Unique Air Inc.

When Mike Montgomery acquired Unique Air Inc. (Unique Air) in 2006, he knew there was a way to make the company more efficient and he knew technology was the answer. By going digital, Mike was able to streamline operations and completely modernize how the Florida-based company does business.

“People look to us and are really impressed by what we’ve done,” shares Mike, president and owner of Unique Air. “With my background in software, we were able to take the HVAC industry, which in some cases is behind in technology in comparison to other industries, and turn it from the traditional man-in-a-van concept to something better. Now, we’re on board with all kinds of modern advances; my technicians have iPhones and iPads, we even FaceTime from the jobsite to troubleshoot with our support staff.”

Unique Air’s roots trace back to 1951, when Sarasota and Bradenton, Fla., were the Gulf Coasts’ small ranch towns. As the area began to develop and prosper, so did Unique Air. Now the company offers much more than air conditioning service and installations, but also repairs for HVAC, plumbing, electrical and swimming pool systems.

The Automation Advantage

“We serve clients throughout Florida, from Naples to Tampa, right across to Orlando,” details Mike. “What we’ve really focused on is our process and making sure we’re running efficiently; that’s the backbone that’s going to allow us to grow and expand our reach.”

One way to do so is to increase individual productivity. “When I took over Unique Air there were 135 employees,” explains Mike. “After automating the entire company, only five years later, we were able to do the same amount of work with only 90 employees.”

Unique Air’s crews never go into a call blind. “Our guys say that they know they’re not walking into a hornets’ nest because they have all the information they need at their fingertips,” reveals Mike. “They can review the service history before they get to the site and they can phone in to our support team for assistance if needed. More often than not, we can diagnose a problem right over the phone.”

From HVAC renovations at local school districts to call centers, Unique Air finds the best solution fast. “We really specialize and have excelled in the replacement of existing air conditioning systems,” continues Mike. “We also perform 99 percent of our own work. We’re currently working in the radiology department at a hospital; they’re installing a new MRI machine and we’re supporting that by adding a large-scale chiller to cool down the highly sensitive machinery.”

Increasing Customer Convenience

The company also offers a special Track my Technician feature for any job. “Our customers receive an email when the technician is on his way to their home or office,” explains Margot Schroer, marketing manager at Unique Air. “In this technician en route email, the customer can see the current location of the technician and the estimated travel time to their home. This allows our customers to carry on with whatever their plans for the day may be and just meet the technician when he’s due to arrive. We even provide a picture of that particular technician in the email. Our customers really love this service.”

Customers can rest assured their technician is on time, all the time, and avoid the headaches of the traditional HVAC waiting game. “Our computerized call volume monitoring system means your call is answered quickly and efficiently, because we know people are busy and have better things to do,” says Mike. “No job is ever lost in our system.”

Customers have accepted Unique Air’s appropriately unique way of doing things with open arms. “Now that we have a good customer base and our infrastructure is in place, we have no limit as to how much business we can take on,” adds Mike. “Because we’re automated we don’t have the overhead that our competitors do and we’re more efficient.”

Mike reveals that the company just purchased two branches from Service Experts, one in Sarasota and one in St. Petersburg, Fla. “We’re on the acquisition hunt to bring on more customers and eventually more technicians to keep up with the workload,” he notes. “We’re going to focus on expansion and rolling in more customers in the next couple of years.” Unique Air Inc. continues to do HVAC installation, repair and service differently, making the experience better for every customer.

For more information about Unique Air Inc., please visit: www.uniqueservices.com.