Fourth New York City Location Highlights Midea’s Commitment to Industry Training and Consumer Education Midea, the world’s leading air treatment brand, has opened its first showroom in Brooklyn, marking its fourth showroom in New York City and the latest in Midea’s strategic expansion to propagate the education and adoption of heat pump technology among consumers Read more
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![](https://hydronicshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/Midea-NYC-Showroom-C-200x134.jpg)
Fourth New York City Location Highlights Midea’s Commitment to Industry Training and Consumer Education
Midea, the world’s leading air treatment brand, has opened its first showroom in Brooklyn, marking its fourth showroom in New York City and the latest in Midea’s strategic expansion to propagate the education and adoption of heat pump technology among consumers and industry professionals across the United States.
The grand opening event was graced by notable attendees including Dina Rabiner, VP of Economic Development and Strategic Partnerships at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and Yeraida Medrano, ICF/Con Edison Senior Account Manager, who shared their insights on Midea’s role in advancing sustainable HVAC solutions. The new showroom is operated by WOTEC HVAC Inc. and located at 1150 Metropolitan Avenue.
Midea’s showrooms go beyond traditional sales spaces by offering a unique educational experience tailored to both industry professionals and consumers. These showrooms serve as interactive environments where visitors can explore the practical applications of Midea’s advanced heat pump technologies. Each location showcases a range of heat pump solutions, including Cold Climate Heat Pumps, Packaged Window Heat Pumps, EVOX ducted systems, multi-zone heat pumps and domestic water heating systems, making it an ideal setting for gaining firsthand knowledge about heat pump innovations.
![](https://hydronicshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/Midea-NYC-Showroom-D.jpg)
The showrooms are also dedicated to fostering technical expertise within the HVAC industry by hosting weekly training sessions for contractors and installers as well as installation demos and product consultations. The flagship Queens showroom is a designated site for Con Edison’s ongoing education programs that provide training courses on the standards for decommissioning old HVAC systems and the requirements for Con Edison incentives. Midea was also chosen to be the designated brand used for instruction at The Electrical and HVAC/R Training Center, the largest professional training school in New York.
Kai-Ki Wong, formerly the assistant chief plan examiner at the New York City Department of Buildings, and now a consultant working in the showrooms, emphasized the value these showrooms offer: “At our Queens showroom, we’ve brought together a team of experts to provide comprehensive consultations to both industry professionals and consumers. My role is to be the guide on HVAC system design and ensure that installations meet New York’s building codes. Midea’s showrooms are not only about showcasing products but also about empowering visitors with the knowledge and resources they need to make informed decisions about the most innovative heating and cooling solutions available.”
By October, Midea plans to have opened nine showrooms across New York and Chicago. Contractors and companies interested in becoming a Midea heat pump distributor, or consumers interested in upgrading to innovative Midea heating and cooling solutions, should call 1-888-MIDEA NA (1-888-643-3262).
For more information about Midea’s products and the new Brooklyn showroom, visit www.mideacomfort.us.
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Taco Comfort Solutions is pleased to announce the appointment of Tony Furst as its newest Commercial Trainer. With over 40 years of distinguished experience in mechanical engineering and a comprehensive background in overseeing multimillion-dollar projects, Tony brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Taco team. Tony’s career spans significant roles across renowned organizations Read more
Taco Comfort Solutions is pleased to announce the appointment of Tony Furst as its newest Commercial Trainer. With over 40 years of distinguished experience in mechanical engineering and a comprehensive background in overseeing multimillion-dollar projects, Tony brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Taco team.
Tony’s career spans significant roles across renowned organizations within the HVAC industry, including Armstrong Fluid Technology, where he served as the US Director of Application Engineering. His responsibilities included providing extensive application engineering support and developing technical education content for commercial HVAC systems. Tony’s commitment to excellence and innovation has consistently resulted in the successful completion of projects on time and within budget.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tony to Taco Comfort Solutions,” said Cheryl Merchant, CEO of Taco Family of Companies. “His deep understanding of mechanical systems and his passion for educating others will be invaluable as we continue to enhance our training programs for the commercial sector,” added Merchant.
