About Us
Huckestein Mechanical
Huckestein has been a respected name in the mechanical contracting industry for nearly 70 years.
The company began operations in 1948 as the C. L. Fallon Corporation and was primarily a sheet metal fabrication and installation company. In 1978, James E. Huckestein, an active member of Steamfitters Local Union 449, expanded the business under his name to include mechanical contracting in addition to sheet metal work.
Ten years later, with the addition of partner Jim Jennings, the company entered a phase of aggressive growth, adding full HVAC, energy management, refrigeration, controls and service to its portfolio. In 1994, a plumbing division was added to accommodate additional customer requirements. In 2004, Messrs. Huckestein and Jennings sold the company, and the new owners explored new avenues of work, increasing capabilities for project size and scope. The economic downturn of 2009 created significant challenges for the company, however. The country experienced the worst economy since the Great Depression. Margins started shrinking, banks weren’t lending, costs were increasing, and work was slow. Previous management had not prepared for lean times, and the owners decided to sell the company.
Nothing was off limits.
On January 1, 2010, Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc. was purchased by Wendy Staso, who re-envisioned and resurrected the company to become a thriving small business with steady margins and growth. As an HVAC industry newcomer, she was not constrained by history or how things “should be” done.
She instituted a new culture of discipline and integrity that permeates every facet of the business today, focusing on the company’s core competencies and strategically outsourcing unprofitable service lines. She expects professionalism, respect and honesty in her dealings with others and offers the same in return. After laboring under a severely damaged brand, employees are once again proud to say they work for Huckestein. It was, and continues to be, a time of unprecedented change yielding record improvement.
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Our Vision
Financially secure and independent, Huckestein Mechanical is a key steward in the communities we serve, and a preeminent participant in the resilience of our region.
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Our Purpose
Huckestein designs, builds, services, and maintains non-residential HVAC systems, efficiently moving projects from concept to reality and services from reactive to proactive, optimizing our customers’ investment in and ownership of valuable mechanical assets.
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Our Values
Our values align our organization with industry best practices to deliver consistent, repeatable quality competencies.
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Integrity matters
Conduct yourself in the highest ethical manner in all relationships, both inside and outside the company.
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Everyone’s job is critical
Every person has a role on the team. Count on everyone to do their part flawlessly as you would expect them to count on you.
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Out-think the competition
Ask the right questions. Intelligently solve problems. Create an unforgettable experience. Become irreplaceable.
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Make each customer an evangelist
Clarify expectations. Always deliver what you promise. Go above and beyond. Engage at a personal level.
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Be accountable
Deliver on your commitments, be transparent about progress and outcomes, and be equally willing to reap the rewards or pay the consequences of your performance. Don’t make excuses or place blame on others.
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Always be kind
Respect everyone. Be professional with every interaction. Treat people the way you would want to be treated.
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Adapt to rapid change
Continually evaluate your path and proactively correct course.
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Begin with the end in mind
If you don’t know where you want to go, you’ll never get there. Plan your work. Think before you act.
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Above all be safe.
Everyone goes home whole and healthy every day.
Our Facility
Our office, warehouse and fabrication operations are located in a newly renovated facility in Pittsburgh’s historic North Side. Our space was once a frozen food distribution center and we’re proud to have renovated it with a commitment to stewardship, environmental compliance and sustainability.
To do our part to protect the environment for future generations, our facility includes:
- LED lighting
- a Samsung energy recovery variable refrigerant flow (VRF) HVAC system
- flooring made with recycled materials, and
- a DIRTT Wall reusable wall system
Huckestein is proud to be a member of the Green Building Alliance.
Our Community
Huckestein has a strong history of providing state-of-the-art, real world solutions to the challenges facing today’s businesses in terms of energy optimization, sustainability, and environmental awareness. While green technologies and strategies have just recently garnered national attention and funding, the idea of energy savings and recovery is not new.
Huckestein has built its reputation on designing and installing HVAC systems and controls using high efficiency equipment and innovative design for air recovery and handling, energy metering, and power monitoring to provide best value. Exploring and installing emerging renewable energy technology, such as geothermal and solar, deepens our expertise and expands the options and services we can offer to our customers. As a company, we are focused on protecting the environment in which we work, caring for natural resources, and performing our work with the utmost attention to environmental compliance. Stewardship is a catalyst for positive change and is our way of enhancing the quality of life for current and future generations.
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Corporate Responsibility
We have a responsibility to ensure that our business is carried out safely, sustainably and in a way that is environmentally, socially and economically responsible.
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Ensuring Safety & Health
We are committed to planning and executing all operations in a manner that safeguards the health, welfare and safety of our employees, supply chain partners, clients, the general public and those who use our completed facilities.
