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_ Havel
<br />An EMCOR Company
<br />Company Story
<br />Havel Bros. was formed in 1950, by Bill and Bob Havel, in South Bend, Indiana. Havel's primary focus was
<br />the sale of air distribution products such as louvers, dampers, and grilles for commercial and institutional
<br />accounts.
<br />In 1957, Havel Bros. entered the temperature control business and became a Barber Colman Company
<br />representative. Havel Bros. offered pneumatic and electric temperature control and mechanical services,
<br />including preventive maintenance, repairs, replacement, retrofit, and emergency service. Havel Bros. also
<br />expanded its geographical coverage to serve customers in northeast Indiana and western Michigan by opening
<br />offices in Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo.
<br />In the late 1950s, Dick Havel joined his brothers in the business. The business flourished and became one of
<br />Barber Colman Company's top independent field offices and was widely recognized as a quality contractor in
<br />the temperature control industry through the 1960s.
<br />In the mid- 1970s, the control industry was beginning to develop and offer direct digital controls (DDC) in
<br />addition to the long established pneumatic controls systems. Andover Controls was one of the first
<br />manufacturers in the United States to produce a DDC system. Havel Bros., seeing the future of DDC controls,
<br />became one of the first facility automation specialists in the country for Andover Controls. Havel Bros. was
<br />able to offer its customers more options with two quality, complementary lines of building control products, as
<br />well as the air distribution lines and support services. The company also expanded its operations into central
<br />Indiana by opening an office in Indianapolis. The 1970s also brought about an organizational change at Havel
<br />Bros.: Dick Havel bought the business from his brothers and led the company into the computerized, energy
<br />management era of the early- and mid- 1980s.
<br />The evolution of DDC controls systems led to new thinking on how temperature control systems could operate
<br />buildings. Previously, predominantly pneumatic systems —along with some electronic systems —were widely
<br />used to control a building's HVAC equipment. Changes in technology (the development of computers and
<br />smart control equipment) allowed buildings to be operated by hybrid systems consisting of a computerized
<br />front-end with pneumatic operating devices for valves, dampers, and actuators. This change in technology
<br />affected the way in which jobs were installed. Control jobs became less dependent on pneumatic fitters and
<br />more reliant on control technicians and electricians who were capable of providing programming of computer
<br />devices, automation, graphical design, and wiring. Control systems became closely tied with energy, as
<br />America became conscious of rising energy costs.
<br />In 1991, Dick Havel sold the company to Shambaugh & Son, a national multi -discipline contractor that began
<br />operations in 1926. The building controls, service, and air distribution products that Havel Bros. offered were
<br />a great complement to Shambaugh & Son's turn -key, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and fire protection
<br />design -and -build approach. Joining Shambaugh & Son was a natural fit allowing Havel Bros.' service
<br />departments to offer preventive maintenance programs to Shambaugh & Son customers after construction.
<br />While the temperature control and service divisions within Havel Bros. prospered, the air distribution division
<br />proved not to be a good fit and was discontinued in 1997. The Havel Bros. division expanded their operations
<br />by adding security card access, CCTV, and energy services to their offerings.
<br />National consolidation of contractors around the country became popular in the late 1990s, and Shambaugh &
<br />Son, including the Havel Bros. division, was purchased by Comfort Systems USA, a leading consolidator, in
<br />1998. In March 2002, Comfort Systems USA sold Shambaugh & Son —including Havel Bros. —to EMCOR
<br />Group, Inc., one of the world's largest mechanical and electrical construction companies.
<br />Today, Havel continues to offer its core business segments of building automation systems; integrated energy,
<br />mechanical, and electrical repair, replacement, and retrofit; and preventive maintenance services. The goal of
<br />Havel is to provide TOTAL BUILDING SOLUTIONS to its customers.
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