Sav-Mor Mechanical Inc.

Brothers Gandy and Frank Schiavone founded Sav-Mor Mechanical Inc. (SMM) in 1975 to bring high-quality, professional HVAC service to Long Island, N.Y. The company is now one of Long Island’s premier HVAC specialists due to a proven track record of completed projects and strong following of loyal clientele. The company’s name says it all, as the SMM team aims to help clients conserve resources and save time, money and energy with total HVAC solutions and service. Above all, SMM believes in reinvesting its rewards internally with continuing education programs, in-house apprenticeship programs and professional development opportunities that keep the company at the cutting edge of technology and customer care.

“We pretty much do it all,” boasts Ryan Schiavone, president of SMM’s service division. Ryan came to SMM over 10 years ago, joining his father and uncle, Gandy and Frank Schiavone, respectively. Ryan’s brother, Craig Schiavone, also joined the company over six years ago and is now a project manager. Together the Schiavones have proudly built the family-owned and -operated company, which has grown into a multitalented mechanical contracting and service company from its headquarters in Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

Since its inception, the union-affiliated company has built a portfolio of successfully delivered projects for industrial and commercial clients by delivering a total mechanical package. The company employs an in-house team of engineers, enabling the team to work with clients in a design-build capacity.

The company’s longevity is as much a product of its expertise in designing and installing custom HVAC systems as its commitment to keeping up with client need after the systems have been commissioned. “Our service department works with over 700 clients and our technicians average over 10 years of industry experience, with over a dozen bringing 25 years or more to the table,” adds Ryan.

SMM works closely with the local union halls to provide training incentives and opportunities for local labor hall talent through the local Joint Apprenticeship Training Fund program, which provides professional training opportunities to union members in sheet metal, sprinkler fitting, steam fitting, pipe fitting and plumbing. The company also employs certified energy management specialists equipped with fully stocked service vehicles to identify and repair systems swiftly.

Breathing New Life

SMM’s complete list of capabilities runs the gamut from custom design and fabrication of HVAC systems and duct work to building automation systems and controls. SMM’s diverse range of capabilities provides the company with greater flexibility to focus on playing to its strengths on every project and calling on a network of trusted subcontractors to fill in the blanks. “Duct work, piping and controls are usually self-performed, but we have the ability to switch it up depending on our own availability and who will be able to get the job done right,” adds Ryan.

The company has traditionally focused on projects on Long Island, but recent years have brought additional competition to the area and a shortage of work on the island, so SMM has increased its geographical focus to include all five New York City boroughs and even some parts of Connecticut.

Even so, SMM’s experience makes it a fierce contender in the public sector and the company has been honored to be included in many public-works developments. SMM served as primary mechanical contractor for the restoration of the Old Nassau County Courthouse in Garden City, N.Y. The building was one of the nation’s first public facilities constructed with reinforced concrete and is the oldest government building in Nassau County, completed in 1903. But by 2006 the building had deteriorated significantly following numerous renovations and additions, prompting the county to allot $35 million for its restoration, which will see the building become home to the county’s legislature offices.

SMM worked closely with the project’s general contractors to ensure all mechanical systems installed would not only respect the original aesthetic, but that each system would be safely installed in the building without compromising its structural integrity. In some case, crews installed additional metal framing for hanging mechanical units, while other systems had to be run along the building’s exterior. Ultimately, SMM’s design succeeded in replacing the building’s window air conditioning units with a centralized system so the windows could be replaced with wooden replicas.

Going Big, Going Green

The average scope of projects in recent years has been comparatively smaller, but an increasing focus on energy efficiency has brought a wave of LEED-oriented projects to the table, leaving SMM to jump in headfirst. The company spent two years as the mechanical contractor for the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) in Stony Brook, N.Y. The AERTC is part of Stony Brook University’s Research Park development, but the center itself represents a partnership between public and private research institutions, including the Long island Power Authority, IBM, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology among others.

“This was a two-year project that really required us to oversee all aspects of the mechanical systems from plumbing to piping and sprinklers to controls,” adds Ryan. The building itself achieved LEED Platinum certification, making it the only platinum-certified laboratory in the country and the state’s first platinum-certified building in the new construction category at the time. SMM included heat recovery systems, state-of-the-art sensor technology and high-efficiency systems throughout to maximize energy efficiency, setting a new standard for integrated, high-efficiency mechanical systems.

SMM is on track to continue building a portfolio of environmentally oriented projects in the next few years as sustainability and energy efficiency become common building standards. No matter where opportunity pulls the team, the company is poised to find success by focusing on providing total mechanical solutions that make the most of the Sav-Mor Mechanical Inc.’s creative approach and extensive industry experience.