't click for them or they can't figure 00:15:51.509 --> 00:15:53.049 it out or can't figure it out with a phone. Sure. 00:15:53.230 --> 00:15:56.009 So we'll make site visits and stuff. dive in 00:15:56.009 --> 00:15:58.190 depth maybe do some product design with uh with 00:15:58.190 --> 00:16:00.009 the contractor to help make sure the equipment 00:16:00.009 --> 00:16:01.929 they're choosing is going to meet the right application 00:16:01.929 --> 00:16:05.049 they need and stuff so right uh i got multiple 00:16:05.049 --> 00:16:08.169 hats on my head so that sounds like yes yeah 00:16:08.169 --> 00:16:10.850 some days i wonder what i did to myself sometimes 00:16:10.850 --> 00:16:14.570 like self -inflict they are they really really 00:16:14.570 --> 00:16:18.049 are yeah um but it's uh it's rewarding in the 00:16:18.049 --> 00:16:21.490 end i go home i'm happy about what i do I'm not 00:16:21.490 --> 00:16:23.870 stressed. I mean, there's a different type of 00:16:23.870 --> 00:16:26.529 stress. Yeah, absolutely. I get up in the morning. 00:16:26.590 --> 00:16:28.610 I look forward to going to work. It's a big deal. 00:16:28.730 --> 00:16:31.490 Yeah, it is. And, you know, you go home and you 00:16:31.490 --> 00:16:33.490 might have been chewed out by a couple of mad 00:16:33.490 --> 00:16:37.710 customers or just a rough beat up day. But it's 00:16:37.710 --> 00:16:39.590 just it's still in the end. It's still satisfying 00:16:39.590 --> 00:16:44.120 to me. So I agree. Yeah, it's just. It fits with 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:47.539 my pea -sized brain, I guess. At work, we learn 00:16:47.539 --> 00:16:51.860 more about Hercules. Yes. Yes. But how'd you 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:55.840 get in the industry? I had actually married into 00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:59.220 a small family business. Okay. Refrigeration 00:16:59.220 --> 00:17:04.579 and HVAC. And I wasn't sure about it, but I was 00:17:04.579 --> 00:17:09.339 mechanical. Okay. I'd started out as a... I had 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:11.819 a mobile DJ business as a teenager. Okay. From 00:17:11.819 --> 00:17:14.920 like 14 into my early 20s. And went to school 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:16.960 for a year for TV, radio, film, and realized 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:20.900 that I wasn't a four -year degree person. And 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:23.900 so I got into the trades. Yeah. In the trades. 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:28.480 That's where I really found like myself, my skills. 00:17:28.980 --> 00:17:32.000 I knew that I, same way. I liked fixing things. 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:33.900 I liked working on stuff. I just didn't know 00:17:33.900 --> 00:17:37.319 what that meant until I was in a job where I 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:40.400 got paid to do that. And then it was for after 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:42.559 that, it was like, well, the more that I learn 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:44.700 how to fix, the more I can get paid. I think 00:17:44.700 --> 00:17:46.160 I want to learn how to fix more stuff. Yeah. 00:17:46.299 --> 00:17:49.119 Yeah. And that was it. And it just keeps on growing. 00:17:49.660 --> 00:17:52.200 Yeah. You get hooked. You absolutely do. Um, 00:17:53.210 --> 00:17:55.410 Cool thing about it is you learn how to use your 00:17:55.410 --> 00:17:57.289 hands, right? Oh, man. And the diversity of things 00:17:57.289 --> 00:17:59.650 you're going to go work with. You might be one 00:17:59.650 --> 00:18:01.869 day banging some sheet metal, next day fixing 00:18:01.869 --> 00:18:04.130 a compressor, next day pulling some control wire, 00:18:04.230 --> 00:18:05.869 right? But then you go home, you tinker things 00:18:05.869 --> 00:18:08.109 at home. Learn everything around the house. Yeah. 00:18:08.109 --> 00:18:10.309 Eventually. Yeah. And then next thing you know, 00:18:10.329 --> 00:18:11.750 you're remodeling your own house by yourself 00:18:11.750 --> 00:18:14.329 and saving yourself money and putting extra money 00:18:14.329 --> 00:18:16.650 into your remodel. Absolutely. building your 00:18:16.650 --> 00:18:18.710 own house. You know, there's a lot of avenues 00:18:18.710 --> 00:18:20.670 that come from learning how to work with your 00:18:20.670 --> 00:18:22.309 hands. Yeah. A lot of people don't realize that 00:18:22.309 --> 00:18:23.769 like when you get into these kinds of trades, 00:18:23.849 --> 00:18:26.710 like you're in the trades, right? You're learning 00:18:26.710 --> 00:18:30.450 a lot of stuff. You are. So the, the money that 00:18:30.450 --> 00:18:33.089 we make, yeah, that's great. But the money that 00:18:33.089 --> 00:18:37.009 we save is a whole nother story. Yes, sir. That's 00:18:37.009 --> 00:18:38.609 a fact. And then you get to save that money and 00:18:38.609 --> 00:18:40.710 use it for, you know, splurge vacations with 00:18:40.710 --> 00:18:43.049 the family. Enjoy my family, buy a boat, whatever. 00:18:43.450 --> 00:18:46.769 Great Christmas gifts. And then regret the next 00:18:46.769 --> 00:18:48.789 day because it's the loudest, annoying gift your 00:18:48.789 --> 00:18:51.029 six -year -old could ever have. But they got 00:18:51.029 --> 00:18:54.710 it. They got it. That's a fact. Well, that's 00:18:54.710 --> 00:18:57.490 cool. I see you didn't even know anything about 00:18:57.490 --> 00:18:59.690 it, and you were doing a different avenue and 00:18:59.690 --> 00:19:01.670 got married into it, and now look at you now. 00:19:01.890 --> 00:19:04.430 HVAC took me there. Yes, sir. And I'm not saying 00:19:04.430 --> 00:19:06.950 just HVAC, but it could be a master welder. It 00:19:06.950 --> 00:19:08.809 could be a plumber. All the trees. Electrician. 00:19:09.230 --> 00:19:11.430 There's so many avenues in the construction industry. 00:19:12.350 --> 00:19:14.789 project managers, you know, a lot of, a lot of 00:19:14.789 --> 00:19:18.750 stuff that comes into play. So, um, yeah, anybody, 00:19:18.869 --> 00:19:20.849 you know, anybody who's lost in this world and 00:19:20.849 --> 00:19:23.210 don't know what they do, check out a trade, check 00:19:23.210 --> 00:19:24.930 out a, check out a trade. That's all I can say. 00:19:25.009 --> 00:19:27.289 That's the name of this podcast. I think we're 00:19:27.289 --> 00:19:31.349 going to, I get trademarked. All right, man. 00:19:31.470 --> 00:19:32.670 Well, I sure appreciate you joining us.