Chief Operating Officer Keith Walker was named president of Conditioned Air Corporation of Naples Inc. and Carol Papesh, the company’s CFO, has been promoted to senior vice president/CFO. Theo Etzel will remain CEO and continue as leader of the company, determining its growth and direction moving forward. Walker will manage day-to-day operations and leadership of the company internally. Papesh will be responsible for all financial activities with increased emphasis on analysis and forecasting. She will also perform hands-on education at each office and reviews of internal controls. The company will open a new Fort Myers location at 14231 Jetport Loop, Unit 16 on Feb. 4.

New Fort Myers Location, opening Feb 4, 2013

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Conditioned Air has been recognized as an ACCA Quality Assured Contractor!

The ACCA Quality Assured (QA) program is a self-certification activity for professional HVAC contracting businesses. QA participants attest that they satisfy the requirements for the EPA ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes Program (Version 3).

The QA Program relies upon three elements to promote quality HVAC installations.

1. QA Participants attest that they have implemented written policies and procedures as identified in the ACCA 5 QI Standard to effect quality on a consistent basis in the field, and
2. QA Participants complete and submit a detailed HVAC system installation checklist, and
3. Qualified 3^rd party Raters validate specific elements of the installation for compliance to the EnergyStar requirements.

Visit www.acca.org/qa to learn more!

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It’s no secret that the past year- the past few, even- have been difficult for many businesses.

But there are some that not only survive but thrive, due to some combination of determination, ethics, innovation, planning and forward thinking.

Junior Achievement honors the heads of those Southwest Florida companies for their support of its programs and as role models for today’s young leaders.

George Beasley and Theo Etzel join the Collier County business leaders named to the Business Hall of Fame since 1988.

“From our laureates, who are the top entrepreneurs in our community, students learn that it takes perseverance and innovation to become an entrepreneur,” said Victoria Stephen, president of Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida.  “This is what the free-enterprise system is all about. With hard work and the right skills, they can succeed and take their place as the world’s leaders in the 21^st century.”

Beasley and Etzel will be honored at a dinner Tuesday at the Naples Grande Beach Resort.

W. Theo Etzel

When Theo Etzel’s staff found out that he was about to be honored as a role model and entrepreneur by Junior Achievement, they came up with a ruse to get him into a common area of Conditioned Air’s company headquarters in surprise-party fashion.

It worked. Etzel, the 53-year-old president and CEO, was clearly pleased with both the message and its delivery.

The latest candle in his cake joins another this year: Conditioned Air was honored with the Uncommon Friends Foundation Business Ethics Award.

Both recent honors attest to the success of the mission statement of the company he has helmed since 1995.

“Not everyone out there likes our mission statement,” said Etzel. No doubt the pledge to provide products and services in an honorable way doesn’t ruffle feathers; it’s the “within an industry whose reputation is tarnished with mistrust and deceit” that doesn’t sit as well.

But it’s true, Etzel said. After working in real estate procurement for Days Inn and then owning a two-store Ben & Jerry’s franchise, he took his father-in-law up on an offer to grow the $2.7 million air conditioning company in 1995.  Today, it’s worth $25 million.

Every employee has a placard on his or her desk that reads: “I’m responsible, I’m accountable, it’s me.”

Etzel is included in that number. In fact, “I don’t consider myself as the star player of this company. I look at myself as the coach,” he said.

In convincing Etzel and his wife, Kim, to move their young family from Atlanta to Naples, his father-in-law said, “you can learn the air-conditioning side, but we need you on the business side and we need a people person,” Etzel said.

He credits his mother for setting him on that people-person path.

“You trade heartbeats for dollars,” she told him- and regarding his employees, he knows “that’s something not to be taken lightly and without a lot of thought.”

His own respect for work-life balance allows him to play golf and pursue an interest he shares with his wife: travel combined with classes by well-known chefs.

From experience honed on college radio at Stetson University, from which he graduated, Etzel is still at ease in front of a microphone and does his own voice and in-person commercial work.

