When you love what you’re doing, a 30-year career in the construction industry goes by quickly—and with significant rewards to show for it.
“As my dad once put it, ‘If you enjoy what you’re doing, you really can’t call it work,’” says David Isaac, who has been refining his skills as an HVAC and refrigeration professional and master craftsman in upstate New York for most of his life.
His father’s advice proved to be true. Isaac,
Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) 2009 Craft Professional of the Year, always knew his real passion was in construction: fixing things, building things and helping people solve problems.
He briefly considered pursuing a college degree in marketing, but it wasn’t the right fit, and instead he began working full-time for his family’s business,
Isaac Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc., Rochester, N.Y., in 1979.
During his early years as a craftsman, Isaac worked his way from the ground up, completing a four-year apprenticeship program through ABC’s
Empire State Chapter, absorbing knowledge from his peers and attending evening seminars on specific equipment to improve his technical knowledge.
“I was fortunate to get a lot of exposure and learn from a bunch of different people,” says Isaac, who has worked in almost every division of the company.
Now, 30 years later, he is an integral member of the company’s service department, with expertise in installing and repairing residential heating and air-conditioning units, multi-million BTU boilers, medical refrigerators and large commercial systems.
“I was always interested in the business from the troubleshooting side,” he says, recalling a customer visit for a custom heating and air-conditioning installation, which was part of his early training. “We had some service issues with the equipment. Rather than turn it over to another guy at the end of the day, I wanted to stay to figure out what was wrong and what needed to be done to make it right. I wanted to work with the manufacturer to figure out the issue and to really know how the machine worked.”
This commitment to gaining technical expertise while remaining focused on the “people” side of the business is what makes Isaac a standout professional, not only to his customers, but also to his colleagues.
Family BusinessTogether with his three brothers—Ray, who is president of the company; Michael, who works in the commercial sales department; and Kenny, who works in the residential sales department—Dave Isaac maintains the company’s commitment to providing excellent customer service.
The Isaac mantra, “When you need us, we’ll be there!” shines through in all of Dave’s commercial and industrial client relationships. He is often on the road, traveling to work on accounts in Buffalo and Syracuse, and as far south as Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Although the winter season was slower than normal this year, projects with some of its long-time customers kept Isaac Heating & Air Conditioning busy during the downturn. Now that it’s spring and customers are beginning to turn on their cooling systems, the company will have a lot of work on its hands.
“Everything breaks at once whenever there’s a change in the weather,” Isaac jokes.
The Isaac brothers are familiar with this work pattern, as it’s been part of the family’s business experience for 65 years. Their grandparents, George and Phyllis, founded the company as George T. Isaac Heating and Sheet Metal in 1945. In the 1950s, their four sons joined the company. Jim (Dave’s dad) and Bill (Dave’s uncle) still own the business, with Jim semi-retired and Bill working with Dave’s brother Ray to run the company.
The Isaac story is one of consistent growth to respond to the changing needs and locations of its customers. In the 1960s, it began offering residential air-conditioning services. In 1979, the year Dave came on board, the company moved into a 16,000-square-foot headquarters to make space for 40 more employees. Throughout the 1980s, the company continued to add employees to support the growing business, and in the 1990s it opened an office in Avon to serve the Finger Lakes region. In 2006, it opened an office in Syracuse, with sales doubling between 1995 and 2008.
Today, Isaac Heating & Air Conditioning supports more than 160 employees and an in-house training program called Isaac University. Employees complete two years (340 hours) of training that includes 21 educational modules, with topics ranging from gas furnaces to industry codes and business leadership. Full-time instructors provide training on 30 pieces of operational heating and cooling equipment in an 1,800-square-foot lab facility.
It is the only contractor-run training program recognized by the Partnership for Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Accreditation, and exceeds the industry standards for curriculum, faculty and course load. Certifications are earned through rigorous North American Technician Excellence exams.
Inspiring the Next GenerationABC presents its prestigious Craft Professional of the Year award to a construction craft professional who excels in his field, maintains a lifelong commitment to training and upholds the merit shop philosophy.
Isaac more than meets all of these criteria. Along with his involvement in Isaac University, he is an active member of the
Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) and has been teaching night courses in basic electricity and HVACR maintenance to professionals in the Rochester area for the past 14 years. The class is held one night a week for a six-month period.
“One of the many common jokes about Dave is that if he’s not holding a tool or a sandwich, he’s holding a book. Always reading technical material, installation guides and diagnostic data keeps him fresh and full,” says Jacob Koch, a commercial service manager and former student of Isaac’s who nominated him for the award.
Koch says Isaac’s most important attributes, more so than his technical knowledge, are his people skills and approachability.
“What makes people gravitate toward Dave is his ability to give super technical assistance and share it in a way that makes you remember,” Koch adds.
Isaac genuinely enjoys teaching the refrigeration courses, as he sees them as a benefit to the entire construction industry.
“I enjoy working with the guys, even if they work for our competitors, because it benefits the community as a whole,” he says. And with fewer people going into the construction trades, Isaac sees the value in promoting his profession as a career choice.
“We try to make the course material appealing to younger people,” Isaac says. “We want to keep them entertained and interested so they stick with it and make it a rewarding career for life.”
For Isaac, one tangible reward of being part of the construction industry was the trip to receive his award at ABC’s National Convention in San Diego. In addition, Tradesmen International, official sponsor of the Craft Professional of the Year competition, awarded Isaac funds toward the purchase of a new vehicle.
Isaac, an outdoorsman and a sportsman, is now the proud owner of a 2009 Chevrolet Suburban.