At all levels in the business, we treat safety with the highest priority, constantly striving to eliminate the causes of incidents in our quest for an injury-free workplace. We expect our employees to take individual responsibility and encourage safe work behaviors. It is our objective to promote a positive safety culture amongst employees and to ensure that all of our activities are undertaken safely.
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Investing in our people
To compete at the highest level, we recruit, train, develop, and retain the best available talent. The performance of our teams is the key to the quality of service that we are able to provide. We are among the countless organizations claiming their employees are our best asset. However, to substantiate this claim, we fully adopt best practices in our quest to become an employer of choice.
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Protecting the environment
We acknowledge that our operations affect the environment in many ways. Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc. has a responsible and proactive attitude and is committed to minimizing the harmful effects of our operations.
This includes efficient use of energy, reducing waste, recycling materials, using materials from renewable and sustainable sources, keeping pollutants, noise and dust to a minimum, and the use of environmentally-friendly materials.
Supporting our local communities
We aim to reduce the impact of our operations on local communities and make a positive contribution to the communities within which we work by taking proactive steps. These steps include minimizing disruption; fostering local involvement and enterprise through the use of local labor, equipment and materials; engaging effectively with the local community by proactively communicating and encouraging feedback about our operations; supporting educational initiatives; and encouraging staff to share knowledge and skills within the wider community.
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Energy Policy
Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc. is committed to responsible energy management and to practicing energy efficiency throughout our operations. We recognize that climate change is emerging as one of the most serious environmental challenges currently threatening the global community. We understand that there is a need to minimize greenhouse gas emissions produced as a result of fossil fuel consumption and we acknowledge that we have a role to play in undertaking these issues
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We are committed to the energy practices below.
- To reduce the amount of energy consumption across our operations
- To promote the use of renewable energy solutions where appropriate
- To encourage subcontractors and suppliers to adopt energy efficient systems of work in their operations
- To ensure that selection of equipment is carried out with due consideration to whole life energy efficiency
- To service and maintain all equipment in an energy efficient manner
- To use energy saving mode on all office equipment and appliances
We will communicate this policy statement to all persons working for and on behalf of Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc., and will make this policy available to any other interested party.
Environment Policy
It is the objective of Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc., operating as a provider of HVAC maintenance, repair, mechanical design, and installation services, to manage environmental issues in a responsible and sensible manner. We have examined our environmental performance and identified the areas of our business activities, products and services which affect the environment. We are committed to responsibly managing these aspects of our business to avoid, reduce or control pollution and will continually improve on environmental performances in these areas.
Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc. has therefore set objectives for continual improvement while monitoring and measuring our environmental performance through regularly reviewing our progress against our stated objectives. We will promote sustainable construction objectives and apply techniques for the practical delivery of these principles in project specifications, development, and whole life operation. In addition, we will influence others within the project teams to apply sustainable construction principles and deliver improved environmental performance where they have control or influence.
We will ensure compliance with all applicable legislative and other requirements which relate to the company’s environmental aspects throughout all stages of the project where we have control. We will communicate this statement to all persons working for and on behalf of Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc. and will make this policy available to any other interested party.
Sustainable Procurement
Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc. is committed to sustainable procurement by purchasing goods and services that take into account the social, economic and environmental impact that such purchasing has on people and communities. The specific sustainable procurement practices that Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc. are committed to are as follows:
- Procure goods and services that reflect up-to-date specifications or standards for environmental sustainability and re-use existing products.
- Include sustainability issues as part of our subcontractor & supplier discussions.
- Prohibit the use of products or processes that are potentially damaging to the environment, where a less environmentally damaging alternative is available.Where possible, purchase local products and services and encourage a diverse supply base.
- We choose to use ground shipping options instead of air.
We will communicate this policy statement to all persons working for and on behalf of Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc. and will make this policy available to any other interested party.
Waste Management
We encourage recycling and re-using materials whenever possible in all areas of our business with a goal of reducing the company’s overall consumption and usage of raw materials. When disposal is the only option, we dispose of materials in the most environmentally friendly and responsible option available.
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The steps we take to reach this goal are below.
- Develop a plan to dispose of waste and materials for each job site.
- Our conscious about the amount of recycling we do, inform our staff of ways to recycle, and aim to increase our recycling in the office and on job sites.
- Select suppliers who remove packaging as part of their supply contract whenever possible.
- Encourage the purchase of recycled materials and those which are suitable for disposal by recycling.
- Minimize waste by encouraging the exchange and reuse of equipment and materials amongst departments.
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Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc. is committed to sustainable waste management throughout the company.
We understand that the correct handling, storage and disposal of waste materials is important to ensure compliance with environmental legislation and pollution prevention. We promote cooperation and coordination between our employees, subcontractors and clients toward the shared goal of reducing waste at its source, reusing and recycling waste wherever possible.
We will communicate this policy statement to all persons working for and on behalf of Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc. and will make this policy available to any other interested party.