Sponsored Content
By Barrett Baker | Photos by Ashlee Glen
Hickey Plumbingm Air & Electrical is a one-stop shop for all your plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, and generator needs, serving residential, commercial, and industrial customers. If you are experiencing multiple comfort issues in your home or office, you don’t need to call all over town to get assistance. Hickey does it all with transparent pricing, quick dispatch, and guaranteed satisfaction!
The company was founded by Fred Hickey in 1978 and has been growing ever since. Fred was an electrician when he started the company, then added the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) division sometime around 2012.
By 2018, Fred was starting to think about retirement and approached Steven Jefferson, one of the distributors he worked with, about potentially taking over the company. Jefferson wasn’t ready to buy at that point, but two years later, he became Hickey’s General Manager with the intention of heading the company shortly after.
“In October of 2020, I met with Fred to talk about buying the company from him,” said Jefferson. “I told him I would come on as General Manager, and that in three months I would know if I wanted to buy the company.”
It only took one month before Jefferson was convinced that’s what he wanted to do, and he purchased the company in December of 2020. He added their plumbing division in 2021, and in three years the company has doubled in size and revenue. To handle their growth Jefferson purchased a building in Amherst in October of 2022, which they have been remodeling and are getting ready to host their grand opening on May 17, 2024. The move took them from 1,500 square feet of operational space to more than 17,000 square feet of room.
“When I bought the company, that was during COVID,” said Jefferson. “We buckled down, made some good decisions, and really focused on customer service. That’s what we’re building the whole business on.”
Another thing that has helped grow the company is that Jefferson doesn’t believe in hard sales tactics when it comes to providing customers with what they need.
“We’re not pushy,” said Jefferson. “I’m not a pushy salesperson and I don’t want pushy salespeople. We talk to people, find out what’s going on, what they want, what they don’t want, then we give them three, sometimes four different options, as opposed to just providing them the highest-end product and telling them that’s all they have to choose from.”
In fact, their values are all about serving others: One more value to add is that they are respectful of their customers’ time.
“If you call us during business hours, you’re always going to get a live person on the phone,” said Jefferson. “I’m not big on those call services where you have to dial 1 to get this, dial 2 to get that. That stuff drives me nuts.”
When an appointment is set and a technician is on the way, they will provide the customer with a 30-minute “heads up” to let them know. That way, customers don’t need to wait around all day. If customers have errands to run or can’t take a lot of time away from the office to be at home, the call from the technician gives them time to get home or to where the service is going to take place.
School Will Soon Be In Session Soon
When Jefferson bought the building they recently moved to in Amherst, he was initially concerned that they actually had too much available space. But he quickly formulated a plan that would help utilize different spaces to maximize their efficiency.
As a part of the Nexstar Group, which is a business consultant group, Jefferson is able to tap into their NexTech Academy, which provides software for online programs that teach plumbing, electrical, and HVAC theory. He has set up a computer lab in their building in Amherst so anyone interested in learning either plumbing, electrical, or HVAC trade skills can come get training.
“I have the computer lab set up already for online theory, and I’m working on setting up a hands-on training lab in our office,” said Jefferson. “So, students will go from theory on the computer, to hands-on training, then go out on calls with our techs for field training.”
The program was originally designed to be available for apprenticeships when Jefferson is ready to hire new techs. However, with some encouragement from the Mayor and City Council of Amherst, he decided to open it up to anyone interested in learning a specific trade. He’s also trying to apply for grants so that tuition for the program can be fully paid, or at least will provide students with deep discounts.
“It’s a work in progress, but I think it’s going to be a great way to help the community and also help us,” said Jefferson. “I think there’s a really big opportunity now because more people are leaving the trades than are coming in.”
The school, which hasn’t been named yet, is targeted to open in August 2024. It will be an ideal opportunity for high school students to learn a skill without going to college, and Jefferson believes it will be great for veterans who have finished their service and are looking for something new to do.
