Texair Company Inc.

Since 1952 Texair Company Inc. has been providing HVAC system installation and service to customers throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Located in McAllen, Texas, the company was founded by Calvin Bentsen and Neil Madely; two pioneers in the local HVAC market. Today, the company is run by president Mickey Alleyn, one of the company’s original employees and an HVAC veteran with more than 63 years of experience.

Texair has succeeded through the years thanks in part to its unique approach to the industry. With the motto “stand second to none,” Texair prides itself on bringing the highest possible levels of professionalism, ethics and quality work to every project.

The company serves clients in the commercial and industrial markets with a range of HVAC services including unit replacement, complex systems retrofits; new construction services such as plan-and-spec building, design-build, complex mechanical systems and cooling towers and preventative maintenance services that include system maintenance, contracted filter replacement, annual and quarterly service and mechanical system repair.

“We service virtually all the equipment that we install and service a great deal of equipment installed by others,” says Alleyn.

Texair has established relationships with some of the industry’s leading manufacturers, guaranteeing that customers get the highest quality product and the expert service to keep it running for years to come. The company carries products from Daikin, Carrier, Lennox and Trane, an Ingersoll Rand brand.

A leader in mobile chilling

Having built a solid reputation within the Rio Grande Valley, Texair does not often find itself having to leave the region to find work. One exception would be the company’s emergency cooling rental division, which will travel as far as Houston and San Antonio to provide portable cooling solutions to clients who need respite from the state’s wilting heat.

“Hotels, school and hospitals are the most prevalent clients because they can’t afford the downtime,” says Alleyn. The company offers portable cooling units in both roof-mounted 1- to 15-ton and trailer-mounted 70- to 175-ton capacity, ensuring the right solution for any size operation, and Alleyn says the company can often replace a broken system in as little as four hours.

“We sort of pioneered the mobile chiller operation 20 or 30 years ago, particularly here in the Valley. We have some competition now, but we didn’t in the beginning,” says Alleyn.

While the company once served the residential sector, Texair turned away from that market as it grew, deciding instead to focus solely on commercial and industrial clients. The company performs work in a range of commercial market sectors including health care, municipal, retail and education. These range from work on Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, GE Engine Services, US Customs & Border Patrol, UTRGV in Edinburg and Brownsville, City of McAllen, KRGVTV5 and SAVA Senior Care Facilities.

Preparing for the future

With decades of experience and a strong reputation in the area, Texair was able to weather the economic downturn with minimal damage, though the recession led Alleyn and the Texair team to take a more cautious approach than it normally would. “I’d say we probably supervised things a little closer. We were just careful on what we committed ourselves to and made an effort to complete any projects we engaged in,” he says.

Like many in the construction industry and related fields, Texair has had to deal with a lack of qualified employees throughout the years. “That sort of comes and goes with the economy,” says Alleyn. In an effort to ensure a steady stream of experienced, dedicated employees, Texair offers competitive pay and benefits in a casual and autonomous environment.

Texair has been able to retain a steady base of 30 employees in recent years, and Alleyn is particularly proud of their loyalty to the company. “We have a pretty good retention rate for employees,” he says.

Looking toward the future, Alleyn is working to keep up with current trends in technology and make the most of the region’s booming construction market. “Other than that we really have no particular plans to keep up with the building trades,” says Alleyn.

As it continues to grow, Texair is becoming more safety oriented so as to keep up with the increase in demand for compliance and oversight of OSHA requirements as well as training to facilitate mobilization on future projects.  Texair recognizes the industry’s demand for BIM and over the past two years, Texair has made it a point to keep its CAD personnel involved with this type of process, from direct rendering of drawings to involvement with subcontracted renderings.

As a regional leader in the HVAC system installation and service market, Texair Company Inc. will continue to find success throughout the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.