Tony holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton and an MS in Education from Michigan State University. He is certified in Plumbing Design by the American Society of Plumbing Engineering (ASPE) and is a LEED Accredited Professional with the US Green Building Council. Throughout his career, Tony has been a dedicated member of ASPE and ASHRAE, contributing significantly to technical education committees and serving as a speaker at various industry events.
“I truly enjoy sharing knowledge with others to make modern hydronic systems better,” said Furst. His commitment to advancing industry standards aligns perfectly with Taco Comfort Solutions’ mission to provide innovative and efficient solutions for HVAC systems.
In his new role at Taco, Tony will join a team of esteemed trainers, including Brett Zerba and Rich Medairos, enhancing the company’s capability to deliver comprehensive training programs tailored to the needs of commercial clients.
“It’s rare when you get the opportunity to add someone with Tony’s background, experience, and knowledge to your team,” said John Barba, Director of Training at Taco Comfort Solutions. “Adding Tony to our commercial training team is like having three Hall of Famers in your outfield. I’m looking forward to seeing Tony, Brett, and Rich share their wit, wisdom, and knowledge with our industry,” concluded Barba.
Furst’s appointment marks a significant addition to Taco Comfort Solutions, reinforcing its commitment to excellence in commercial HVAC training and education.
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Empowering Organizations to Simplify, Scale and Succeed, Interplay Enterprise, an all-in-one career development platform, marks the next chapter in immersive training and talent development Interplay Learning, the leading provider of immersive skilled trades training, announced today the launch of Interplay Enterprise. Shaped by customer insights, this immersive career development platform introduces exciting new features designed Read more
Empowering Organizations to Simplify, Scale and Succeed, Interplay Enterprise, an all-in-one career development platform, marks the next chapter in immersive training and talent development
Interplay Learning, the leading provider of immersive skilled trades training, announced today the launch of Interplay Enterprise. Shaped by customer insights, this immersive career development platform introduces exciting new features designed to help enterprises elevate the skills of their entire workforce, streamline operations, and improve retention.
![](https://mechanical-hub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Interplay-Training.jpg)
Interplay Enterprise simplifies career development by providing an all-in-one platform for company-wide learning. It includes nearly 500 hours of on-demand skilled trades courses, industry certification prep courses, learning paths, and 3D/VR simulations crafted by industry experts. A new content manager tool makes it easy for trainers and administrators to include additional courses about topics like leadership, management, compliance, ethics, and more by uploading SCORM-compliant course packages, videos, and documents. They can also use the content manager to build content, quizzes, and custom learning paths tailored to the diverse training needs of their workforce, while also managing and tracking in-person classroom training–all in one place.
Comprehensive management tools give enterprises the ability to scale and facilitate training across multiple locations and job roles. Administrators can streamline onboarding and user management with 60+ pre-built HR systems integrations and automated assignments for courses, paths, and due dates. Interplay also provides a suite of measurement, reporting, and AI-based recommendation tools, including skills assessments and insights dashboards. These empower leaders to add value with actionable insights to optimize training performance and help learners build the safety and accuracy skills they need to get to the next level.
“The latest evolution of our industry-leading solution allows organizations to simplify career development, scale their training, and succeed in building a strong, skilled workforce,” said Doug Donovan, CEO and founder of Interplay Learning. “With Interplay Enterprise, companies can provide safe, effective online training for all employees in one centralized learning space. They are not only able to apply Interplay’s proven trades training content, but they can also manage, track, upload, and create their own training — all within our career development platform. Our Enterprise customers can also count on our partnership through every step of their employees’ journey within our platform.”
“Interplay’s all-in-one platform allows us to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and provide scaffolded support to meet techs where they are to help them succeed,” said Andrew Hasty, director of learning and development, Peterman Brothers Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. “We’re strategically aligning Interplay’s platform to our paths of progression and career development initiatives. Our goal is to identify learning gaps and provide targeted interventions that support each technician’s unique journey.”
Interplay’s career development platform also offers:
- Immersive learning experiences: Learners experience VR and simulation-based training in a safe, immersive environment, enhancing knowledge retention, engagement, and skill-building.
