Russell Sigler Inc.

Russell Sigler Inc. (RSI) has been offering top lines of equipment, supplies and controls for HVAC installations across the Southwest United States for six decades. Based out of corporate headquarters in Tolleson, Ariz., RSI holds a presence in six states: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California and Idaho.

“We serve as distributors for air-conditioning supplies and items that contractors need to finish a job,” says Russ Sigler, chairman of RSI. “We are in the new construction and replacement business for both the commercial industry and residential industry. We have warehouses everywhere from El Paso to Tucson, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Phoenix Gilbert, Tempe, Yuma and 20 across California.”

A wholesale supplier operating across multiple sectors, RSI divides itself into five divisions: residential, commercial, controls, parts and supplies with strong engineering and technical support. The residential division offers some of the best brands in the industry, including Bryant, Carrier and Payne, and dealer programs offer substantial benefits. The commercial division has expanded over the years due to the acquisition of AZME, which represents some of the finest hydronic and airside products in the HVAC industry. This complements Sigler’s existing Carrier equipment and controls, providing exciting new system solutions to customers.

Associated with the commercial division, the controls division carries a complete line of controls for Carrier residential and commercial equipment, including rooftop and split system air conditioning units, air handlers, chillers and centrifical and integrates HVAC and building automation systems for Carrier, Distech, Viconics, Tridium, Honeywell and Zonex branded projects. Finally, parts and supplies and technical support help sustain and enhance all divisions’ quality of service in order to help better meet the customer’s needs.

Keeping Its Cool Under Pressure

Drawing on its extensive capabilities to open up new opportunities, RSI has recently been expanding into educational markets. Sigler believes the company is well suited to handle the challenges of the market. RSI just completed work on the Glendale, Ariz., school district, where the staff worked with a mechanical contractor to help redesign and upgrade the system that will result in lower operating cost. Educational facilities in general require significant time and budget restraints, and RSI can tackle any such challenge with the staff’s experience and commitment to meeting the needs of the client.

The company has performed work on a number of high-profile military projects around the area, including the Luke Air Force Base out of Phoenix, Ariz. “We sold equipment and controls to contractors installing into the base’s support buildings. Half of their support buildings now have Carrier or Sigler products,” Sigler says.

Another military base RSI has worked on was Fort Bliss in El Paso. “We worked with the mechanical contractor on that one and helped with the layout for equipment,” reveals Sigler. The company has also worked on environmentally sustainable buildings, such as those associated with the Canon Air Force Base, which earned a LEED Silver certification.

A Goal Worth $1 Billion

As of 2011 RSI has been established for 61 years and has survived all the twists and turns of the housing market. However, the latest downturn may have been the toughest to get through. “We’ve always been in new construction, but the housing market has been so bad for the last few years, and that was such a big part of our business, so it really hurt us when the economy turned,” Sigler says.

As a result, the firm has adjusted its mode of operation. “We’ve had to change our operation slightly, and also change where and who we are selling to. In the last couple of years we have put more of an emphasis on the replacement market, working through dealers and contractors,” Sigler says.

In addition, RSI is coming out with a new product that increases the efficiency of HVAC equipment. “Whereas previous products used to be 10 SEER efficiency, our new product is up to 20,” explains Sigler proudly. Sigler is making bold, yet hopeful, predictions for the future of the company because of these strategic maneuvers.

“We’re going to have $1 billion in sales in 2017,” he declares. This seems like an impossibly ambitious goal, but the firm already does around $400 million annually in revenue utilizing a staff of 600 people. All employees are steeped in a code of quality customer service that involves listening to and respecting the client’s needs and helping them find individual solutions.

RSI has been focused on providing all possible clients within its footprint with the best in HVAC products and services for the smallest to the largest facility. Having not only survived, but also grown through periods of economic instability, Russell Sigler Inc. is in a great position to not just continue its remarkable run, but also to achieve its chairman’s lofty goals.