Hays Service Helps Building Owners Optimize System Spending
Thursday, October 16th, 2014
Mechanical systems including HVAC, lighting and others might be replaced four or five times over the life of a building, representing a significant investment for building owners. Investing proactively in maintenance can help extend system life, decrease operating costs and provide a consistently safe and comfortable environment for building occupants, accord to Cal Hays, owner of Hays Service.
"Many people think of our company as being in the HVAC category, but really we've found ourselves in a niche where we help building owners and building managers improve their return on investment," Hays said.
"We partner with our customers and are very proactive in advising them on a long-term strategy to optimize the money they spend on building systems including HVAC and lighting."
A fourth-generation, family-owned business, Hays Service specializes in planned maintenance, environmentally sensitive solutions, and owning and operating cost reduction. The company serves heavy industry, manufacturing, commercial and institutional buildings located within a 75-mile radius around Macon.
According to Hays, business has improved in 2014 over the previous two or three years. Customers who have held off on spending on some building systems appear to be making plans to invest.
"Our business has held up pretty well. Building systems are important assets to building owners so many of our customers don't consider maintenance to be an optional expense," Hays said.
On the leading edge
For 25 years, Hays Service has been part of the nationwide Linc Service network of mechanical and electrical contractors. Linc Service provides sales tools and technology solutions that help local contractors stay on the leading edge of their industry.
"It helps us as a small regional player and it helps our clients. We get the benefit of research and development done on a national scale and that makes it affordable to our clients," Hays said.
Hays Service applied leading-edge solutions on a project they completed for Weslayan College. The college wanted to upgrade their building systems while preserving the look and feel of the 70-year-old campus buildings.
"We did a complete survey of their buildings. Their systems had become inefficient and problematic so we proposed a bundled energy solution to reduce their operating costs," Hays said.
"They ended up investing $3.5 million in energy upgrades, which is saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars in owning and operating costs each year. We perform an annual energy audit to capture the savings. And it led to another project with the college five years later."
Hays Service technicians can remotely monitor customer systems on handheld devices, laptops or desktop computers. Technicians can adjust settings or troubleshoot issues remotely as well. This capability can help customers avoid any discomfort in their environment, reduce the need for service calls and lower operating costs. Technicians also have access to 12 months of service history for each piece of equipment that Hays Service maintains so they can see past symptoms and repairs as well as scheduled maintenance tasks.
Supporting the Macon community
Hays Service has made a pledge as a company to support the Macon community. In particular, the company has targeted historical preservation as one of its causes.
"We think the Hay House is an important asset to our community and we have supported it as well as Wesleyan College," Hay said.
All of Hays Service employees contribute to United Way, and the company supports Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill Industries and other nonprofits. Hays volunteers his time with Medcen Community Health Foundation where he also serves on the board.
More information on Hays Service is available at www.haysservice.com.