- Ready-made, enterprise-grade solutions: A scalable cloud-based platform provides secure access anytime, anywhere, with user-friendly functionality.
- Reporting API: Powerful data from Interplay’s career development platform can be integrated into other software systems for additional analysis and reporting.
- Customizable platform: Deliver the platform with your own brand logos and colors, and customize learning paths to include your company’s values, employer strategy, and ways of working.
- Convenience and compatibility: Interplay Enterprise delivers flexibility and mobile compatibility to maximize accessibility for on-the-go workers.
- World-class enterprise service and support: Interplay Learning is a strategic partner for career development consulting, implementation, insights, and U.S.-based support.
The Interplay Enterprise career development platform is now generally available–some of the mentioned new features and capabilities will be released in the Summer and Fall of 2024. For more information about Interplay Enterprise, visit www.interplaylearning.com/enterprise.
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Virtual and simulation training isn’t necessarily new to the industry but its acceptance has been met with intrigue, and trepidation. But to say that this is the future of training? Not so fast. The consensus thoughts regarding this type of training is that will never replace in-person or on-the-job training, but it will become a Read more
Virtual and simulation training isn’t necessarily new to the industry but its acceptance has been met with intrigue, and trepidation. But to say that this is the future of training? Not so fast. The consensus thoughts regarding this type of training is that will never replace in-person or on-the-job training, but it will become a cog in the overall “wheel” for training assets.
According to Taco Comfort Solutions’ Product & Application Instructor-East, Dave Holdorf, Taco doesn’t want to change its training necessarily, rather seek to enhance the training experience.
“We ask many attendees how we can improve our classes and seminars. One of the most frequent replies is: ‘Add a hands-on section to the class; the theory is great and useful, but I want to install.’
“In a classroom setting, this can sometimes be difficult for the space needed, the time it takes, and to accommodate the different skillsets of attendees. We believe we’re now on a track with virtual reality (VR) training to give that experience to attendees—whether they’re seasoned pros, or new to the trade. VR can help to guide participants in what to look for, and more importantly what not to do on a project,” says Holdorf.
![VR Training, Simulation training, training, plumbing, HVAC, heating and cooling, Taco, Blue Recruit, Interplay Learning](https://hydronicshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/DELCONTE.jpg)
F.W. Webb’s Michael DelConte checks out the VR display at the Taco booth during the AHR Expo.
Ken Midgett, former teacher and apprenticeship Instructor, Lehigh Career & Technical Institute, now Plumbing, Marketing Director with Interplay—whose mission statement is “Better Careers Better Lives”—believes that they can play a part in a person’s career trajectory with that person using Interplay’s content. “When a person engages in learning and increases both their fundamental knowledge and the steps to do a task, we are helping that person upskill and creating more career opportunities for them. The value of a product that interplay offers is the demand function. You do not have to wait until a class is offered you can just connect and learn,” says Midgett.
Adaptation to simulation and on-demand training is paramount to success for the learner and the business. Midgett says that traditional classroom learning for skilled trades is becoming more and more challenging for several reasons:
- Finding good instructors: Many think that because they know a skill, they can teach it effectively. As a former educator, this is not always the case. This leads to poor instruction and marginal learners who are not engaged.
- The cost: The cost of running and maintaining a hands-on training center is much higher than instructor salaries and consumables.
- Change or die: Young learners are not inept at learning from lectures. Most skilled trade learners need to be engaged with learning and it must represent meaningful learning.
- The disruption of classroom learning to the workday: A rationale for going to class in the evening for 2-3 hours is losing traction to young learners. Business owners become frustrated with learning times and days as they view this as unproductive time. Young learners need to be met where they are with training that fits their lifestyle.
Interplay Learning training, combined with the new employee with the right attitude who is coachable and willing to learn, can be an explosive combination with a win-win result. “Taking an apprentice and having them spend time training and learning with on-demand training and then pushing that person into the field with a skilled person to watch and do in the real world is the best way to train this person or persons at scale,” says Midgett, who says there are numerous other advantages to this model:
- On-job efficiency increases as the apprentice now possesses the foundational knowledge and skills to perform a given task.
