Attorneys have developed arguments against both the non-refillable cylinder ban and the QR code tracking mandate stating they are both unlawful because they exceed the authority granted to the EPA by the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act) and because the finalized regulations are arbitrary and capricious. The EPA has until June 6, 2022, to respond to the brief that HARDI and the joint petitioners filed.

Winsupply welcomed more than 1,800 attendees to its annual meetings and vendor showcase in Dallas, Texas. The conference was held from March 13-18 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center. Vendors and Local Company Presidents attended annual meetings, president and manager meetings, vendor one-on-one meetings, a town hall with the Winsupply Leadership Team and training sessions on various topics. The vendor showcase had more than 200 exhibitors in attendance.

The Ducane line of residential unitary HVAC equipment will be available to contractors through any of the fifty TGG wholesale locations across the 6 New England states. Inventory has already started to land and will be fully stocked across the Granite Group branch network in mid-March. Available products will include gas and oil furnaces, air handlers, condensing units and heat pumps, many of which qualify for homeowner rebates in New England. This, combined with the addition of packaged rooftop units from Allied Commercial, will allow The Granite Group to offer a full range of equipment from 1.5 ton up to 25 ton.

HARDI released its monthly TRENDS report, showing the average sales performance by HARDI distributors was an increase of 35.3% during January. The average annual sales growth for the 12 months through January is 25%.

Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) members raised $134,550 in 2021 for Homes for Our Troops, the association’s philanthropic partner. In addition to the cash donations raised in 2021, HARDI members committed to donating the HVACR equipment to 19 specially adapted homes for injured military veterans across the country.

Marcone, a distributor of home appliance, HVAC and plumbing repair parts and equipment across North America and current portfolio company of Genstar Capital announced it has acquired Munch’s Supply, a distributor of HVAC equipment, parts and supplies from Ridgemont Equity Partners. Ridgemont and the Munch’s management team will retain a meaningful minority stake in the combined entity. 

After cancelling our 2020 in-person conference due to the pandemic, members of the association were able to come back together for an in-person meeting. The event welcomed 401 wholesaler attendees from 153 member companies for a grand total of 1,525 attendees from 578 member companies present at the event. The booth program sold out with 241 vendors participating.

Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) announced the hiring of Zachary Perge as the organization’s first vice president of distribution strategies. Perge comes to HARDI from Deloitte Consulting where he was senior consultant, consumer M&A division. Perge was the integration lead for a $38 billion merger of two semiconductor companies, developed a $30-$50 million cost reduction program for a Fortune 500 consumer company, and generated more than $46 million in new projects for Deloitte during his time there.

The annual competition among Heating Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) members recovered 239 pounds of mercury from 70 member companies, increasing more than 16 pounds from last year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, more than 380 branch locations returned collection bins during the contest period, from May 1 to October 31.

Munch’s Supply a Chicagoland area-based heating, air conditioning and plumbing distributor, has acquired TML Supply and its 13 branches servicing the province of Ontario, Canada. This will expand Munch’s geographic footprint to 64 locations serving 16 U.S. states and one Canadian province.