What we learned at AHR Expo 2022

Our Sales and Application Engineering teams are still riding the wave of energy that was AHR Expo 2022. Held in Las Vegas at the start of February, AHR Expo was the first in-person event many of us had attended since the start of the pandemic. Overall it was a great opportunity to connect with friends and partners and showcase our sustainable building controllers.

The show gave us a chance to talk to dealers and customers about why they choose to partner with Reliable Controls, what’s important in the buildings they manage, and what they’re most excited about for 2022. A feather in our cap is the feedback we received about being reliable people who provide reliable technology—something we strive hard for every day.

“Several dealers and a few potential customers commented most frequently on our people,” said Levi Tully, EVP of Sales, “how it was clear we cared about each other, our dealers, and our customers. Our hallmarks are still valid and compelling—visitors to the booth appreciated that our product remains simple, flexible, and sustainable.”

MACH-ProView controller

“Customers are looking for reliability, safety, and good people who care,” said Candice Herrmann, RSM for the Great Lakes USA region. “If COVID-19 taught us something, perhaps it’s to be cautious about who we spend our time with.”

The RC-FLEXair^®, our newest building controller, made its trade-show debut at AHR and garnered a lot of interest. “Our team talked significantly about the new RC-FLEXair,” said Gary Bauer, RSM for the eastern United States. “It was very much welcomed as we have been missing IP controllers at the field level. As we release more products in the RC-FLEX family in the coming years, we’ll be in great shape to have competitive IP-based field-level controllers.”

MACH-ProWebCom controller

Our commitment to backward compatibility was another point of pride for dealers and customers. “There is no doubt that we lead in the desire for backward compatibility,” Gary said. “In my opinion, our story and solution remain unmatched.”

“Backward compatibility, low product failure rate, and the eCycle program, I think, genuinely demonstrate leadership in sustainability in our industry—one supposed to be focused on environmental sustainability,” Levi said. “Legislation like Local Law 97 in New York City and the enforcement of the California Climate Crisis Act are stepping up goals and enforcement for the urgent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment.”

Unsurprisingly, COVID-19’s impact on our industry was also top of mind for show attendees. Most of the RSMs who attended cited indoor air quality, health and safety, and supply chain issues as concerns for their customers in 2022. “Supply chain and product delivery were huge topics,” said Gary. “Many of the other controls manufacturers are experiencing delays and shortages. As you know only one of our products has been affected by supply-chain issues: the MACH-ProView. Not bad considering we are shipping the rest of our line within our standard lead times.” (We hope to have some positive news on this front soon!)

“Perhaps one certainty that remains as we transition to an endemic is that nothing else is certain. Throughout the pandemic there were a series of recommendations on how to safely reoccupy the built environment—recommendations that changed several times,” said Levi. “The easy flexibility of Reliable Controls remains an industry-leading hallmark. If you can imagine a sequence, we can make it happen, and make it happen with relative ease.”

We’re excited to take what we learned at AHR Expo 2022 and carry it into our work this year. We look forward to more in-person events in the months to come!