• Relationships are better between the journeymen and the apprentice, as the journeyman perceives the apprentice as engaged and productive.
• Business owners experience low turnover, better culture, and increased revenue as these new hires have direction and are leaning at scale.
• Technicians feel confident in their work due to training and upskilling.
• Callbacks are reduced and remediation training for the technician to increase their confidence
• Service managers can focus on coaching and maintaining technician stats instead of being the only technical lifeline for numerous techs.
• When sending these apprentices to “factory training,” they can engage and understand this much better due to the foundational knowledge.
Nonetheless, Midgett says there are a few things to note and understand about simulation and on-demand training:
• On-the-job or hands-on training with higher skilled supervision cannot be replaced.
- Simulations are great at teaching steps and muscle memory of a task.
- Simulation or any on-demand training cannot teach “feel.” As an example, simulation training cannot teach the skill of what “tight” feels like with a pair of wrenches on threaded steel piping or how tight to make a tank-to-bowl connection on a closet, or how tight a screw should be on the control board. This is what the onsite skilled person or journeyman must understand and teach effectively on site.
“While VR, AR and simulation-based technology are great resources, I do not think that any one particular learning system or style is the future,” says Rich Camacho, CEO & Co-Founder, BlueRecruit. Having said that, Camacho utilizes Interplay’s services (all of Interplay’s certifications and courses live on BlueRecruit, and when a person completes an Interplay course, they can then add that qualification to their BlueRecruit profile to strengthen their profile for Employer) and he thinks Interplay is a fantastic tool to augment in-class learning and a great launch point for someone either just entering the trades or seeking to upskill a particular technique.
“However, at the end of the day true craft mastery will occur in the field with a wrench. As technology continues to improve and costs continue to decline, Interplay will play a larger and larger part of building the next generation of skilled trades professionals and we’re excited to work alongside them in building “Better Careers and Better Lives,” says Camacho.
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Training in 2024 is just as important as ever. How do you integrate training, education and continued learning with today’s busy contractor? Power Points, sales pitches and doughnuts. Tried and true methods of training gone by, that’s for sure. But what does today’s training look like, especially in the purview of the younger generation of Read more
Training in 2024 is just as important as ever. How do you integrate training, education and continued learning with today’s busy contractor?
Power Points, sales pitches and doughnuts. Tried and true methods of training gone by, that’s for sure. But what does today’s training look like, especially in the purview of the younger generation of contractors that digests information in 90 seconds or less?
“What was that? Sorry, I was looking at my phone,” jokes Max Rohr, Director, Education and Technical Marketing, Caleffi. “Five years ago, a three-minute-long video was a good option, now it will seem long if it is over that 90-second threshold. Ideally, you get to the point in the first five seconds and work the explanation back from there. Like showing the cake and then going back to bowls of ingredients.”
According to, Dave Holdorf, Residential Trainer & Rep Training Manager—Eastern Region, Taco Comfort Solutions, it’s a challenge. “We’ve found that it helps to bring different instructors in for specific segments of the training. Each instructor brings their own perspective; even hearing a different voice in the room makes for a more compelling presentation. Every facet of our training is now geared to maintain the attention of participants. We also make sure to schedule breaks so that the attendees can attend to business, or need at home. By creating the curriculum with attendees in mind, their focus remains with the topic in front of them.”
Nevertheless, the training department at Taco has always looked at training not from a product view but from an application perspective, giving attendees the information they need to do their job better, and to give their customers the comfort they deserve. “We use real world experiences to solve real world problems with personal experiences and a bit of humor—as you know, John, it ain’t worth doing if you’re not having fun as well,” says Holdorf.
![Taco Comfort Solutions, training, Caleffi, continuing education, education, plumbing, HVAC, hydronics, learning](https://hydronicshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2803.jpg)
Caleffi’s Bob “Hot Rod” Rohr brings his props and his wealth of experience and knowledge to trainings.
But what about those PowerPoints and doughnuts? “Every learning style is different, so you have to be adaptable. If you see the audience tuning out a PowerPoint, stop and grab a product to bring to an attendee and talk about a case study that is related instead,” says Rohr.
