The Unified Group’s 2025 Small/Special Projects Forum brought some 30 HVAC industry leaders together in Fort Worth, Texas, to engage in dynamic panel discussions and interactive breakout sessions focused on sharing best practices, tackling common challenges and generating innovative ideas. The event fostered a strong sense of community among professionals facing similar day-to-day realities, making it a valuable experience for all involved.

“This is by far the most potent form of training available,” David Rose of Harvey W. Hottel Inc. said. “No course nor curriculum could equal (this), and the value it has created is immeasurable.” 

Kathy Crosby, president and owner of C2 Consulting Inc., kicked off the forum with a presentation focusing on small project management. C2 Consulting provides financial, safety and other consulting services and training. Highlights of Crosby’s presentation included insights on the project life cycle and zero-cost change orders. During the breakout session after her presentation, attendees discussed reasons for warranty calls/rework and how they can be reduced, how to control scope creep and how to reduce non-billable hours.

“The information gained from this forum will be instrumental in shaping a new small projects division as we transition it to our service group at Air Controls,” Chris Stokes of Air Controls Inc., said. 

After an inspiring first day, attendees returned for the final day eager to build on the momentum and bring the forum to a strong close. Exequiel Lopez of Environmental Systems Inc., Jake Chowdry of Intech Mechanical, and Jake Emerson of Service Unlimited shared their turnover processes for small projects. Two panel discussions focused on getting the right people in the right projects and keeping customers while retaining margin were also highlights of the day. 

“The best part of the meeting was really just being able to have unfiltered conversations with people in my industry that are not direct competitors,” Jerome Ryan of Robert Gibb & Sons, said. 

Jared Krieg with Wiegmann Associates, Matthew Thornton with A&G Services and Chris Stokes of Air Control presented a close-out discussion on who is responsible for follow-ups on warranty, startup and O&Ms once the job is completed. Krieg offered tips and tricks on working with subcontractors to wrap up the meeting.  

“If I didn’t attend the meeting, I would have missed the collaboration with people who hold similar roles as me, and as a result, I come back with the tweaks that I can make to get better individually and as a department,” Service Unlimited’s Jake Emerson, said. 

The 2025 Unified Group Small/Special Projects Forum concluded with a dinner at Brazilian steakhouse Texas de Brazil. The Group’s time together in Fort Worth was filled with productive conversations, valuable shared insights and a lot of fun.

“Having those open discussions and having input from people with different levels of expertise is the best part,” Zeke Lopez of Environmental Systems, said. “From the new project managers to the company owners, there was something to take away from everyone.”

Upcoming Unified Group forums include human resources, construction, and safety. If you want to learn more about attending a meeting or becoming a member of The Unified Group, contact Janet Kelleher at [email protected].