The year he graduated, 1980, was not the best of times either, Etzel recalled. He did a lot of knocking on doors.

“There is no substitute for perseverance,” he said. “That’s true in life regarding just about everything.”

“I am not the smartest guy you will ever meet,” he continued. “But I like people and I like to see people succeed.”

Tips On How To Succeed In Business…

While Trying

From Theo Etzel:

1. Seek a mentor for whom you have the utmost respect. This would be a person who demonstrates excellence in life and specifically areas in which you are interested.  You should seek accountability from that person as well so you can make sure you are on the right course. Then, later in your career, return the favor for another newcomer.
2. Surround yourself with smarter people than yourself in areas in which you need help. Equip them with the tools to do their jobs and then let them do what they do best. Stay away from micro-managing the leadership in an organization. Collectively, they will raise the level of professionalism of the organization much higher than you can do alone. Overuse the words “thank you” to your team.

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 The Foundation works closely with local, state and national business leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, government leaders and benefactors whose interests are similarly aligned. The Foundation’s influence can be felt through the documentary Uncommon Friends of the Twentieth Century, educational curriculum and projects, scholarship awards, business leadership and teacher awards, historical preservation and public forums.

  In 2006, the foundation gave the first Uncommon Friends Business Ethics Award to recognize local organizations that exemplify standards of high ethical behavior in how they conduct their daily operations and how they respond in times of crises.

 Nominated companies must demonstrate an existing policy regarding ethical decisions and further demonstrate how that policy is applied by all employees from the front line, through upper management. Award recipients have demonstrated fair practice and ethical treatment at all levels of the organization including dealings with customers, vendors, shareholders, regulators, lenders and the community.

 “It is not enough to have a ‘policy’ in a guidebook,” said Gray Davis, President of Uncommon Friends Foundation. “We are looking for companies who live and breathe by their core principles even when presented by a challenge. Conditioned Air was selected because of their commitment to always do the right thing.”

 Conditioned Air has five core values that each employee lives by: Integrity, Safety, Respect, Purposeful Effort, and Exceeding Client Expectations. These five core values are the foundation for the way in which they treat everyone with whom they come in contact: clients, employees, vendors and stake holders.

 Conditioned Air’s President and CEO, Theo Etzel, is the first to admit that his company occasionally doesn’t do things right, but they always strive to do the right thing. When they make a mistake they don’t hide, cover it up, or run. They go out of their way to make it right and then some.

 “Holding strong to these values can mean making some very tough and painful decisions,” said Etzel. “But, yielding to the momentary ‘easy way out’ will have worse and lasting consequences.”

 So, when the company installed an improperly sized air conditioning unit in a customer’s home, the solution was clear. Conditioned Air replaced the 3 ton air conditioning unit with a 5 ton unit including all upgraded duct work and a new control system, a $13,000 value, at no charge to the client. When the “unbelievable call” came from Conditioned Air, customer Edwin Lemp was shocked that the firm offered to replace the whole system for no cost. He had expected a proposal for a split cost.

 “Conditioned Air went above and beyond in making this situation right,” described Lemp. “You would be hard pressed to find another air conditioning company that would do the same thing. I’m very pleased with the way this turned out.”

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Since 1995, under Etzel’s leadership, Conditioned Air has grown from $2.7 million in annual revenues to $19 million. The firm has been recognized nationally by Air Conditioning Contractors of America and recently was awarded the EDC’s Business Expansion Award. Additionally, Carol Papesh, CFO was named Woman of the Year by Contracting Business Magazine for her achievements in the HVAC industry. 

Etzel says he takes a coach-like management approach, engaging and empowering employees who are personally invested in providing the right solution for customers. Conditioned Air invests in education, tools, remote computer systems and mobile technology so that purchase orders and invoices are transmitted immediately; streamlining processes through multiple departments to better serve customers with speed and accuracy.  Etzel’s open book management style demonstrates in raw numbers how employee performance affects the entire company. All employees share in the success.

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