In addition, everything falls apart for a trainer if the audience gets the impression they are overpromising, adds Rohr. For example, “Honesty is something Hot Rod is specifically good at in contractor training sessions. As a former installer, he always has tips for getting the job done and workarounds that are really tangible,” says Rohr.
The New Normal?
The Covid pandemic saw what we thought was going to be a new normal with virtual training, but what we are now seeing is the importance, and return, of in-person training.
This past year Taco saw a huge jump of in-person training, on the road as well as at Taco HQ in Rhode Island. So much so that the company had to dramatically increase the number of sessions back in Rhode Island to accommodate. “However, that does not mean to diminish the virtual training, Taco Tuesday and Taco After Dark webinars are still posting a large number of attendees that are hungry for information in bite size chunks, not as large as when we all locked down at home, but still popular,” says Holdorf.
![](https://hydronicshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/DaveHoldorfTraining24-610x407.jpg)
Taco’s Holdorf conducts a training at the Cranston, R.I. HQ.
Nonetheless, “when we’re online, we know it’s so easy to stray off to the next shiny thing online, so to keep attendees engaged, we encourage two-way communications. If participants have questions, we want them to ask immediately,” continues Holdorf.
In fact, Holdorf says that people who attend Taco’s webinars typically take it to the next level and seek live training. A combination of both virtual and live training can help attendees dial in on what they want to learn—or perhaps didn’t initially develop a full understanding of what it is they most needed to know. “These options allow them to fine-tune their training experience to make them as good as they want to be. And, ideally, we help them raise the bar. We routinely heard from trade pros who came to us for a better understanding of a single application or concept, and through that experience come away with an energized desire for much more,” says Holdorf.
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In 2023, Caleffi performed almost a 50/50 mix of in-person and virtual. Contractors like hands-on training, says Rohr, so it is good to be back on job sites for that type of interaction. And, engineers didn’t all go back to the office after COVID. “Many of the engineering sessions we do are virtual because that firm may be scattered all over the region. You might catch 20 people in a virtual training, where only 10 of them are in the office that day,” says Rohr.
Know-It-Alls
What about those who are stubborn enough to think that they don’t need further education and training? “I love this question and see and hear it often in the industry,” says Ken Midgett, L.M.P, Plumbing, Marketing Director, Interplay Learning, and former Teacher and Apprenticeship Instructor, Lehigh Career & Technical Institute.
Those in skilled trades should embrace the concept of being “lifelong learners,” consistently expanding their knowledge in their current specialty and exploring related disciplines. Whether licensed or not, individuals in skilled trades should assess their goals, career paths and professional growth within their field. It’s common for some to reach a point where they feel adequately skilled and think further education is unnecessary. According to Midgett, this assumption is misleading for several reasons:
• For example, a residential plumber could benefit from learning about commercial plumbing, Med Gas, Backflow, Water Well work, Water Conditioning, HVAC, Electrical, etc. Diversifying skills not only enhances one’s expertise but also increases their marketability across various skill sets, intern boosting income and long-term employability.
• Despite advancements in safety measures within the construction industry, the misconception that skilled trades workers are immune to injuries persists. While the overall safety landscape has improved, life-changing injuries can still occur. In such unfortunate instances, if an individual can only rely on skills specific to their trade and lacks versatility, their career may face irreparable damage. Therefore, investing in ongoing training, education, and professional development becomes crucial for ensuring resilience in the workforce and mitigating the impact of unforeseen challenges. Repurposing skillsets may be challenging when there has been no prior skill or professional development planning before the injury event.
• The industry, codes, tools, and methods to do a task are constantly changing. Skilled trades workers need to educate themselves and stay on top of new developments. This is critical to the success of a technician and company.
In the end, it’s what ends up in the ol’ noggin as useful information that translates to the jobsite. “Students only retain a tiny amount of the information that you present to them, but they will remember their feelings about the trainer for a very long time,” says Rohr. “It is hard to know if a bigger win is when customers retain a piece of information you presented or if they remember that you seem like you know what you are talking about. “If they trust that you did a good job, that memory will stay with them for a career, potentially.”